In heading further south today we came down south to Charlotte bay, known for whale watching. Just as we were moving from the Gerlache Strait into the bay we saw a great sight of a group of 8 Humpback Whales from the M/S Expedition.
When we got close they went to lunge feeding where they lunge up with their body to get as much krill into their mouth as they can. Then they went to bubble netting, where they work as a group to blow bubbles to corral a group of krill then lunge up to the surface to get them. This produces some great shots of Humpback Whale heads popping up through the surface.
Little did we know how much more we would have for whales further into the bay. We worked right into the back of the bay, where the cloud came down very low, it started to snow, and visibility really deteriorated.
As such, Mike and I broke out our low-vis goggles to make it a little easier to see.
We cruised out into the bay and our target was Humpback Whales up close. We were not disappointed in the slightest. There was a pair (a mother and 14-16 month old calf) and an individual we kept hopping between them, up close.
We then experienced one of the most amazing Humpback Whale encounters anyone (including our Expedition Leader John who has over 24 years in the Antarctic) can have. The calf decided to spy-hop (go vertical out of the water so his eye can see what is above the surface) while the mother passed by. This was right in front of one zodiac and the kayaks, and 10m in front of our zodiac.
And the lead kayak had our friend Patrick in it borrowing Mike’s GoPro taking a picture every 5 seconds.
It was just phenomenal to see how interested the calf was in us, checking us out. We headed back to the ship for dinner and it was smiles all around, after another great day.
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