Humpback Whale Watching, Fraser Island, Oz
This break two “Resolvys” and I went to Rainbow Beach. I had been there before during my tour of the east coast of Australia and had visited Fraser Island. It was great to go back to Fraser Island and this time on a guided tour so we actually learnt some interesting facts about the island. For example the Satinay tree grown on the world’s largest sand island was very unique. It is found in other areas of the world but only on Fraser Island does it’s bark have such a high silica content (as it grows in sand). The bark is therefore extremely water phobic and was forested before the island became a World Heritage Site in 1992. As this tree was limited on the island, forestry was only conducted for special projects and one of those was the building of part of the London Docks! So there’s a little bit of Australia there!!
Fascinating as it was the highlight of the trip was not the Island. Every year in Spring Humpback Whales migrate from the northern shores of Australia, where they breed, to the cooler climes of Antarctica. This migration is beautiful yet hazardous with newly born young being shepherded down the shark infested waters. In fact, the Great White makes a special trip inland to hunt the young each year!! Around the Rainbow Beach area they come close to land in the shallow waters and teach their young how to communicate. Of course businesses have exploited this for our pleasure and so I could see first hand pods of Humpback Whales moving south.
It was incredible. The mums were teaching the calfs how to communicate. This entailed breaching, waggling their dorsal fins, and a variety of strange yet amazing noises. An incredible experience!!!
