The Ocean has come alive for Christmas
Following a cold and stormy start of summer, the last two weeks of December have been amazing in terms of weather and wildlife activity. The Ocean has come alive! Big schools of fish have attracted predators, Dolphins, Seals and even Humpback Whales for a feast.
It’s the very end of the Humpback Whale migration here in Tasmania. The Humpback Whales spend our winter months up north in warmer waters to breed and give birth. We usually get to see them swim past our coastline on their way south towards their main feeding grounds in Antarctic waters between the end of September and mid December. The incredible amount of food available over the last couple of weeks has been a well deserved treat for the whales that have already swam about 2500km.
Some days have literally been Nat Geo style with hundreds of Bottlenose Dolphins putting on a show for us and lots of sea birds cashing in on some left overs. Check out this short video on Instagram filmed with our drone to see how the whales, dolphins and seals were working together to round up the fish.
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Most Watersport and Ocean enthusiasts have followed the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. It’s an annual event hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, New South Wales on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The race distance is approximately 630 nautical miles (1,170 km). It is considered to be one of the most difficult yacht races in the world, due to the ferocious weather conditions that can occur on this route.
This year, the weather has been relatively calm for the yacht race, which allowed us to head out to sea and greet some of our friends who took part in the race on their way south towards Tasman Island, from where they would turn and head up into Hobart. Not only did we get to wave to our friends onboard the racing yacht, we were also greeted by some more inquisitive Humpback Whales. 🙂
Albatrosses during our bird charter
Another annual event for us has been a bird charter that we provide for a private group at the end of the year. We’ve encountered lots of different species of seabirds, including these special Albatrosses.
Wandering Albatrosses are the largest of the Albatrosses with the greatest wingspan of any living bird, measuring almost 3.5 meters. They spend most of their life in flight, landing only to breed and feed. Wandering Albatrosses can travel vast distances, with one banded bird recorded that travelled 6000 km in twelve days! Unfortunately, these amazing Ocean roaming birds are classed as endangered in Tasmania, which makes it even more special to see them on our bird charter!
We’ve also encountered this beautiful Campbell Albatross. On first sight, they look very similar to the Black-browed Albatrosses, with the white head, the pretty black brow, a bright yellow beak and strong leading edge on the underwing. The main distinguishing feature is their honey coloured iris (instead of the dark brown iris of the Black-browed Albatross). They breed only on the sub-Antarctic Campbell Island which is part of New Zealand.
Welcome 2020!
With so much activity along our stretch of coastline recently, we can only hope that this will continue in the new year. It will be interesting to see how long the Humpback Whales will stay in the area for.
Late summer and autumn is also the best time of the year to snorkel with the Seals in Tasmania. After the females have given birth and the breeding season is over, the animals are more relaxed and therefore even more interested in playing with us. 🙂
If you love nature and wildlife, join us on one of our tours!