Curious
Last week I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to snorkel with Dwarf Minke Whales at Lighthouse Bommie on the Great Barrier Reef. It was AMAZING!!
You hang off a rope on the back of the boat & if you’re quiet & calm these creatures come to check you out. They get within 1-2m of you & they are between 4-6m long. They swim past, look you in the eye, sometime give you a belly roll…..just fantastic!
Not much is known about them, like where they’ve been or where they go but they always seem to turn up at this place at this time. All the photos we took were donated to the James Cook Uni’s research team as they are working on understanding more about these wonderful creatures.
Each whale has unique patterns on it’s fins & sides, which are even different on its left & right side, so the researchers are building up a database to id which whales come back. And all those small white scars on its back are from the ‘Cookie Cutter Shark’ which lives out in the ocean and has a circular hinged jaw which latches onto the whale and takes out a chunk of blubber – yuck!
Here’s the project’s website for more info Minke Whale Project
It was truly a wonderful wonderful experience.
Curious belongs to the following groups:
Dolphins & Whales, Underwater & Sealife (Limit 2 Per Day) and Underwater Photographer's Guild Available for sale asGreeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints and Framed Prints
alfarman
a most wonderful image
Miri replied
thankyou so much, it was such a fantastic experience
Brad McEvoy
Great shot!
Miri replied
thanks Brad, i felt so priveledged!
mrcool
beautiful graceful creatures !! how could anybody kill these lovely creatures !!.
Miri replied
mrcool, you are so right & they seem so intelligent too, checking us out like that!
Marilyn Harris
Wow Miri! It must have been such an experience! Such wonderful creatures!
Miri replied
it was amazing, almost can’t believe it!
Emma Robinson
Wow. Nice to see them swimming around, rather than being hauled bleeding onto the back of a boat, which is what we see all too often on the news. You are a very lucky lady. I am opening a savings account today…
Miri replied
so true! it was wonderful wonderful wonderful, you’ll love it :-)
Kenny Gulley Jr.
this is no regular image
Miri replied
thankyou! it was such a special moment, just wonderful, thanks for faving :-)
missmilly
What a wonderful experience! amazing shot! Milly
Miri replied
thanks so much Milly, it was so amazing, still blown away by it!
salsbells69
Amazing interaction!! I cant beleive how fortunate you are! Wonderful shot to keep your memories too..wow.
Miri replied
it was so amazing, just one of those ‘lifetime moments’ if you know what i mean, just awesome, still gushing about it now :-)
thanks so much for having a look!
Steve Chapple
What a sensational opportunity and such a great image to share!
Miri replied
thankyou, i reckon it’s up there in the top 3 experiences of my life!...the other 2 are diving related as well LOL!
Steve Bulford
Really cool shot, love it!
Miri replied
thanks very much! was such an awesome experience, one of those once in a lifetime things!
Alan Findlater
Excellent work well done
Miri replied
thanks very much, was such a great opportunity!
ManaMoon
Isn’t it awesome…...Mother natures handiwork captured
Miri replied
truly amazing, i just couldn’t believe it, they swim so close!
kcranmer
Miri this is absolutely awesome!
Miri replied
thanks so much, it just took my breath away being that close to them & the fact they wanted to come & check us out!
Stephen Colquitt
Wow you got so close – such a lovely feeling and lovely creature!
Miri replied
i know it was amazing, they came within 1-2m of us, truly awesome!
MattTworkowski
this is awesome Miri,cant believe I missed this,stunning shot,love it
Miri replied
thanks Matt, was a truly amazing experience, up there with one of the best things i’ve ever done!
Alan Findlater
really great work well done
Miri replied
thanks very much, it was such a wonderful experience!
cdudak
What an awesome opportunity, great shot here.
Miri replied
thanks so much, it was amazing, felt so priviledged!
majo
wow
I’m envious
Miri replied
thanks for dropping by!
yes it was a truly amazing experience, i still almost can’t quite believe it!
Maximus
Fantastic. :)
Miri replied
thankyou, was so amazing to do this, still can’t quite believe it!!
shanmclean
wow! amazing shot!
Miri replied
thankyou, was such an amazing experience! thanks for having a look :-)
shakey
Brilliant iamge,amazing.
Miri replied
thanks very much, was a truly wonderful experience! thanks for taking a look :)
cdcantrell
Awesome shot
Miri replied
thankyou! it really was an amazing experience! thanks for dropping by!
whalegeek
Splendid image of a great encounter. Wonderful work. Thank you for your excellent information on your experience as well as about the dwarf minkes.
Miri replied
thanks very much for dropping by, it truly was a fantastic experience, such wonderful creatures!