Whale Watching is a fantastic way to spend the morning or afternoon. The King George Sound is a sheltered harbour offering two passages to the Great Southern Ocean.

An ideal whale habitat, the sheltered waters around Albany and Denmark are ideal for young whales preparing to take the long journey south to the deep southern ocean around Antarctica.

I'm glad to know our friends of the sea find this area peaceful again. The whales come and go in these sheltered water and it is common to see several of these humble, giant creatures. Both whale-tour operators work from the Albany Pier.

Our whale-watching experiences have been fantastic.

Heading out of the Princess Royal Harbour into the King George Sound it is easy to see why shipmen rejoyced to see the open, easy access to land with deep blue water. It is still today one of the worlds best natural deep water channels.

<< I love this photo of the headland from the King George Sound to the Southern Ocean.

Dolphins and Seals can be seen in the sheltered waters, the seals most often laze in on the warm rocks off of Seal Island (below).

We found "Sail Away" easy and comfortable, the pace most enjoyable in the beautiful sailboat. John's knowlege of the local wildlife extends back along his years. We have no doubt you'll be delighted.

There is an attraction in Albany called Whaleworld which once was once a whaling-station (Ick!) and is now a historical monument to our carelessness. Call the tourist information for details. We find it not very appealing to discuss, except to point out its brief history and to oppose those still 'hunting' whales in the open ocean. Really! Ick. Leave them alone!

JAPAN STILL WHALING DESPITE SANCTUARY:
The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was established by the IWC in 1994 with 5 countries supporting the agreement and Japan opposing it. The status of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary is reviewed and open to change by the IWC every 10 years. During the 2004 meeting a proposal was made by Japan to remove the sanctuary, but it failed to reach the 75% majority required (it received 25 votes in favour and 30 votes against with two abstentions).

As sanctuaries only apply to commercial whaling, Japan has continued to hunt whales inside the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary because its whaling is done in accordance with a provision in the IWC charter permitting whaling for the purposes of . Japan also lodged a formal objection to the sanctuary with regard to minke whales, meaning that under IWC rules, the terms of the sanctuary do not apply to Japan with respect to minkes. The catch of the 2005 season (Dec 05-Mar 06) inside the sanctuary included 856 minke whales and ten of the endangered Fin whale. In 2007 - 2008 Japan planned to take 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales.

(*source Wikipedia Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary)

History of Whaling in WA
Whaling in Western Australia was one of the first viable industries established in the Swan River Colony following the arrival of British settlers in 1829. The industry had numerous ups and downs until the last whaling station closed in Albany in 1978.

There are two main species of whales (order Cetacea) which form aggregations along the Western Australian coastline: the Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis), and the Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). The Southern Rights are slow swimmers and their carcases tend to float due to the high concentration of oil in the blubber - hence the name "right" as it made the task of the whale chasers easier. Its conservation status is now listed as "endangered" as result of more than 150 years of hunting.

Both species migrated along the north-south coastline stopping in bays such as Geographe Bay (east of Cape Naturaliste) and Flinders Bay (east of Cape Leeuwin) for mating and breeding. Other species occasionally caught were Sperm Whales and Blue Whales, although these tended to be seen mainly along the southern coast of Western Australia.

(*An entire history of the Western Australian Whaling 'Industry' can be found on wikipedia: Whaling in Western Australia)

Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
Length: 14 -19 metres long with calves approximately 5 metres.
Weight: 25 - 40 tonnes (40,000 kilograms)
Speed: 8 kmph (4 knots)

The Humpback whale is a beleen whale, which means it has baleen plates for filtering food from water, rather than having teeth. These great whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres each year as they migrate between Antarctica and Australia.

They are a common sound in 'whale song' tapes and CDs. More information on Humpback Whales can be found at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Visit the ACSonline for more about Humpbacks. These great mamals were once hunted to the brink of extinction.

Southern Right Whale
(Eubalaena australis)

Right Whale
Length: Adult 15 – 18m Calf 5.5m
Weight: Adult 54 - 96 tonnes
Speed: 4 kmph (2 knots) – 10kmph (5 knots)

Southern Right Whales head for the bays during early winter and spring when they arrive to give birth before returning to the Antarctic waters to feed for the summer months.

These whales are called 'right' whales because they were the 'right' whale for whalers to hunt. They were slow, and thus hunted easily. There are now only 7,500 Southern Right Whales spread throughout the Southern Hemisphere. Since hunting of the Southern Right Whale ceased, their numbers are estimated to have grown by 7% a year.

The Southern Right whale uses the sheltered beaches along the Rainbow Coast to birth their young - usually from July to October.

More information on Southern Right Whales can be found at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"Dad, what's a 'whaling boat' for?

Wow, was that a conversation to have with our children, or what! To answer their innocence with the truth was too horrendous. I can't really believe it myself. So we didn't.

Instead, we spun a tale of 'Whale Research Boats' - where people are actively caring for the whales. That made sense both to me and to them. Ships that are designed to CARE for this great species.

It turns out that's exactly the line Japan, Iceland and Norway have been feeding to the public (yes, the adults!) - but really the ships are WHALING SHIPS. The story covers up the fact that these countries are STILL slaughtering whales, dolphins and porpoises for food. Ick! Ick ick ick.

How careless we've become with our friends from the sea.