Well, we've had a fantastic whale season at Ocean Odyssey, with sightings of whales on every cruise during September. On almost 20% of cruises more than one species of whale were sighted. We've had some amazing trips with four different species of whale and dolphin being sighted during one cruise!
Some of our sightings have been a bit of a surprise as we've seen common dolphins on 10 occasions this winter! Common dolphins are most frequently sighted during summer months when our water is warmer, so it's been a real treat to see them so frequently in the middle of winter! Attached is a photograph of common dolphins bow riding - you can see why they're so popular with clients (and crew).
As our guide walked down to the boat on Sunday 9th September he was very excited to spot lots of rays underneath our jetty. We managed to count fifteen of them directly below our jetty, it's the most we've ever seen in one spot.
We have had some beautiful humpback dolphin sightings. We're so privileged to see them so regularly as they are considered to be an endangered species. During a cruise on the 15th August we spotted a large group of humpback dolphins in Buffalo Bay just behind the breakers. There was some fantastic behaviour going on with dolphins leaping out of the water, most unusual for this shy species. During a trip on the 9th September Amanda (Co-director of Ocean Odyssey) was very excited when she managed to photograph a humpback dolphin that she had seen during her research period for her Master's degree, but had never managed to photograph it for identification purposes.
Winter is a wonderful time of year to spot albatross during boat cruises and we've had some lovely sightings. This winter, we had our first sighting of a shy albatross which circled our boat, it's awe-inspiring to watch albatross as they soar through the air with their vast wingspan.Â
We're looking forward to seeing what the next couple of months have in store for us.
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