Every now and then, you experience a moment that stays with you forever. These moments are emotional and rare and can change the way you view and interact with the world. A few months ago, in June of 2018, a family on vacation experienced just that.
The family was vacationing in Port Macquarie when they decided to go on a local whale-watching tour.
The family headed to Port Jet Cruise Adventures, where they got on the boat with about a dozen other passengers.
As the tourists enjoyed the ride, their guide recited facts about the area. More than anything though, the passengers were hoping to spot some whales.
These kinds of tours can be unpredictable, and there’s no guarantee that anyone will see anything at all. After about 20 minutes, the passengers were starting to lose hope— but then, they spotted a pod of five whales in the distance.
Passengers grabbed their cameras, hoping to get a good shot of the giant creatures. But to everyone’s amazement, they were treated to an amazing surprise. Jodie Lowe, deckhand and photographer, told ABC News Australia:
“I was standing there taking photos and when I saw the whale come up in my viewfinder I started clicking and then realized how close it was.”
Seconds into filming, a giant male humpback breached the water, only a few feet from the tiny boat.
As the whale emerged from the water, passengers let out giant gasps and screams. Nobody could believe what was happening, and it makes for an unforgettable scene. “It [the whale] breached towards the boat, it rolled towards the boat so all the water came over us. It was amazing,” said tour guide Anthony Henney. “I’ve never seen a whale breach so close before.”
“The whale was probably about the same size as the boat.”
“People were surprised, shocked, excited, all these different emotions were going through on the boat at the time.”
In an interview with 7News Melbourne, passenger Bernard Boyle called the event an “experience of a lifetime.” Passenger Anne Collins could barely control her delight, squealing:
“It was so exciting. It was so awesome. It was the best thing.”
According to news reports, the whale that breached was a cheeky adolescent male. He later rejoined siblings that were swimming under the boat.
Although some people may consider the incident scary, it’s all in the nature of whale-watching, Henney explained: “You can’t control what they do, and they can come over to you and hop in the boat if they want.”
“We’ve had them close before when they have interacted and come over and swum under the boat and spy hopped beside us.”
“We’ve even had one rest itself on the edge of the boat at one stage.”
When Port Jet Cruise Adventures shared the video on their Facebook page, the footage went completely viral.
At the time of this writing (August 13), the video has been viewed over 375,000 times, and the story’s been covered by various news outlets.
Whale watchers have had the view of a lifetime, with a humpback whale breaching just a few metres from their boat. @NatashaSquarey #7News pic.twitter.com/5Y0HOZDHmL
— 7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) June 10, 2018
According to what can be gathered, I’m not the only one who’s amazed. Comments on the video read:
“Whales are playful. What an experience.”
“Thanks for sharing this great vid! Wonderful species. I expect them being more intelligent than half of mankind :-( “
“Million dollar shot! Absolutely breathtaking footage.”
Watch the breathtaking footage below!
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