Humpbacks Holiday on CI
Monday, November 16th, 2009 
September was filled with excitement as several family groups of humpbacks took to the ‘island’ life, cruising quietly along the coast in the settled areas, very close to shore.
One of Hama’s lifelong dreams has been to swim with a humpback whale, but I don’t think he ever expected it to happen on Christmas Island! Lin even went as far as Tonga in the Pacific to find Humpbacks in 2004. In our combined 17-year history on the island, there have been only rare, unconfirmed sightings here on the island.
After the first sighting on 4th September, we were blessed with many amazing encounters and sightings throughout the month, with the last sighting in early October……
After a particularly festive Saturday night, we got an early morning call from Lynny. She was in her backyard watching a family of Humpbacks cruising quietly back and forth, just 5m from the cliffs, where a small crowd had gathered with cameras, binoculars, armchairs and coffee. When we arrived we had just missed a very close passing, what appeared to be two adults and a baby.
Hama debated whether it was worth putting the boat in for a closer look – maybe they would move on by the time we got organized? In the end we decided to take the risk and everyone was invited. However, some chose the AFL Grand Final footage over the chance to see these amazing creatures up close, can you believe that? Lynny, Linda, Jen, Jamie, Celine, Brendan, Lin, Hama and Leila jumped aboard Feral in a whale-watching frenzy. We sped around the point and waited just past the drop-off until we saw a water spout.
Hama gave us the word and we hit the water with our mask and snorkels, swimming towards the coast hoping to catch sight of the whales swimming past. About 15m from the cliffs we heard Jen scream and we saw this beautiful little baby humpback (about 5m long) swimming below us. The weird sight of all our arms and legs must have intrigued the little fellow, who continued to circle around us 4 times, looking us in the eye!
Unbelievable!!!!! What an awesome 40th Birthday present for Jen!!
Humpback whales migrate from Antarctica to the sub-tropical coastal waters of Australia to give birth and mate during winter and spring. Therefore this species is typically seen in the coastal waters of eastern and western Australia.
In the early days of white settlement, whaling operations in these areas seriously depleted the humpback populations. Could their sudden appearance around Christmas Island indicate growing numbers of this species? It has now been over 45 years (1963) since whaling was banned!
Or are they being forced here due to changes in water temperature or lack of food in their typical zones?
Whatever the reason for their visit, it was pure joy to have them here. We can’t wait until next year to find out if they return or if this just another of those magical ‘blue planet’ events that we are sometimes blessed with because we have our eyes permanently trained on the water?
Thanks to Brendan Tiernan for this awesome photo!