Page 46 - Port Douglas Magazine 39

have a whale of a time. The sun is shining, the line we are now 100 meters from the shallow
tide is slack and the wind is calm. Time flies waters of the reef, holding to the umbilical
in great conditions like this. After 40 minutes cord that keeps us attached to the mother
of freediving in an unimaginable submerged ship, and floating in the blue. The water is
garden, I swim toward the boat as it’s time to crystal clear as always, but there is some debris
move to the next site. Or maybe not quite in the water column, giving the impression to
yet? The captain quietly invites me to swim be swimming into a snow globe. Someone has
toward the bow of the boat. A whale has just shaken it. “Nature is shy and hates to act
“I look up, and I been spotted. before spectators,” Laurence Sterne.
Perhaps Mr. Sterne has never seen a minke
find myself staring MINKE WHALES whale. In this calm and warm blizzard, the
minke whale comes and goes like a phantom
The blow of a minke whale is something you and we spend at least 30 minutes in her good
into the eye of this don’t easily forget. Stinky minky. That’s how company.
they are known in the business, and being Minkes don’t grow over 10 meters and
stunning creature. quick and elusive, most of the time you might as I mainly look at her through the small
not see them, but trust my words: you’ll smell
Thousands of them! viewfinder of my camera, I can’t really judge
the scale. But suddenly the slender silhouette
Bearing that in mind, I swim to the bow of the
is completely filling the frame, so I look up,
thoughts quickly boat. I’m in the water, I won’t be able to smell and I find myself staring into the eye of this
anything, how will I find them? Well, here it
stunning creature. Thousands of thoughts
go off in my mind. simply works the other way around. Whales quickly go off in my mind. I wonder what she
go for humans watching, and before I know
might be thinking.
it, a little submarine with fins swims toward
I wonder what she me, has a good look and swims away. Just a With a mask and snorkel it is difficult to
quick glimpse to see what’s happening in the recognize faces in the water, but someone
might be thinking” neighbourhood, but one minute later here is speaking Italian. Behind me, Francesca and
Giovanna are enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime
she is again. We have the minke’s attention, so
the crew drops the line and soon everyone experience.
on board joins us. If you add together, the
mooring line, the boat length and the mermaid