Whale Watching in Moorea, French Polynesia
Moorea is a small island in the South Pacific Ocean. Part of the Tahitian island chain, it lies within sight of Tahiti and it is well known for humpback whale migrations. From July through to October southern hemisphere humpbacks come to the islands for mating season. More than four hundred documented individual humpback whales have been spotted in the area. We were thrilled to be able to take part in a tour that circumnavigated the island of Moorea, where we watched a seldom seen spectacle take place.
Dr Poole, Whale Researcher and Tour Operator
We did our research long before visiting the island for our vacation and we choose Dr Poole's Dolphin and Whale Tour. Dr Poole is a well known local researcher and he runs a very informative and fun tour. We boarded from the dock at our resort and took off for one of the eleven entrances through the reef that surrounds the island.
I should note here that the waters around Moorea are so clear it is difficult to tell what depth the water is. It makes it very easy to see all manner of fish and coral. The surf on the reef is so vibrantly coloured that it feels like a living postcard, and with the views of the mountains on the island as a backdrop, it was absolutely beautiful. We saw dolphins and very occasionally saw the white flash of a sea turtle as we motored our way to the various reef entrances. Dr Poole told us that the whales were commonly seen near these entrances.
After we had almost completely circled the island without spotting a whale, we were feeling a little discouraged. While it was a great boat ride, we wanted to see whales. Suddenly, one of the boat crew spotted a plume in the distance. Whale ho!
A Whale of a Time!
There were two male "teenage" whales playing around near the surf of the reef when we got within sight. One was nicknamed "Hump" because it's dorsal fin had been damaged by a net and the other was an unknown juvenile male. They broached quite a few times and splashed about with their big tails. It was quite exciting and well worth the trip. But wait. They continued to put on a bit of a show, splashing their tails and broaching fairly high out of the water. Some other tour boats came by and one dropped some swimmers into the water. We discovered this is frowned upon by most tour operators unless conditions are perfect and the whales seem more inclined to have company. These ones didn't and disappeared right away.
We waited around for a while, and saw them surface a few more times before the tour operator decided to call it a day. As we turned to go, one of the crew started shouting and pointing. We all craned our necks and saw the whales leaping straight up, in tandem, completely out of the water. We quickly turned around and motored closer. As we approached we were treated to a wonderful display of whale ballet, so well choreographed it was visually poetic. They leaped and splashed, spy-hopped and tail slapped. They rolled to their sides and waved their huge pectoral fins (the largest of any mammal) high in the air. This show went on for almost a half hour and then the whales, perhaps tired of playing, slowly swam away.
Tired and happy, we returned to our resort chattering excitedly away. Dr Poole was thrilled as well saying that this kind of show was quite rare. We can't wait to return and do it again.
Terry Davis - I am a Burnaby BC, Canada based freelance photographer and writer.
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