Whale Watching On Gold Coast Queensland Australia

Whale-watching had never been on my bucket list.

I constantly fear drowning in the dark bottomless sea, and I love my sea creatures served on a plate, both raw and cooked. So when Liz suggested that Fafa and I go whale watching at Gold Coast, I wasn’t too sure. The anniversary/new year’s eve day in Thailand, of embracing the choppy sea in a fast-moving ferry while trying not to die of horrible food poisoning, didn’t feel that far away. Then again, the Melbourne Cup long weekend was long enough not to do it. Also, I thought this could serve as a payback to those sea lovers who went to Harry Potter theme parks just because they had the chance, even though they were not a fan. Yes, I could be vindictive when I want to be. Ha!

It was a sunny morning. We boarded the boat and started our journey from the Nerang River to the vast Pacific Ocean. We swallowed the $2 travel sickness pill given on board and were warned that it might be hard to see any whale, as it was the last day of the year. That was fine by me; I didn’t come with much expectation as long as none threw up on board, myself included.

Minutes later, when we were in the open sea, the captain asked us to look for any water eruption sign.

At first, nothing happened, and I was already like, “Ugh, this is going to take all day; I didn’t come all the way to Gold Coast just for this!”. But then someone from the upper deck noticed something, and off we went in the 9 o’clock direction before stopping near what looked like flat water in the middle of a wavy ocean. Apparently, it was the footprint of the whale, who had just emerged and dived back seconds ago. I pondered why it was called a footprint, not a flip print when people on the other side shouted something in Japanese (our boat was loaded by multi-cultural tourists).

Then I saw it, up close and personal, a Humpback whale! Two Humpback whales! A mama and a baby whale emerge from the water and swim gracefully.

The baby whale was still very young. This family was about to return to the Antarctic, where their food, plankton, is mainly located. They will then return to the continent’s shore annually to give birth. The captain said the baby whale would live up to 60 years, outliving most of us on the boat. How is that for an overall humbling experience?

We chased one whale after another for a good few hours. Meanwhile, the captain kept encouraging us to communicate with them. He said the whales love it when we make sounds and wave to them.

Under normal circumstances, my bitter soul would find it moronic, but not that day, my friends! Bearing the sun at its peak and the rickety boat, I was all talking to the whales. It worked as a whale gave us a once-in-a-lifetime performance just before we returned to the pier. It kept breaching from the water, slapping its’ fins, and dancing around the boat as if it was saying goodbye to us.

Reflecting, the whole experience was pretty spiritual. I felt the connection between humans and those majestic whales in the open water, practically in the wild. It also nudged me to appreciate the concept of nature beyond the trees and land.

My only regret was not bringing my DSLR; I would have caught those sexy curves better. On the other hand, maybe this could be an excuse for another whale-watching session.

If you can go whale watching, don’t miss it, even if whales are not your thing. If you go to the Gold Coast, do it from June through December. You might even be able to see it from the beach.

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