On the last day of the conference, when the last session was finished, nine of us rush to the harbour in Durban, to rent a boat to go “whale watching”. The water was not calm even inside the harbour.
Initially I was seated at the end of the boat. After a while, I desired a change of view. Hence I went to the front of the boat and sat down, for an unobstructed vie towards the front. Outside the harbour, the waves got even choppier. The boat pitched up and down rather dramatically. We dared not stand up.
After about an hour into the ride, perhaps 8 kilometres due east into the Indian Ocean, we started seeing whales. Humpback whales. We would see glimpse of their backs and flukes. They dived back into the water quickly. Too quickly for me to catch them on my camera.
We waited for them to surface again. But they can stay under water for 20 minutes. And they can resurface at a spot far from where they dived in. So staring at the same spot is not a very effective strategy.
Finally, we spotted something to the right of the boat. and this time they stayed long enough for me to take a few pictures. At first, I wasn’t even sure what I was seeing.
At first, the back of a whale was visible. Then it arched its back, flipped up its fluke (tail), and disappeared.
The second one also arched its back, flipped up its fluke, and dived in.
They do come in pairs, just the way we were told.
And they were humpbacks, just the way we were told.
After that, we felt satisfied. And the boat turned back towards the harbour. All in all, a very satisfying day.
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