Macha Sets Sail

Some moments are a bit too surreal to take in fully, and so it was when I found myself watching the very-white belly of a humpback whale drift closer and closer to me. One part of me was thinking “Amazing! Swim closer, swim closer! The chance of a lifetime… it’s not worried about us, it looks like it rather likes an audience!” Another part of me was thinking “Sheez, that thing’s big! It has no idea I’m just a floundering human, and if it flick its flukes during the next belly roll I’m toast! Not smart to swim with big animals….” Curiosity and fascination of course won out over caution, and I drifted with the waves, watching this youngish whale roll and cavort just a few dozen meters away from me. Knowing that two whales had dived and only one was on the surface, I kept glancing down to be sure the other one didn’t rise up under me. I soon saw a thin white line, which was the pectoral flipper of the second whale, and the only part of her that was visible. Not fancying the thought of being airlifted when she surfaced, I shifted my attention back and forth between the two whales. The youngster was drifting closer, rolling over and flashing her belly. She extended her flippers out towards us, and just hung in the water while we admired her. It was surreal, being so close and not having her swim away.

Our chance to get so close was fortuitous and unexpected. We had joined my friend and colleague, Dr. Michael Poole, on his whale watching eco-adventure tour at Moorea. Having many years of marine mammal research under my belt, I knew better than to expect to see anything but the blue lagoon. Probably a spinner dolphin too, since they frequent the passes and Michael has studied them long enough to know where to find them most days. But it was the very start of the humpback season and only a few whales had been seen, and they’d been outside the lagoon. Luck was with us, though, and no sooner did the tour start than we sighted a school of spinner dolphins. We left them soon, however, because large blows were seen outside the reef. We headed out in their direction, then carefully slowed and searched for the whales. Michael is extremely careful with the animals, always putting their welfare first. He knows their behavior well enough that he’ll find them if they’re to be found, and without disturbing them. Too many boats and jet skis will race up to whales and dolphins, surrounding them or pinning them against the reef. Not a good idea, and the animals retreat when this happens. So we watched and waited from a reasonable distance until finally two whales surfaced in “resting” mode, and just lolled about near the boat. How wide their backs are!! How powerful their blows! When Michael said that the animals were calm and stationary enough that we could go in the water to watch them, I thought he was kidding. Once I realized he wasn’t, I was off the boat in a flash. His assistant guided us to a prudent distance from the whale, and we gaped (as much as one can with a snorkel in your mouth!) at the spectacle. I have no idea what was going through that whale’s head as we hovered a few body lengths (hers) away. Maybe nothing, maybe she was just enjoying being in the beautiful warm waters of Moorea, as was I. Or maybe this was amusing to her, watching us bob like clumsy plankton. Thankfully I managed to get a few quick photos of her, because once I was out of the water it was hard to believe I’d really been so lucky as to just float there, watching a relaxed whale lazing around in the sunny seas.

The rest of the guests onboard were from the Paul Gauguin, a nice cruise ship that specializes in the islands of Tahiti. I kept telling them how lucky they were to have a morning like we’d just had. The animals had cooperated beautifully and Michael had showed and explained so many things to the guests. (He has a special knack for teaching you in the manner of a great storyteller, which makes everyone want to listen.) But the next day Michael texted me to say that our great day had been surpassed by the next tour! They’d had a male humpback singing underwater near their boat, and had seen spinner dolphins, pilot whales, and rough-toothed dolphins. Moorea is definitely paradise for whales and whale-watchers alike!

See the photo gallery for pictures of the whales, dolphins, and Moorea’s beautiful lagoons. There are also photos showing a bit of the research techniques used by Michael to study the humpbacks and dolphins. You can see the tiny bits of floating whale skin that they scoop up after the whale dives; they use this for genetic analysis. There are also pictures of their dolphin dorsal fin ID catalogue, some teeth used for aging, etc.