They are huge! You will definitelty enjoy whale watching and other things to do while in Victor Harbor

2. Where have all the whales gone this
year?

4. Have you always wanted to experience whale
watching? See the whales for yourself in Victor Harbor.
Do you know how the Southern Wright Whales grow to
18 metres in length and weigh up to 80 tonnes? They
are huge! You will definitelty enjoy whale watching and
other things to do while in Victor Harbor.

5. As the whale watching season comes to a close in
Victor Harbor, there has been a lot of discussion on
why there has been so few whales sighted in the Victor
Harbor area.

6. The Southern Wright Whale is a baleen whale, these
whales are very dark grey or black with the occasional
white patches on the belly. That being said, a few years
ago I did see a white whale calf that was born off of
Victor Harbor, a complete albino. This was rare.

7. I have been told that the sighting frequency goes in 3
year cycles. This year however bucked that trend as we
had a great year, an ok year, an average year and now a
less than average year. Why? Well the question is being
asked a lot in our area and one of the most common
comments is that it must be.
Where have the whales gone this year?

8. the seismic testing that is happening off the coast of
the Fleurieu Peninsula. Now I am not an expert on
these things by any means so I am not going to
comment, however it does seem like there is a strange
coincidence.

9. All that being said, there were still amazing sightings
this year with a mother and calf hanging around the
bay in Victor Harbor and great sightings off of Bashams
beach in Middleton. I had a surf lesson in South
Australia not log ago and imagine the shock I got when
around 70 metres away, a whale popped up through
the waves, you coud hear it making noises and see the
spray from the blow hole. It was amazing.

10. Whale watching information
Commercial whaling commenced in the 1820's in Victor
Harbor and around 75% of the Southern Wright Whale
population was decimated between 1835 and 1845
after which, the industry collapsed. It wasn't until a
further 90 years on that they were finally protected.
Now there is a very small 12,000 Southern Wright
Whale population which is down from 100,000 when
the whaling commenced. It is said that the population
is increasing by 7% now which is fantastic, however this
year, we did not see a lot.

11. The Southern Wright whale got its name as it was the
"right" whale to catch as it floated when it was
harpooned and died. It was easy to catch because of its
slow swimming and has provided large amounts of
valuable products, in particular oil for illumination and
lubrication.

12. All baleen whales have two blow-holes, however in
most species the two merge into one. The southern
wright's two blow holes remain separate, producing a
distinctive V-shaped blow, a cloud of vapour blown out
when the whale surfaces to breathe.

13. Some Facts:
Southern right whale facts
Length Adults: 14m to 18m; Calves: 5m to 6m at birth
Weight Adults: up to 80 tonnes; Calves: 1 to 1.5 tonnes
at birth
Gestation: 11 to 12 months
Weaning age: 11 to 12 months
Calving interval: generally 3 years
Physical maturity age: unknown; Length: 16m
Sexual maturity age: 9 to 10 years

14. Length: 12m to 13m
Mating season: July to August
Calving season: June to August
Cruising speed: 3km/h
Blow pattern: V-shaped bushy blow, up to 5m
Protected since 1935

15. Southern wright whales feed mainly on copepods, krill,
mysids and plankton, among other tiny crustaceans.
They are baleen whales - they don't have any teeth,
and feed by filtering food through 220-260 baleen
plates which hang from each side of their upper jaws.
If you would like to see whales, I absolutely
recommend you come to the Fleurieu Peninsula region
and visit Middleton through Victor Harbor and check
out the whale watching hot spots along the way.

16. Most popular spots are Bashams beach, Port Elliot
headland and from Victor Harbor including the Bluff. If
you are game, why not try our surf lessons where we
sometimes see the whales off the beach at Middleton!
The other excellent way to see them is on a whale
watching tour, we offer these through our friends in
Victor Harbor and you can take a 1 hour 15 minute
whale watching boat cruise for $60. What a great deal.

17. You can also check out our Big Duck boat tours in
Victor Harbor.
For more information please contact our friendly team
and in the mean time, get down to the Fleurieu
Peninsula and see the whales for yourself!
You can also check out the SA whale centre.
See you in the water,
Luke
Photo courtesy of tourismvictorharbor.com - Thanks!

18. For more details
Visit us @
http://www.surfandsun.com.au/
Or Call us Today !
1800 786 386