THIS is the moment a boatload of whale watchers became the unluckiest tourists in Australia.
An adult humpback whale put on a spectacular show off Sydney’s northern beaches earlier in the week — but right at the moment the mammal majestically breached high in the air, each of the tourists’ heads were turned the other way.
Here’s a closer look.
The gut-wrenching moment was captured by British photographer and whale watching “addict” John Goodridge, who told the Daily Telegraph the tourists were a mere five metres from the whale.
“You can see the people on the boat looking the other way, they didn’t even see it breach,” he said.
“You can bet they heard it land though … that boat bobbed around like a cork.
“Those whales weigh about 40 tonnes, when they displace 40 tonnes of water it’s an incredible feeling.
“It’s very rare to shoot a whale that close to a boat which gives it some perspective.”
The Sydney-based photographer used a Cannon 1DX and 100 — 400 lens to capture the incredible shot.
“Some people have asked me if there’s a trick of perspective with the image, but no, the whale was right next to the boat,” he said.
At least 12 whales were breaching near Dee Why as they made their way up the NSW coast on their northern migration, the Daily Telegraph reported.
They join thousands of humpback whales on this annual migration from the feeding grounds around Antarctica to the warmer tropical waters of the Pacific for winter breeding.
The journey is around 5000km. In spring, the humpbacks will head back south for summer feeding.
[Source: News.au]
