Change Your Perception

by Trevor Jackson

So, we are steaming south to Townsville and I’ve been reading about NASA’s Webb Telescope’. They’ve just observed some new galaxies. There’s photos of them, but not as they are now. The light that created these images left the galaxies some 13 billion years ago… travelling ever since. We are looking back in time effectively. The big deal about these newly discovered galaxies is that they have thrown conventional thinking about the universe and its origins, under the proverbial bus. It’s back to the drawing board for the cosmologists.

Closer to home, right here on the bridge of Spoilsport, I’m still wrestling with the same scientific quandaries I had from 5 or 6 years ago. How do turtles find Raine island beach every summer? Why does Yongala have so many big fish? Why can’t the engineer make a decent coffee? And then of course, there’s the big one. The one that comes up every Autumn. How is it that Dwarf Minke Whales know exactly when and where to show up at the same spot and the same time, every year?

Yep, it’s nearly that time again. For 6 weeks starting in early June, the magnificent Dwarf Minkes will show up and give snorkelers an experience that is unrivalled in the world.

The Minkes make YOU, the one that is being observed!

Here’s how it works. You come back from a dive on one of the fantastic Ribbon Reef pinnacles. From the stern of the vessel a line is run out on the surface for snorkelers to hold on to. You lay there in the water in your snorkelling gear and wait for a bit. In they come, tentative at first, within a few passes the distance they keep between themselves and you seems markedly reduced. They disappear again for a few moments and you think ‘wow that was cool, hope they come back” You lay there for a second before being suddenly cast into shadow by another snorkeller, you turn to see who it is and hey presto, there’s an 8 metre dwarf Minke Whale ……..IN YOUR FACE!

Literally at arm’s length, her thoughtful dark eyes pivot almost imperceptibly. She ghosts away, then comes back, even closer. You could reach out and touch her, but you don’t, not wanting to upset the pure tranquillity of this extraordinary experience.

Every year like clockwork during June and July the Ribbon Reefs are graced with these mighty creatures, and you could easily be blessed with several encounters like the one I’ve just described.

Spoilsport has one of only a handful of “Swim with Whales” permits that allows snorkellers to enter the water within close proximity of a marine mammal. You get in, the whales do the rest. Our itinerary is changed especially to give you the longest and closest interactions; and you could be doing it this winter! You won’t forget it, and like NASA’s latest discoveries, it might possibly change your perception of the known universe.

See you on board.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to witness the minke whales – book your expedition now as spaces are limited! Check Availability