So I think the pictures in this blog say it all really. This is the second time I've been whale watching in South America, and even though seeing the humpbacks in Ecuador was a fantastic experience, there's not much that can beat what we saw here in Argentina.
The Valdes Peninsula, where these photos were taken, is a veritable wildlife wonderland halfway up the eastern coast of Argentina between Ushuaia and Buenos Aires. It's home to a huge colony of penguins, elephant seals, rheas, guanacos, orcas (aka killer whales, although unfortunately not at this time of the year) and various other animals. However the most spectacular of them has got to be the Southern Right Whale. Between June and December half of the worlds 6,000 strong population come to this peninsula to breed. The waters around the bay are literally teeming with these huge creatures. They were everywhere we looked, and as with last time, I was struck by how graceful these big beasts are.
Yet the sight of whales breaching (the official term) is, our guide stressed, a rare phenomenon. We were very lucky to see what we saw - a 12 metre female propelling herself right out
of the water maybe 20-30 metres from our boat. Twice. I managed to capture part of it on video (see icons top left next to my picture), the shutter wasn't quite quick enough to get it all but you'll get the idea (also with the second video there was no way to rotate the penguin so he's the right way up, so you'll just have to turn your head!). Definitely, undoubtedly one of my South American highlights.
Videos from "Having a Whale of a time!":
Argentina's Flag
Map of Argentina