A Whale of a Time

Until last week, I'd never seen a whale, but then I went on a driving holiday from Perth to Broome in Western Australia. HH (Hero Husband) and I drove over 3500kms and saw the most incredible sights but perhaps the most spectacular was this magnificent humpback whale. We went out with the Exmouth Dive Centre on a whale-shark spotting expedition and, yes, we got to see a whale shark - and some dolphins, turtles, a sea snake, lots of fish and some magnificent coral, but nothing exceeded the majesty or the thrill of seeing this whale.

Our boat kept a respectful distance for about an hour as the great mammal repeatedly leapt from the water, twisting his massive body and dropping with a huge 'thud' back into the sea. It was an incredible performance and one of the highlights of my life. One of the women on the boat,  Jo McEvoy, took these fabulous photos and they capture the joy, the magnificence and the wonder of that amazing afternoon.

We are so lucky to live on this incredible blue planet and to share it with so many remarkable creatures. I hope we can find a way to conserve and cherish all the world's lifeforms and that generations to come will be able to see the whales as I did on that golden afternoon.