Close encounters of the whale kind

A whale breaching, showing its white belly

Two of our clients have just returned from an incredible whale watching trip in Argentina. The trip was taken whilst visiting Peninsula Valdes, where they had some close encounters with southern right whales. Susan Gandar shares her experience with us.

‘Look, there, at eight o’clock, a female being chased by five males …’

We were cruising out of Puerto Pirámides into the calm waters of the Golfo Nuevo where, from mid-June through to mid-November, the southern right whale comes to breed.  

‘The male whale has two testicles. Each weighs 500 kg …’

With a slap of her tail, sixteen metres of female dived directly under our prow hotly pursued by her five ‘ballena franca austral’ admirers, each weighing in at around sixty tons. A fountain of pungently fishy seawater was blown up into the air. Paula, our guide, laughed. 

‘Don’t worry. He’s only playing!’

They are called ‘right whales’ because they were the ‘right’ ones to hunt. They floated when killed, yielded copious amounts of oil and were also incredibly docile and friendly often swimming right up to the boat that was out there to get them. They were, worldwide, hunted almost to extinction. Today, in Argentina, they are a ‘National Natural Monument’, protected from the moment they enter Argentine territorial waters. 

‘Look, over there, a baby boy …’

He nudged at his mother hungrily.

‘He wants to feed but she only has so much milk. She has to make sure she has enough to get him, safely, back to Antarctica. A two month journey …’

The mother opened her mouth. 

‘And there are the baleen plates she uses to filter the water for food. But there’s no krill here. By the time she gets back to Antarctica, to the feeding grounds, she will have been eight months without food …’

The baby nudged again and, this time, slowly, and with voluptuous grace, the mother rolled over onto her back. Cameras were put down, mouths closed, hands groped for tissues. Even Paula became silent. We stood there, staring down at the mother and baby lying there together, the baby’s head propped up on her white belly, her tail entwined gently round his tail. None of us had any seen, or will ever see, ever again, anything quite so beautiful. Or so humbling.

Click on the images below in the gallery to make them bigger.

Thanks go to Susan and Martin Gandar for supplying the text and images for this piece.

Susan and Martin spent four nights in Buenos Aires, before flying south to El Calafate and visiting El Chalten for two days trekking. They then flew north to Trelew, staying for three nights in Puerto Madryn, using the Hotel Territorio as a base to explore the Peninsula Valdes, including the penguin colony at Punta Tombo, the sealion colony at Punta Loma and the whale watching trip above. They finished their trip with a stay at the Sheraton sited inside the Iguazú National Park.

If you are planning a visit to Argentina or South America browse our website for more information or speak to one of our specialists on 01993 838 630.