Whale Watching at St. Anthony, Newfoundland

August 20, 2009

Being fascinated by whales and marine mammals, I take every whale watching tour I can find. In St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Northland Discovery Boat Tours offers iceberg, whale, and seabird tours. We were too late in the season for icebergs, but we headed out on a foggy, misty morning. As we headed out to sea, there was Newfie music playing over the loud speaker - lovely, jaunty Irish sounding melodies. As we left the harbor and headed out to sea, these stark, rocky cliffs were amazingly beautiful.



As we reached the choppy open water, we began to watch for spouts.



Whale watching is exciting to me even when it is just watching those sleek bodies gracefully surface and submerge again. Sometimes you are lucky enough to see the tail as they begin their deep dive.



We were seeing humpback whales and they were consistent with their surfacing and deep dive timing. So we got good regular sightings.

We also got to see Atlantic white beaked dolphins. Whales come up and surface with a slow rhythmic pattern, giving you time to capture the experience with your camera. Dolphins zip right past the boat making photographs more a matter of luck than skill.




What with the gray day, low lighting, I didn't expect great shots, but I couldn't resist trying to catch these playful dolphins.



It continued gray and foggy even as we returned past theSt. Anthony Harbor Lighthouse and into the harbor. There's a great restaurant at the lighthouse, the Lightkeeper's Cafe, and a great view. We found the cafe and lighthouse area a great place to end our days at St. Anthony, Newfoundland.




I am grateful I don't get seasick easily, because it was a choppy day on the water. But even with gray skies, swells, and seasick visitors next to me, it was still a great way to spend the morning!

San Francisco

I've gotten to visit the San Francisco area several times over the last few years. I find it a very interesting place. I love eating at Fishermen's Wharf - fresh seafood and wonderful Boudin sourdough bread. I need to find a place to buy it at home - or find a substitute that is as good.

This trip I did the wharf, the Point Bonita Lighthouse, the Golden Gate Recreation Area and the Point Reyes National Seashore. As I drove around just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, I enjoyed the beautiful Marin Headlands with their beautiful green rolling hills. I drove by Muir Woods and my route took me through several groves of redwoods. I discovered the small community at Stimson's Beach and had a wonderful lunch. I enjoyed the drive through the Olema Valley and through the historic ranches on the way to the point. At one of the overlooks, I could see the seals and elephant seals far below. The waves on the north side were huge due to the winds. Although I usually never end up with outstanding wave photos, I always have to try. This photo is from South Beach:



I drove over to Drake's Beach expecting the water to be calm as it is on the lee side of the peninsula, but while the waves were more gentle, there were definitely waves. I was delighted that the wind was blowing the tops off, one of my favorite things to see. And the wind was blowing so bad, that you could watch the sand blow across the beach.



I keep visiting the Point Reyes National Seashore hoping to get photos to send to National Parks Magazine. But so far, I have not gotten the dramatic lighting or interesting weather that makes marketable photos. This next one is about as close as I got to a marketable shot this trip:




As the sun went down, I was over at North Beach. The glow on the waves was pretty against the golden sky. A little photoshop work adding yesterday's sun to the sky and bring out the waves more leaves me with this parting shot for the day: