The Cheynes Whalechaser
'To see whales', this was always up there on our wish list for Aussie experiences. But I could never have guessed the way I would be first introduced to them would be so dissapointing and sad.
Unfortunately, our first encounter with with whales wasn't exactly a happy affair, nor a real encounter. We were in Margaret River when we heard the news over the radio. More than 70 whales and dolphins had been stranded just down the coast at Hamelin Bay in a mass stranding. The survivors were to be moved to a new location and all the dead whales were to be moved out of the water to stop sharks coming inland to feast on the dead and even those still fighting for life.
We decided to go and help try to save the remaining eleven that survived the initial stranding, driving as fast as we could given our strict 80km/h economising speed limit. Heading straight to the beach armed with towels, we thought about what kind of work we would probably have to do as a volunteer. But it wasn't to be. The road to the beach was blocked.
Given 3D glasses we watched the underwater world come to life during a film shown in one of their old whale oil storage tanks.
Informed by a steward that we could only volunteer our services if we had full length wet suits we were stopped in our tracks and told to turn around and go back. Dejected, feeling a little uselesss, and sad about hearing that more of the whales didn't make it, we returned to Margaret River with somewhat less of our precious fuel, all towels dry.
Volunteers who did have the proper whale saving wear showed great perserverance saving those few that made it. The dead whales are fairly scratched up because they washed in over rocks and we watched news footage of volunteers crying over those that couldn't be saved. The dead whales were transported to a waste disposal area within the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River. The Shire provided resources and equipment for this process.
Earlier in the year, 194 pilot whales and seven dolphins became stranded on a sandbar in Tasmania and only 54 whales and five dolphins were able to be saved. In January, 45 sperm whales died after becoming beached on a different Tasmanian sandbar. The reasons behind these mass strandings are still a mystery. It was sad that this happened - we are still yet to see a live whale.
Along with mass beaching in the area effecting whale numbers, the whales around here were once hunted to near extinction. Albany was once the home of whaling and sealing in Australia, the first recognized industry in the young country in those days. Gradually, from the beginning of the 1800s the local whaling ventures were joined in the seas around Albany by American, French and British whaling ships, with the Norwagians joining in later too to chase firstly the Southern Right, then the Humpback and Sperm whales, and it continued until 1978, when legal changes made the operation untenable.
All the original equipment are on display at Whale World
We visited Whale World, Albany where we were donated with free entrance tickets to find out more. Although learning about whaling was hardly a sustitute for seeing live whales migrate along the Australian coast, it was a surprisingly enthralling experience.
Situated on the site of the old Cheynes Beach Whaling Station, located on the picturesque southern coast of King George Sound in Albany, Western Australia. The station ceased whaling operations and was decommissioned in 1978. Now an international tourist icon, it is also acknowledged as one of the State's most significant tourist attractions.
This old whaling station turned whaling museum with help from the Lottery Foundation was gave us a great insight into the whaling trade. With an actual whaling ship beached on the shores open to the public, along with exhibitions show casing all aspects of the trade, from the flensing deck where the whales were cut up to enormous full skeletons where you can feel their grand size.
Parasites plague whale skins, here are a few that can be seen in pickling jars
Informative photos of the whaling trade found at Whale World
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