411 Dive Log Australasia April 2025

An amazing encounter with two Pygmy Blue Whales.

An amazing encounter with two Pygmy Blue Whales. We then got into position and our first group drop was a suc cess. I was up next and saw nothing. Then on my second drop I got a great view of one of the whales swimming below me. By now six other boats had joined us, and drops were getting a little harder. Our skipper then got news that two more whales had been spotted further east, so we decided to leave the crowd and try our luck with these whales. Once again, we were amazed to see that this was a group of three whales travelling together. Sometimes they would sur face and breathe at the same time, other times they would surface individually. I got ready for the first drop and plunged into the water. Then came the waiting game, was the whale going to be below me, or to my left or right. I was looking below when suddenly I realised that the whale was still at the surface and was starting to submerge. I snapped images as the whale glided by only 4m away. This was the closest encounter I had so far experienced. And then it got even better, when I realised that there was a sec ond whale coming in on the shoulder of the first. I couldn’t believe my luck, I was spellbound looking at these two giant whales. The encounter was all over in 20 seconds, but it will last in my mind for the rest of my life.

Over the next two hours we had several more drops on this group of whales. Half were successful and half were not, you only had to look in the wrong direction or swim slightly off course to miss the whales. But what we did see was amazing and will be imprinted on my mind for the rest of my life. The Sperm Whales eluded us for the rest of the day, but this has given me a great excuse to head back to Timor Leste to see the incredible cetaceans of the Ombai-Wetar Strait. Each year Nigel Marsh leads special photography group trips to dive destinations across the globe. On these trips Nigel is on hand to help improve your underwater photogra phy and does regular talks on photography and marine life. In November 2026 he will be leading a special trip back to Timor Leste to see Pygmy Blue Whales and hopefully Sperm Whales – visit his website NIGEL MARSH PHOTOGRAPHY

www.nigelmarshphotography.com for details.

Timor Leste Lorasae

Saddleback Anemonefish are abundant at La Casa.

DIVE LOG Australasia #411 - April ‘25 49

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