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Whale Watching TipsWhale Watching Tips To Help You Enjoy The Amazing Experience
Quite simply the scouts motto: Be Prepared!
If you
haven't already checked out my whale
watching tour review and photos I highly recommend you do. You will probably spot some of my
mistakes which led to the creation of these tips! Annie's Top Whale Watching TipsThese whale watching tips relate mostly to water based whale watching. They are in chronological order roughly! Click on the links to get more information.
Pre-Book Your Whale Watching TourThis one is the most simple of all my whale watching tips! Tours get busy (or should I say booked out) during peak periods and school holidays. Each boat has a limit. Make sure you pre-book your tour so you won't be disappointed. I recommend you book the tour early in your holiday just in case bad weather or poor whale watching conditions means you need to reschedule. Book With A Reputable Tour Operator - Know What You Have BookedI would probably rate this as one of the most important of these whale watching tips.
Be Prepared For Sea-Sickness Even If You Haven't Had It BeforeSome
people don't do water well! I love the water, but I do
succumb to
some seasickness. To prepare for a trip I do a couple of
things.
I make sure I don't eat too much before I go and especially
nothing greasy. Be Prepared For The WeatherMost whale watching from the Gold Coast is around 3 to 12 miles offshore. It might be sunny and warm out of the wind in your hotel, but when you are on the ocean it can be totally different. This is particularly true of the winter months (June, July and August), but it will be cooler on the water even in the warmer spring months.So apart from the sunscreen, sunblock, hat and the usual requirements for Australian sun you will also need to make sure you are prepared for wind chill. Even though it was a very sunny day, I was totally freezing on my trip - I must admit I got lost in watching the whales, but I was chilled to the bone. Must have lived in the Gold Coast too long! Take extra layers and a windcheater (that's the pommie in me coming out!). If you are going out on a very early cruise you might even want a beanie. (bobble hat to us poms!) I swear by my cagoole (waterproof lightweight jacket - that also keeps out the wind) - it is a must pack item wherever I go! Back to Top of Whale Watching Tips Camera At The Ready!Charge up your camera batteries, empty your memory stick, pack your lens and attach the strap.
Bring any special lens you might have.
This isn't good in so many ways. An insurance claim! The
inconvenience. But mostly, your lost photos and the photos you could
have taken! Know Your Camera!I discovered a feature on my camera after my trip that would have enabled me to take far better action photos! So I am suggesting you get familiar with the lesser used options on your camera like burst options for example. My camera is a digital point and press. All of the photos on this website have been taken with my current camera. It can produce some pretty good shots! On it's standard settings my camera was taking too long to take the shot. I ended up with about 50 shots of ocean water and no whale. The whale had popped up, done its thing and gone back below the water and then my camera took the photo! It was incredibly frustrating. I changed the settings and managed to start getting some shots. Had I mastered the burst and multi-burst function, I'd have had some even more incredible photos. Like most modern gadgets these days, cameras, even simple ones, have many more features than most of us use most of the time. But there are some features there that would enable you to take great action photos. In fact if you know what you are doing you can take totally awesome photographs that you can be proud of. Back to Top of Whale Watching Tips Don't Just Take Stills - Try Some VideoAnother area I was wasn't prepared for or even thinking about was using the video function on my camera.If you want a great laugh, check out my video. Laugh at my composition and complete uselessness as camera operator. But also realise stills are great, but video can help to really crystallise the memory and capture some of the atmosphere and magic of the whole experience. Back to Top of Whale Watching Tips Don't Just Take Video - Take Some Stills Too!This
one's not for me. I'm the one above. But I saw many
people
who only took video. I think that is a shame, because your
whole
memory comes from what you viewed through the video viewer which was
running the whole time. Mobile Phone Photos!Now,
this makes me laugh. I am such a technophobe that I have only
just got a phone with a camera on it. I must be the last
person
on the planet. I wouldn't even think to take a photo with my phone, let
alone a video. Have Fun!This is by far the most important of all my whale watching tips! Enjoy this experience. It is truly an experience of a lifetime. If you prepare well, you will have good memories of your whale watching trip.
Please come back often, share this with your friends or even give us a
plug on your social network. Whale Watching ToursWhale watching tours run throughout the season. Mostly from 1 June to 31 October. Most tours have pretty good sighting records, so you are almost (not quite) guaranteed to see the whales. What you see will depend upon
many
things including the weather, the whales on the day and the point in
the season.
If you are looking for whale watching in Brisbane or Sunshine Coast these are the options:
Whale Watching Hints and TipsIn response to some questions I have received I have written a couple of articles giving hints and tips for a great whale watching experience.
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Gold Coast Whale Watching At A GlanceWhale Watching Guide Sunshine Coast Cruises What People Say About This Website!Hello Annie,Firstly, can I just say how useful this website is. It has been a great help in getting a rough view on the Gold Coast... ...Thanks for your efforts, I've been blown away by your response. Andy, UK More comments |
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