{"id":2414,"date":"2016-08-05T02:42:09","date_gmt":"2016-08-05T02:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/?p=2414"},"modified":"2016-11-14T08:47:13","modified_gmt":"2016-11-14T08:47:13","slug":"south-australian-whale-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/?p=2414","title":{"rendered":"In the Footsteps of Storm Boy! Victor Harbor SA"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a child three stories had a profound effect on me, Ring of Bright Water, Born Free and Storm Boy. They instilled in me a great love and concern for all of nature and animals. Maybe it’s one of the reasons\u00a0why I run\u00a0Whale Spotter\u00a0now?<\/span><\/p>\n

Storm Boy is set along the wild and lonely\u00a0coast of South Australia’s Coorong, near where the Murray River enters the Southern Ocean. I’m heading to the same area, just around the edge of\u00a0Encounter Bay to Victor Harbor.\u00a0So I’m very curious to see this wild place\u00a0that\u00a0Mr Percival called home…<\/span><\/p>\n

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A relative of Mr Percival<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Encounter Bay<\/strong>
\nIn and around the islands and sheltered bays\u00a0of\u00a0Encounter Bay Southern Right whales have been coming each winter\u00a0for thousands of years to breed and have their calves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n Like the whales the Ramindjeri clan of the Ngarrindjeri people have lived in\u00a0these lands they call ‘Wirramulla’<\/em>\u00a0for many millennia. Many\u00a0indigenous peoples see themselves as the custodians of the land and the whale as their kin, who are\u00a0custodians and caretakers of the ocean. The\u00a0Encounter Bay area is\u00a0told in the ‘Kondoli’<\/em> dreaming and holds tremendous spiritual significance, particularly\u00a0Nulcoowarra<\/em> (the indigenous name for Granite Island), as does the Southern Right whale.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A Southern Right Whale dives off Granite Island<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The bay was named by\u00a0Matthew Flinders during his circumnavigation of Australia in HMS Investigator. During\u00a0April 1802 he ‘encountered’ the French scientific ship\u00a0Le Geographe near the mouth of the Murray River\u00a0under the command of\u00a0Nicolas Baudin. Even though England and France were at war, scientific ships were regarded as non combatants by each country. The ships sheltered in the bay together while the Captains compared notes and Finders named the\u00a0bay Encounter Bay after this meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A storm rolls in over Encounter Bay<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

HMS Victor under the command of\u00a0Captain Richard Crozier\u00a0anchored off Granite Island in 1837 while\u00a0en route from Sydney to the Swan River Colony. He named the sheltered waters in the lee of the island ‘Victor Harbor’ after his ship. Around the same time two whaling stations were established in the area,\u00a0one at Rosetta Head (known locally as “the Bluff”) and the other on\u00a0the point opposite Granite Island where today’s Victor Harbor township lies.\u00a0Whaling was quite successful with whale oil becoming South Australia\u2019s first export.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Whale Tail sculpture in Warland Reserve, Victor Harbor<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The\u00a0Murray River became a major trading route for wheat and wool coming down to the Port of Goolwa at the rivers mouth. Goolwa proved not to be such a great port so a\u00a012 kilometre railway was built connecting it to Port Elliot in 1854, thus becoming Australia’s first\u00a0public railway.\u00a0Port Elliot also proved not to be a suitable harbour either. So in the 1860’s the rail line was extended further to the far more sheltered waters\u00a0in the lee of Granite Island at Port Victor where the large\u00a0clipper ships could be serviced properly.\u00a0Port Victor\u00a0was\u00a0declared a port in 1865, later being renamed\u00a0Victor Harbor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tragically the Southern Rights were quickly decimated by whaling with the\u00a0last whale being\u00a0caught in the area in 1872. They didn’t get the name as the ‘right’ whale to catch for nothing!<\/span><\/p>\n

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The famous horse-drawn tramway across the Causeway at Victor Harbor<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Australia South Australian Whale Centre<\/strong>
\nWhale watching is now a major tourism attraction in\u00a0the\u00a0Encounter Bay area. Southern Rights have started to return in numbers since their complete protection in the 1930’s.\u00a0Humpbacks also pass through during their winter migration and there is always the local dolphins who hang around\u00a0all year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Southern Right Whale<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Hub of all this whale watching activity is the South Australian Whale Centre, nestled in an old railway goods shed in the heart of Victor Harbor. Part museum, history and education centre there is a lot to see and do at the Centre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The South Australian Whale Centre, Victor Harbor<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The Centre has many great educational displays of whale bones,\u00a0murals and historic\u00a0artefacts that give you a detailed picture of the different whale species found in South Australian waters and the history of the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Whale Displays South Australian Whale Centre<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

There are interactive activities, 3D film and workshop activities available.\u00a0So there’s lots to see and do!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Whale Species Mural<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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Sperm Whale Tale and Bones<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The Centre also coordinates the dedicated team of local whale watchers who watch and record any whales visiting the area. The Centre has an online log of sightings so you can keep track of what’s being seen. I had a fantastic time hanging with Debbie and Jenni, two of the awesome local whale watchers who kindly showed me around. Unfortunately we didn’t have too much luck spotting\u00a0whales but it was great fun just hanging out and seeing the area.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Local whale watchers Jenni, Nedra and Debbie<\/p><\/div>\n

The Big Duck Boat Whale\u00a0Watching Cruises<\/strong><\/span>
\n Another great way to see the Encounter Bay is from the water on a Big Duck Boat\u00a0tour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins<\/p><\/div>\n

There is a lot to see around the area with islands, bays and dramatic cliffs. Luckily on the day of my cruise the sea is calm and we are able to come in close to see the seals basking on their island hideaways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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A curious seal comes to check us out<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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Amazing cliffs to the west of Victor Harbor<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

There is a resident pod of\u00a0Bottlenose Dolphins in the bay that are present all year round. They often come to the boat to say hi.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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Three Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Thanks!<\/strong>
\nI really enjoyed meeting the whale watching team in Victor Harbor and seeing Storm Boy’s home. Huge thanks to\u00a0Debbie and Jenni for taking me whale watching\u00a0and showing me around. Thanks also to\u00a0<\/span>Amelia and her fantastic team from the SA Whale Centre for all your support and encouragement.\u00a0I’m delighted that Southern Right whales are returning to the bay in larger and larger numbers. I hope to return sometime soon to\u00a0spot a few myself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Victor Harbor Details\u00a0<\/strong>
\nVictor Harbor is located\u00a085 kilometres (approx. 1.5hours drive) south of Adelaide (South Australia’s capital city) on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Encounter Bay Whale Season<\/strong><\/span>
\n May to September – Southern Right Whales Peak Season is late August<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Related Links<\/strong><\/span>
\n For more information about South Australia’s\u00a0Fleurieu Peninsula please see these links:<\/span><\/p>\n

Victor Harbor Visitor Information Centre VHVIC<\/a><\/strong>
\nFleurieu Peninsula\u00a0Visitor Information Centres\u00a0FPVIC<\/strong><\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

South Australian Whale Centre<\/strong><\/span>
\n Open: Daily 10:30-5pm\u00a0(excluding Christmas Day)<\/span>
\n Location:\u00a02 Railway Terrace,\u00a0Victor Harbor SA 5211<\/span>
\n Phone: (08) 8551 0750<\/span>
\n Website: SAWC<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The Big Duck Whale Watching Cruises<\/strong><\/span>
\n Location:\u00a01 Esplanade,\u00a0Victor Harbor<\/span>
\n Phone:\u00a0(08) 8555 2203<\/span>
\n Website:\u00a0BDC<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Camera Kit<\/strong>
\nNikon D610 Digital Camera
\nNikon D500\u00a0Digital Camera
\nNikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f4G ED VR Lens
\nNikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f\/2.8G ED VR II Lens
\nNikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f\/5.6E ED VR Lens
\nSirui W-2204 Waterproof Tripod with Sirui K-20X \u2028Ballhead
\nF Stop Ajna Camera Backpack
\nOverboard 30 litre Pro-Sports Dry Bag Backpack
\n<\/span>
\nMy great thanks to\u00a0Nikon Australia,\u00a0Mainline Photographics, Pixel One and Overboard for your outstanding support, guidance and encouragement. Without it this trip would not have been possible!<\/span><\/p>\n

Nikon Australia –\u00a0Nikon\u00a0Cameras<\/strong><\/a>
\nMainline Photographics –\u00a0Siri Tripods<\/strong><\/a><\/span>
\n Pixel One –\u00a0F Stop Camera Bag<\/strong><\/a><\/span>
\n Overboard –\u00a0Waterproof \u00a0Bags<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a child three stories had a profound effect on me, Ring of Bright Water, Born Free and Storm Boy. They instilled in me a great love and concern for all of nature and animals. Maybe it’s one of the reasons\u00a0why I run\u00a0Whale Spotter\u00a0now? Storm Boy is set along the wild and lonely\u00a0coast of South […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2416,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,14,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservation","category-education","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2414"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2482,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2414\/revisions\/2482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whalespotter.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}