On board the whale safari boat, we learned how to avoid seasickness (look at the horizon and avoid staring down at your phone or camera) and how to keep watch for whales (the guides use underwater microphones called hydrophones and will point you in the right direction – unlike sonar, these are not damaging to the whales). Sperm whales can be easily identified from their unusually angled blowholes which spurt water at a 45-degree angle. You can see them swimming at the surface, taking in the air before their lengthy dives. “DIVING!!” the guides yell, as this is when the sperm whales perform their photography moment – a slow and graceful dive into the water that flicks their tails over and above the depths, ready to be captured by the eager photographers on board. The whales do it slowly as if performing for an audience (although Daniele advises us that they make it very clear when they want the boats to move away – mainly they just swim off, although Moby Dick was a sperm whale so it’s best to stay cautious!)
As well as seeing the whales, these Norwegian boat safaris also provide you with a wealth of knowledge about them (sperm whales have the biggest brains and longest teeth of all mammals) and the boat trip follows a picturesque route, taking in the islands of Andøya, Senja, and Bleiksøya, ensuring plenty of Instagram-worthy scenes.
Read 'Part 3: The Idyllic Islands of Senja and Sommarøy' here
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