Robert’s Ramblings

I was following an orca down deep when a flash of white caught my attention to my right. Below me, gliding gracefully toward the surface, was one massive belly belonging to Megaptera novaeangliae, a humpback whale.

This giant was heading straight for the surface, and I was directly in its path.

What a rush of emotions and conflicting instincts followed, self-preservation urging me to move, curiosity urging me to stay still and take it all in, and the photographer in me desperate to frame the shot. The photographer won that fleeting contest as I captured the whale’s ascent.

This distended part of the humpback is not actually its belly, but the ventral pleats, long folds of skin and blubber that run from chin to belly. When the whale takes in a huge mouthful of herring and water, the pleats expand like accordion bellows. Moments later, the water is expelled, leaving behind a tasty meal of Norwegian herring.

There are more frames to share as the gap between us closed, but I’ll leave those for another post.

Once again, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to experience such an extraordinary place.


#arctic #Norway #Skjervøy #humpback #whales #HumpBackwhale #feeding #WhaleWatching #MarineMammals

When we weren’t out on the water with the whales, we spent our time in the beautiful town of Skjervøy, in the heart of Northern Norway.

Most days, we’d return around 3:30 in the afternoon, just as the sun and the light slipped away, leaving us in celestial twilight. From afar, the lights of Skjervøy would shimmer into view, growing brighter until the whole town looked like something straight out of a Christmas card.

I’m told they keep their lights on here 24 hours a day to create a sense of warmth and life, to ward off the doldrums of the long, dark northern winter. The result is a place that feels cosy and alive, no matter how cold or dark it is outside.

It’s such a beautiful town. I only wish I’d had more time to explore it, next time, I will for sure.


#arctic #Norway #Skjervøy #lights #twilight #dawn #ChristmasCard #travel #WhaleWatching

How can I describe what it’s like to float in a Norwegian fjord, with 200 meters of inky-blue water below me, as the ocean’s greatest predator glides into view?

Despite the orca’s fearsome reputation, I feel no fear, only delight, joy, and awe.

Watching these wild and beautiful creatures move with such grace, agility, and power is a rare and humbling experience, one I feel deeply grateful to witness.


#arctic #fjords #Norway #OceanLife #orca #Skjervoy #MarineMammals

We had just dropped our divers into the water. There were so many orca circling and cavorting.
We all thought, “There must be herring below,” and were ready for the orca to feed.

Suddenly, there was a great spray of crimson-red water from the middle of the orca action, a sight terrifying in what it might mean, with four of our guys in the water among them.

With that event, and hoping the worst hadn’t happened, the orca all went into a frenzy of agitated behaviour, leaping over one another in a chaotic dance. Still, the two of us tending our boats on the surface had no idea what was happening below.

Then there it was, a newborn orca, pushed up to the surface by its midwife team for its first breath.

Later, with the help of the Norwegian Orca Survey team, we started piecing the story together. The crimson-red sea had been the placenta, ripped to shreds at birth, and the frenzy began as the mother and her midwife entourage worked frantically to push the newborn to the surface.

It took quite some time before the baby truly became animated, but about twenty minutes later, the orca pod and baby left the birthing site and headed off together at a healthy few knots, a sure sign of a successful introduction of a newborn orca to the fjords of Skjervøy.


#arctic #fjords #Norway #OceanLife #orca #OrcaBirth #baby #Skjervoy #AnimalBehavior

We watch in excitement as a small black tip rises out of the ocean beside us. Like a blade slicing through the water, it catches the golden light of an all-day dawn sun.

A moment later, the magnificent body of the orca bursts from the surface with a blast of air and spray before gliding gracefully back into the depths. Seeing these beautiful creatures swimming alongside us feels like pure magic, an experience both humbling and deeply privileged.

Our first day out on the water in Skjervøy was filled with similar encounters: orcas, humpback whales, and even the elusive fin whales, the second-largest creature on Earth. This is a truly special place, both breathtaking and unforgiving, and I feel so grateful to be here.


#arctic #fjords #Norway #OceanLife #orca #Skjervoy #travel #GoldenHour

It’s a beautiful, cold but calm evening here in Skjervøy. The whales played coy all day, only deciding to join us in the late dusk, just when photography was no longer an option for my old equipment.

The sky, however, lit up on our way home with a rising moon set against snow-covered mountains, and a playful orca followed us back.

Here, the view across the Reis and Kvænangen fjords toward the island of Haukøya and the mountains of Finnmark is rounded out by a touch of the northern lights. Perfect.


#arctic #fjords #norway #oceanlife #orca #Skjervoy #Travel #aurora

Seven years ago, a good friend invited me to, and introduced me to, one of the most extraordinary places on Earth I’ve ever experienced: Skjervøy, Norway. This place, well into the Arctic, is as brutal as it is beautiful, and full of life.

My first experience of the Norwegian fjords around Skjervøy was filled with the wonder of humpback whales, orcas, shared experiences, and new friendships. On returning to Australia, I knew I’d be back.

Well, here I am again, with new Irish friends, a new plan, and already the Norwegian welcome from the marine locals has been amazing. Even though the days are very short here, only a few hours, we’re spending time with humpback whales, with the orcas, and with each other.


#norway #skjervøy #fjords #orca #swimmingwithwhales #humpbackWhales #marinemammales #oceanlife #arctic #travel #adventure

The drive between Mallow and Portmagee might be long, but it never fails to delight. On this day, a disappointment had a silver lining and reminded me to always bring a camera, even when I think I won’t use it.

We had finished our first dive of the day off Portmagee, but the conditions were less than ideal. For most of the dive, I could just about make out my buddy’s bright yellow fins a meter away.

It was a more than sensible decision to cancel the second dive, and I now found myself looking forward to driving home in the daylight and getting home early.

Just before Glenbeigh, I took a notion to detour left, head up over the mountain, and drop down to Rossbeigh Beach via the scenic route. Wow, this countryside is stunning, and the high vantage point provided a breathtaking view of Dingle Bay and the beach below.

Remembering that camera I’d brought “just in case,” I launched it and sent it far out into the bay to capture this extraordinary Irish landscape.


#ireland #aerial #dinglebay #rossbeigh #landscape #skyscape #weather #ocean #kerry #rossbeighbeach #wildatlanticway #ringofkerry

Flip Flap Green Green Bath

Just before getting into the water for my Edithburgh dive, we spotted this super-cool Australian sea lion basking in the shallows next to the jetty.

You can tell from this image that even though the water looks clear, it is actually very, very green, which didn’t bode well for being under the surface rather than just looking across it.

On entering the water, I swam to where this guy had been bathing, but alas, he had moved on. Sea lions are happy to interact on their terms, but not usually ours. Anyway, he found me later under the jetty and performed the classic “scare the living daylights” manoeuvre by sneaking up from behind. I’m sure they get a real buzz out of panicking divers.

The visibility, as expected, was not great. The destruction of the marine life was heartbreaking, and I didn’t see a single fish under the jetty. Still, the presence of sea lions here gives a glimmer of hope that we might yet see an end to the green, green bath.


#australiansealion #edithburgh #southaustralia #scuba #diving #yorkepeninsula #algalbloom #sealion

The first time we came here, twenty years ago, I had to make do by taking aim with my camera, just as any would-be plunderer of the twelfth century might have, from ground level.

Catapults and siege engines would have made short work of that lofty fortress, but somehow the Kilmacduagh Round Tower, near Gort in County Galway, has endured. To this day it remains one of Ireland’s best-preserved round towers, rising from the quiet monastery ruins like a sentinel from another age.

There are all sorts of theories about how this thousand-year-old tower has survived unscathed. Most point to the high entrance, several metres above the ground, as clever defence against the Normans and other marauders. But perhaps the truth is simpler, as Kilmacduagh’s remote setting may have spared it the attention of both invasion and ambition.

This time around, my arsenal of “siege engines” is a little more advanced, and I was able to capture a view any twelfth-century plunderer would have thought nothing short of magic.


#Kilmacduagh #RoundTower #IrishHeritage #Ireland #Galway #WildAtlanticWay #Travel #Gort