The whales of Puerto Madryn

08th August 2010

Unesco World Heritage Peninsula Valdés, in Argentina´s Patagonia, is one of the finest wildlife reserves in South America.  From June to December, southern right whales come to the sheltered waters of Golfo Nuevo and Golfo San José to breed and bear their young.  The southern right whales, so named because they were the ¨right¨ whale to kill, were facing extinction but now over 1100 visit these waters each year.

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That is why we travelled 20 hours by bus (and back again) to Puerto Madryn.  The whales did not disappoint.  They can be observed from the town jetty and from other vantage points around the coast, frolicking with their newborns just metres away.  To see and hear these 20 meter, 10 tonnes animals so close to the shore you can almost touch them is really something.

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Also on the peninsula are penguins, sea lions, elephant seals and dolphins, but it was the whales we came to see.

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Puerto Madryn

Puerto Madryn

The long jetty makes a great whale viewing platform

The long jetty makes a great whale viewing platform

The whales come close to the jetty

The whales come close to the jetty

Whale surfacing in the clear water

Whale surfacing in the clear water

Ten tonnes of whale

Ten tonnes of whale

Playfull whales

Playfull whales

Seagulls land on their backs; the whales hate it

Seagulls land on their backs; the whales hate it

There are dozens of whales near the jetty

There are dozens of whales near the jetty

Whale makes a dive

Whale makes a dive

A face only a mother could love

A face only a mother could love

There is a load hollow noise when the whale exhales

There is a load hollow noise when the whale exhales

Whales showing off

Whales showing off

The tail gracefully sinks below the water

The tail gracefully sinks below the water

Seal playing under the jetty

Seal playing under the jetty

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