A fantastic time lay ahead of us as we set sail on the pristine ocean off 'Kalbarri' on the west coast of Australia.

We boarded the region's best charter boat - "Kalbarri Explorer" - and with a skipper who has over 30 years experience in the area, we were soon seeing whales in all directions.

I have never been on a whale watching adventure before and was pleased that on this particular day (in September) there were so many whales to be seen. They were performing their mating rituals and therefore showing off with tail displays and spectacular leaps from the water.

At one point we counted eight to ten whales right up close to the boat and many more in every direction - on the horizon you could see their water spouts and the huge splashes as they made heafty lunges from the water.

The charter boats are not permitted to drive too close to the whales, but there is nothing to stop the whales approaching the boat, if the choose to do so. They seemed very curious about us and constantly came alongside and seemed to be making eye contact with us. My borther in-law (who is not a 'water' person) said, "I feel like jumping in with them - they are so fantastic and the water is so clear and blue".

People are often heard saying that encountering whales in th open ocean is a spiritual sort of experience, and I have to agree - it is awesome to see these wonderful, huge, creatures as they go about their 'natural business'.

If you ever have the chance to go on a whale watching cruise - do it! You may not always see as many as we did on this cruise because they are wild animals and are unpredictable in their habits. 'Kalbarri', which is a day's drive north of Perth in Western Australia, is reputed to be one of the best whale watching destinations - after our experience, I would have to agree.

I have included a link to Kalbarri Explorer Ocean Charters website in my links section to the right.