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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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  • Dancers celebrating at the end of the Balayong Festival street dancing competition. The festival at the beginning of March commemorates the founding anniversary of the City of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, highlighted by balayong tree-planting, street dancing and a colourful floral parade depicting the Palawan cherry blossoms from which the festival derives its name. The Palawan cherry is one of the most popular flowering trees in Palawan and known by the locals as the Balayong, a beautiful tree that when it is in full bloom resembles the cherry blossoms of Japan.
    BalayongFestival-13.tif
  • Happy participants of the Balayong Festival parade celebrating at Baywalk, the city's promenade.The festival at the beginning of March commemorates the founding anniversary of the City of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, highlighted by balayong tree-planting, street dancing and a colourful floral parade depicting the Palawan cherry blossoms from which the festival derives its name. The Palawan cherry is one of the most popular flowering trees in Palawan and known by the locals as the Balayong, a beautiful tree that when it is in full bloom resembles the cherry blossoms of Japan.
    BalayongFestival-24.tif
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  • I gave up on trying to find my paddle, and tried to find a quiet stretch of beach to make camp; I wasn’t really in the mood for attracting a big audience that evening. But as I was racing through the surf towards the beach I saw some people pouring out of the trees and racing towards me, and they eagerly helped to drag my kayak away from the surf. Looking along the beach I could see a line of huts set back from the beach, and there were more people swarming towards me! Greetings ensued and then I started collecting firewood. I assembled a big pile of wood to be fed to the fire gradually whilst cooking my dinner and when I turned around I was horrified to see that they had set the whole pile ablaze; it was party time and the occasion called for a blazing bonfire to celebrate my arrival. It was time to chill out, so I relinquished any prospect of dinner and a quiet evening, and joined the party. I made tea and tried to find as many drinking containers as possible. Darkness settled and the crackling fire illuminated the circus of animated laughing faces around me. My phrasebook once again became the centre of attention and everyone wanted to have a go at trying to speak some English. The trials and tribulations of the day were soon forgotten amidst the laughter.<br />
I camped near the village for a couple of days, doing more repairs and trying to heal my sores. I continued to be the centre of attention of the village, and many people stopped by to observe the strange piece of flotsam that had washed up on their beach. The apparent village leader milked me as frequently as possible for new English phrases. His big opportunity came when it was time for me to leave, and he put his newly learnt expressions into practice by giving a running commentary on my departure - “Duncan Murrell is leaving today and the sun is shining, it is not cloudy, he had a good time here” – all perfectly enunciated like David Attenborough describing the actions of a wild animal.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-journey17.jpg
  • I gave up on trying to find my paddle, and tried to find a quiet stretch of beach to make camp; I wasn’t really in the mood for attracting a big audience that evening. But as I was racing through the surf towards the beach I saw some people pouring out of the trees and racing towards me, and they eagerly helped to drag my kayak away from the surf. Looking along the beach I could see a line of huts set back from the beach, and there were more people swarming towards me! Greetings ensued and then I started collecting firewood. I assembled a big pile of wood to be fed to the fire gradually whilst cooking my dinner and when I turned around I was horrified to see that they had set the whole pile ablaze; it was party time and the occasion called for a blazing bonfire to celebrate my arrival. It was time to chill out, so I relinquished any prospect of dinner and a quiet evening, and joined the party. I made tea and tried to find as many drinking containers as possible. Darkness settled and the crackling fire illuminated the circus of animated laughing faces around me. My phrasebook once again became the centre of attention and everyone wanted to have a go at trying to speak some English. The trials and tribulations of the day were soon forgotten amidst the laughter.<br />
I camped near the village for a couple of days, doing more repairs and trying to heal my sores. I continued to be the centre of attention of the village, and many people stopped by to observe the strange piece of flotsam that had washed up on their beach. The apparent village leader milked me as frequently as possible for new English phrases. His big opportunity came when it was time for me to leave, and he put his newly learnt expressions into practice by giving a running commentary on my departure - “Duncan Murrell is leaving today and the sun is shining, it is not cloudy, he had a good time here” – all perfectly enunciated like David Attenborough describing the actions of a wild animal.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-journey16.jpg
  • Humpback whales love to breach; of that there is no doubt. They are the champion breachers of all whales and can continue jumping for an hour or more. Sometimes they jump completely clear of the water and either fall backwards or on their sides with a resounding thud that reverberates around the surrounding mountains. It is exhilarating to watch and it always leaves you begging for more. It is the most frustrating and challenging behavior to try to photograph because you could never be sure when and where they will jump next, so there are always plenty of surprises in store. It became the holy grail of my whale photography, and more often than not I was left empty-handed, but exhilarated. On so many occasions when I was prepared for the shot they failed to jump and likewise on so many occasions when I wasn’t ready, they jumped; they always kept me guessing, and hoping.<br />
There are many possible reasons for breaching that are similar to those for lobtailing including trying to dislodge barnacles and other parasites, communicating with other whales, herding prey and as a threat display to boats that approach too closely. It could also be just for recreation as I have witnessed on many an occasion; what better way could there be for celebrating your power and size than leaping out of the water and making a whale-sized splash! They often seem to do in the morning as if going for a morning jog, and they sometimes breach in synchronization with other whales, which is often associated with cooperative herding and feeding.
    Alaska-humpback-whale-breach2.jpg