New South
October 2025
9781761170461
AUD$49.99, NZD$59.99
The humpback whale season in Queensland is now heading towards its close for another year. Many of us have seen these marvellous creatures, with their young in tow, just off the beaches up and down the coast. My two surfers have seen them up quite close in fact. They really are such majestic and special animals – seeing them offshore is one thing, seeing them upclose on our local, the Eye-Spy, is thrilling.
Jem Cresswell has compiled a photographic tribute to these marine mammals that will provide the reader with an insight into their lives. With a collection of simply stunning photos that he has taken over five years, he has also provided us with information that will, for some, be new and fascinating e.g. tubercules – the lumps on the humpback’s head – that’s a new one for me [hope I can play that one in Scrabble sometime!].
With sections on newborns, sub-adults, breaching, tubercules and barnacles – this is a joyful dive into the watery world and the lives of these animals. How he managed to choose from the 11,000 photos he had, I do not know! But each one, whether full body or close-up, is a work of art.
If I wouldn’t need to sell a kidney to post it, I would love to send it to my Welsh friends, so they could get some idea of our winter whale season here.
For you who are reading, this would make a magnificent gift for someone you know who revels in the beauty of nature, and the majesty of the humpback. It is without doubt a leviathan 5 🐳🐳🐳🐳🐳rating for this slice of calm and wonder.
Just So Stories 
Leave a comment