When she first arrived I had put the camera down in order to be fully present during such a special moment; to look directly into her eye – one species to another, one world to another – terrestrial and marine minds trying to understand one another. The entire encounter felt as though it had passed in seconds, but the reality was that she and her calf were with us for almost 40 minutes of pure bliss. The temptation to reach out and touch her during the times her immense head rose from the water, inching towards our searching eyes, was overwhelming. I was completely awestruck, unsure how to react to this incredible and rare cetacean gesture.

Although the mother was completely focused on us, her calf eventually became restless. Perhaps after so much time he had become bored with us and wanted his mother’s attention. She ignored him as he swam impatiently from one side of the boat to the other. When he had had enough and breached just metres from our boat I became a bit uncomfortable. It appeared she did as well. She moved towards her calf and we thought perhaps it was time to leave. But not quite yet. They were under the water for less than a minute before she appeared again, rolling to her side for one more look at our euphoric human faces. This time I did take a picture.

Still our encounter was not yet over as something astonishing began to unfold. While she was looking at me, I turned towards the bow of the boat where the calf had just surfaced. As I turned back towards her, completing a full rotation of my body, Nigel spoke up: ‘She’s turning too.’ By the time my eyes were back on her I was staring at her vast pleated belly. She had copied my rotation. Was she communicating to us with her body? By now the calf had had enough and, side by side, they went on their way. In the distance, heart-shaped flukes, one large, one small, disappeared into the sea.

Hours later, after I had dropped Nigel off at the ferry and was on my way home, this experience became real to me. My throat became so tight I could barely breathe. I stopped the boat, turned off the ignition and sat on the bow. The sun was shining down on me as the tears began to fall. That she would show such interest in us, and such vulnerability; that she would bring her calf alongside these beings that had hunted and killed her ancestors. I felt like I had just been woken from a dream, that life was just beginning. We all have times in our lives when we ask if our chosen path is the right one. This extraordinary encounter reinforced to me that my work to protect these whales, and this extraordinary place they call home, is far from over. With her beautiful eye, that gentle ocean mother looked into my soul and spoke to me. ‘We are in this together, you and I.’