Nigel Marsh recently had a whale of a time in Timor Leste, exploring the nations wonderful coral reefs, brilliant muck dives and snorkelling with Pygmy Blue Whales in the clear waters of the Ombai-Wetar Strait, one of the world’s most important cetacean habitats.
The Blue Whale is the largest animal to have ever existing. Although they are longer and heavier than the largest dinosaur, this didn’t stop humans almost hunting Blue Whales to the brink of extinction. Fortunately, they survived the slaughter and today there are a limited number of locations where you can see Blue Whales, with Timor Leste one of the few places where you can see them on the surface and underwater.
There are actually several Blue Whale subspecies, with the ones seen off Timor Leste called Pygmy Blue Whales, as they only grow to 24m in length! These enormous whales spend the summer months in the temperate waters of southern Australia, feeding on small fish and krill. In autumn they head up the Western Australian coastline and pass through the Ombai-Wetar Strait, off Timor Leste, between June and August, heading to their winter breeding, birthing and feeding grounds in the Banda Sea, Indonesia. On their return journey they travel back through the Ombai-Weater Strait between October and December, and this is when the local dive operators in the Timor Leste capital of Dili offer special whale watching trips and the chance to swim with the mighty Blue Whale.
I first visited Timor Leste in 2012, only ten years after the small nation finally achieved independence from Indonesia. On that visit we dived spectacular coral gardens, reef walls and many muck sites, and saw a wonderful range of fish, invertebrates and critters. But what we didn’t see were Blue Whales. We were there in the middle of the northern migration of the Blue Whales, but the local dive operator either didn’t know about the whales, didn’t care or didn’t think it special enough to mention it or offer trips to see the whales.
Fortunately, scientists did recognise the importance of the Pygmy Blue Whale migration through the Ombai-Wetar Strait and started to study the mammals. However, they also discovered that this strait, which is the most important link between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, is a hotspot for cetaceans. Their studies showed that 24 species of cetaceans are either resident or migrate through the strait each year, making the area one the most important habitats for dolphins and whales in the world.
Today six operators offer whale watching trips between October and December, the peak time for seeing some of the 600 Pygmy Blue Whales that traverse these waters on their annual migration.
Very keen to see Pygmy Blue Whales and many of the other cetaceans of the Ombai-Wetar Strait, I organised to take a special photography group over in November 2024. Diveplanit booked us a week of diving and whale watching with Dive Timor Lorosae, staying in their on-site accommodation. Arriving in Dili in the afternoon, we settled into our accommodation, sorted out our paperwork, and enjoyed the first of many wonderful dinners at the popular local restaurant and bar, Castaways, which is conveniently located right above the dive shop.
Our first day was spent doing coastal shore dives. Timor Leste has some amazing shore diving, east and west of Dili, and we enjoyed six coastal dives on coral reefs and muck sites. On these dives we saw lovely corals, wonderful reef fishes, a good rage of invertebrates and even special muck critters like garden eels, frogfish, shrimp gobies, mantis shrimps and paddleflap scorpionfish. Dugongs are often seen along this coastline, feeding on seagrasses, unfortunately we didn’t see any on our trip.
Our first day of whale watching was almost a blowout, with strong winds cancelling our morning departure. Usually at this time of year the winds are light and there is no rain. Unfortunately for us we had wind and rain. After lunch the wind dropped, and we headed out into the Ombai-Wetar Strait.
For the first hour there was nothing but flying fish and seabirds. Then suddenly it went from calm to an explosion of cetaceans. First up was a pod of Pygmy Killer Whales. These small whales only grow to 2.2m long and are quite shy, so we didn’t slip into the water with them. We followed the whales for over ten minutes and then noticed some larger hooked dorsal fins among them, a pod of Short-finned Pilot Whales.
Short-finned Pilot Whales grow to 6m long and are a lot less shy. We managed to get into the water with them a few times, but couldn’t get any decent photos as they dived each time they saw us. Still, it was a special experience to see them briefly underwater.
We stayed with this group of mixed whales for over an hour when they were suddenly joined by hundreds of Fraser’s Dolphins. For the next hour we had all these dolphins and whales around us, riding the bow at times and feeding at other times. They were even joined by a small pod of Spinner Dolphins. Heading back to port there were smiles all round. We didn’t find the Pygmy Blue Whales, but what we saw was amazing.
Three days later we were out again and this time with perfect weather. However, the ocean was very quiet for the first hour. Then we saw the Pygmy Killer Whales, Short-finned Pilot Whales and Fraser’s Dolphins again. And this time they were joined by a small pod of Risso Dolphins, and we suspect a few Melon-headed Whales. We had only spent 30 minutes with these cetaceans when we heard that a Pygmy Blue Whale had been sighted nearby.
Most of the whale watching operators work together, sharing sightings and whales. Our guide Marti Walton told us about the procedure and guidelines. The boats slowly follow the whale to study their breathing and diving pattern. Calm whales generally take two to four breathes at the surface and then submerge for four to ten minutes, allowing the boats to drop people in front of the whale as it approaches. Only four people and a guide are allowed in the water at a time, and they don’t swim with mothers and calves or feeding whales.
Arriving where the whale had been sighted, there were already four other boats slowly cruising along. After scanning the ocean for several minutes, we finally saw a blow and the back of the mighty Pygmy Blue Whale.
At first this whale appeared to be very calm, so we moved into position for a drop. The skipper said go and we jumped in and swam towards the last spot we had seen the whale. I scanned the blue water, left, right, below and all around, but nothing. It seemed like minutes passed, but it was probably seconds, and then suddenly I saw a large grey shape below. I freedived down to 8m and watching in awe as the 20m long Pygmy Blue Whale glided below me. I snapped a few quick photos, but was more over-joyed at seeing this immense whale, the largest thing I had ever seen underwater.
Keen for another jump, we followed the whale. However, this tricky whale had over ideas. For the next hour six boats followed it, but the whale decided it didn’t like this game and each time it came up for a few breaths it would then dived for up to 30 minutes and completely changed direction. We didn’t get any more drops and gave up on the whale and instead decided to look for Sperm Whales. Unfortunately, these whales eluded us, and storm clouds chased us back to port.
The following morning was our last day of whale watching, and the weather was once again perfect. As we departed Dili we heard the good news that two Pygmy Blue Whales had already been spotted, so we raced east along the coast to be the first to find them. Thirty minutes later we spotted the first whale, and to our great delight it wasn’t one whale, but a group of three travelling together.
I let the others in our group go first, as most had missed seeing the whale the day before, and they came up all smiles having seen the whale underwater. My day didn’t start so good, as the first drop I saw nothing but blue water. My second drop was far more successful, getting to see the whale swimming under me, and this time I got some decent photos. However, by then five other boats had joined us, and while we all took turns in getting in the water, it did start to feel a little crowded. Our skipper Simon then said that two more whales had been seen to the east and maybe we should look for then. We agreed and it turned out to be the right call.
Only thirty minutes later we spotted two more whales, and they quickly came in close together. We followed for thirty minutes to establish their breathing/diving patterns and were amazed when we realised it was three whales swimming close together. My first drop on these whales was something I will never forget.
I slipped into the water and finned in the direction of the whale. I looked below, like before, expecting the whale to be in the depths, so was stunned when I looked forward to see the whale still at the surface and about to dive. As I watched this gentle giant slowly descended, gliding by me only 4m away. Then I suddenly realised there was another whale at its shoulder. I was spellbound as I watched these two immense whales swim by. Fortunately, I did remember to take a few photos.
Over the next hour we got several more drops on these whales. Sometimes I missed them completely, including one time when a whale swam each side of me just out of view, and other times we got it just right. On each of these drops I only saw singular whales, but each time it was incredible.
The afternoon was a bit of a letdown after all the excitement of the morning. We saw a few more Pygmy Blue Whales on the surface, but didn’t get any more drops, and unfortunately the Sperm Whales eluded us. With the wind picking up we headed back to port after one of the most amazing days of my life.
Nigel Marsh Photography
Each year Nigel Marsh leads special photography group trips to dive destinations across the globe. On these trips Nigel is on hand to help improve your underwater photography and does regular talks on photography and marine life. In November 2026 he will be leading a special trip back to Timor Leste organised by Diveplanit.
