Sei Whale Trip Report 2026.
TRIP 1

Patagonia, Argentina
March 20 - 31, 2026

*This was an exploratory expedition, carried out under government permit, giving us rare access to these waters and the opportunity to document what we found.

March 20, 2026. Day One (Sort Of)

Today was supposed to be a travel day.

But the weather has other plans.

A storm is moving in, and it looks like we’re going to lose a couple of days this week… so we go now.

Last night, around 8pm, the guys picked me up at the airport and laid out the plan.

“We’re starting tomorrow.”

I’m all for it.

But I’m wrecked.

Three flights.
One of them ten hours.

I was ready for a slow morning today… maybe sleep in a bit.

Definitely not happening.

I put my gear together, prepped my underwater camera Gloria, and then caught a few hours of needed sleep.

8:00am
The ocean is calling… Let’s Gooo!!!

We are sitting at the airport waiting for Antonio and Ernesto to land. Marisa doesn’t arrive until late tonight, so she will miss today unfortunately.

They are all such great friends and guests on this trip.

From here, we go straight to the marina.

No easing into this one.

11:00am
We’re heading out.

Reports of sei whales feeding just six miles off the coast.

Time to see these whales and find out what this area is all about.

And then…

We find them.

I’m in the water with a sei whale.

A sei whale!

It is a new species for me.

And for a moment, I’m not a guide. Not a photographer.

Just… a kid again.

I am on fire inside.

Okay.

Starstruck moment is over.

Back to reality.

The water sucks.

It is murky and green. 

Thick with plankton.

The kind of visibility that makes everything harder.

But maybe that’s part of it.

Part of why they’re still so unknown.

Big, beautiful baleen whales…the third largest whale in the world.

Living in water that hides them.

But I have seen the footage of them here in crystal clear blue water, so I know the water here cleans up.

But right now it’s horrible.

And everywhere… these tiny red crustaceans.

They are in the lower ten feet of the water column.

They are small, clawed, lobster-like creatures. Likely Munida… squat lobsters. 

Whatever they are, they’re the reason the whales are here.

The reason we’re here.

I jumped in a lot today.

The water is very cold but tolerable. I am not using gloves and I am fine.

Chasing those moments.

I got two good passes.

Just two.

But the vis is bad.

I got a proof of life shot and a decent tail shot today, but that was it.

And that’s the game.

I’m exhausted.

Going to finish this tomorrow.

March 21, 2026. Day Two (Officially Day One)

Bumpier seas today.

But a beautiful morning.

We didn’t have to search long.

This time…

The whale found us.

We slipped in.

And for a moment, it worked.

It was a curious whale.

It gave us close passes, just enough to feel it.

But the visibility… Still rough.

No photos today.

These are going to be a challenge.

And that’s already becoming clear this season,

The ocean isn’t going to give away her gifts easy.

March 22, 2026. Day Three

We didn’t rush out this morning.

We couldn’t, because the wind was raging.

By 2:00pm, we were still waiting.

Watching.

Hoping it would lay down.

It finally did.

Around 3:00pm there was just enough of a window to go.

Not much time, but that’s what this trip is.

Small windows.
Limited chances.
Take it or miss it.

And that’s the truth of this place.

This trip is not for everyone.

It’s cold.
The encounters are short.
The conditions are tough.

But if the idea of finding… and maybe photographing one of the least known great whales on this planet fires you up.

Then this is exactly where you want to be.

This is really exciting, our group is the first to attempt this.

Documentary teams and researchers have been out here before, but recreational photographers (under permit), here to document this whale is definitely a first. 

We got out there.

And there were whales.

A lot of them.

Feeding.

Six… maybe more… all working the same area.

Feeding on those tiny red crustaceans.

We were in and out of the water all afternoon.

But the visibility was brutal.

Even when we were right next to them, we couldn’t barely see them.

And somehow it didn’t matter.

We found a curious whale late in the day.

It stayed with us, circling and passing us.

Coming back again and again.

We couldn’t see it clearly. 

The drone could, but we couldn’t.

Not the way we wanted it, and not the way we imagined it.

But we could feel it.

And that was enough.

Conditions ruined the images, and normally, I’d be gutted.

But today I let it go.

Because I remembered… I am swimming with a sei whale.

One of the least known of all the great whales.

In a world where everything feels photographed…

This still feels untouched.

Damn what a dream.

On the way back in, a pod of oceanic bottlenose dolphins found us. They were huge.

The sun was dropping.

The light was perfect.

We stayed on the surface… shooting topside as they moved around us.

A perfect ending to the day.

Back at the boat house…

The crew had a barbecue going.

Good food.
Good people.
That kind of tired you earn.

So grateful for today.

March 23, 2026. Day Four

6:30am
We’re heading out early.

A front is pushing in from the north around 9:00am.

The plan is simple.

Get out.
Find the whales.
Be done before the storm hits.

And ride the wind back in.

That’s the plan anyway.

What happened today was something else entirely.

We found a juvenile sei whale.

And from the start,

It was different.

It kept approaching the boat.

Super curious.

We’d slip in the water…

And it would explode away fast.

Then it would circle back.

We’d try jumping in again.

Once we were in the water

It was gone.

This happened over and over.

Like a game.

Like it was trying to figure us out.

So this time we stayed on the boat when it approached.

And we started talking to it.

And then…

Something we have never seen before happened.

The whale lifted its head out of the water.

Just enough.

Listening.

It stayed with us.

Holding pace with the boat.

Rising its head up again and again, as if it was trying to hear us.

At one point… it opened it’s mouth, not clear what it was doing.

It came right up alongside us.

Closer than expected.

None of us had seen this behavior before.

Not like this.

A young whale…

Curious enough to approach and listen.

It was n extraordinary experience.

What a great day!

March 24, 2026. Weather Day Today.

We are headed to a rewilding park.

This land was purchased by the owner of North Face. It was once a sheep farm, but all the livestock was removed to allow the land and wildlife to recover.

They introduced eco cabins, and people can stay there and explore and experience the land and wildlife as it should be, without the pressure of growth and development.

We have spent four days on the water so far, seeing sei whales every day. 

Considering this is a rare and not very well-documented whale, it truly is a privilege to see just one of these whales. We have seen a lot of whales. 

It’s been an amazing experience. 

I can definitely see the potential of this place. We just need these storms to blow through and change directions so that the clean water can move back in. 

With how curious these whales are, it would be all-time great.

We arrived at the rewilding place.

The owner of North Face fell was traveling and adventuring through Argentina and fell in love with this place and decided to give back for his amazing life and the success of North Face. So he bought it, and protected the land and the surrounding waters.

And we can see why he fell in love, it is an absolutely breathtaking location. 

When we arrived, a group of lesser rheas were grazing near the HQ lodge.

I was on fire… I wanted to go photograph them, but I needed to go say hi to the team in charge of this place.

After the pleasantries and a briefing on the work they have done here, which is amazing, they released me to go and find wildlife to photograph.

I took off running.

The rheas were gone, and I missed my shot at photographing them. 

I did find some small songbirds to snap, but it wasn’t the rhea, which I have been coveting for a long, long time.

Later, after checking in, we encountered quite a few animals.

A few European hares, which I found out were introduced into the area by early explorers, seeding the area for food for themselves.

We found more rheas. I tried to snap some images, but they wanted nothing to do with us and took off fast.

Not much time with them, and sadly no good photos either. 

We saw lots of guanacos, had a fast encounter with a hairy armadillo and a mara. No photos this time, but I’ll try again later.

Also photographed some waterfowl. I found a beautiful white-cheeked pintail duck that was just so pretty. They have bright red eyes, with nice coloration. Just a good-looking duck.

We also went for a horseback ride, which was fun. It had been a long minute since I’ve ridden a horse.

Riding through the landscape made me fantasize about those early wildlife explorers who were visiting these places in search of exotic wildlife.

There were no planes or cars. Those guys came by boat, train, and horse. 

There were no roads and no map, just stories from the locals about animals that were seen. 

They were true explorers, bringing back those first animals, creating drawings and paintings, and eventually those first cameras to describe and detail what they saw.

Mad respect for the first few.

March 25, 2026. 8:00am. Day four.

We packed up and left the rewilding place and headed over to the elephant seal ranch.

We drove three hours to the ranch and caught up with my buddy Angiolo, who is joining us this up coming week for sei whales. Our second trip. 

When we got to the beach, the winds were howling. We got a little protection from the mountains behind us. 

Not much, but some.

We started walking towards the seals. The winds were blowing hard, sand in our faces, but it was doable.

We found a few sleeping in the sand.

We left them, because we knew there was a bigger group a mile away from these guys, so we kept walking.

We got to one spot where the mountains didn’t offer any wind protection, and the wind hit us hard. 

We paused, and were gonna wait to see if the wind died down. But in the distance, we could see two males fighting on the beach. 

Man, I pulled my cap down and sprinted hard against the wind.

The sky was filled with sand, and it was blowing hard against my face, and it stung. 

But fighting elephant seals on the beach motivated me to keep pressing forward.

We got back to the protection of the mountains, and the winds died down a bit.

We got to the fighting seals, and it was two juvenile males play fighting, or practicing for the next season.

In fact, all around us were juvenile males all play fighting everywhere.

We had an epic, epic morning photographing this amazing group of seals. 

They were so active this afternoon. 

Not sure if it was a high tide thing or the cloud cover keeping the sun’s heat from crashing down on them, but many of them were super active.

Normally elephant seals just sleep.

On the way back to our lodge at the end of the day, Maxi, our guide and driver, spotted a lesser rhea on the side of the road. 

He pulled over, and I managed a few shots. A couple of them came out so good… 

I am happy to report I finally got my shot.

Today marked the end of my time with our first group of friends who joined me and the welcome of our second group, who were arriving later today.

Sad to see my buddies go, so thankful for any time we have together.