The Lofoten Islands are a chain of islands above the Arctic Circle. Think snowy mountains shooting straight up out of the sea. Just six nautical miles offshore — a one-hour boat trip — the continental shelf drops away to depths of 3,000 feet. Most other places in Europe involve a nine-hour trip to find these depths. Between May and September, massive sperm whales can be found in these nutrient-rich and deep waters.

This is a bachelor's society. The sperm whales in these waters are all male. The females remain in warmer seas further south, around the Azores and Canary Islands, with their young. The Lofoten Islands have always been a prime hunting ground for Norwegian whalers. However, these days cameras are replacing harpoons. Whale watching off northern Norway has become so popular that Norwegian authorities have set up a special whale route with car ferries linking the various islands in the area.

GORPtravel Norway trips

If you're a committed landlubber, you're in luck along the Whale Route. The Whale Route starts along the south of Capetown and extends to Durban, a whopping 1,200 plus miles of whale watching coastline. The route traverses several famous protected areas, including the Garden Route, Tsitsikamma National Park, and the Transkei. You can take it by foot, by bike, even by car.

At least 37 species of whales and dolphins can be found in the waters off South Africa. However, the Route is most famous for encounters with southern right whales, humpback whales, and several coastal dolphin species. Beyond close encounters with whales and dolphins, visitors can experience African penguins, Cape fur seals, black oystercatcher birds and a variety of other marine life.

GORPtravel South Africa trips

Spanking new Masoala National Park is an 840-square-mile chunk of tropical wilderness on the roadless edge of Antongil Bay. This is a picture-pristine area of unexplored beaches and ancient forests that is filled with rare, endemic species. The bay itself is just the sort of sheltered place that many whales use for breeding. This includes the 36-foot-long humpbacks.

They're here during breeding season, which means that any responsible operator will hang back. But listen up, it's while breeding that male humpbacks "sing" their eerie wail. Want to know what it sounds like? Rent Star Trek: The Voyage Home. Esther Williams has nothing on the humpbacks in this movie.

The whale watching industry here is new and unregulated, so please be conscientious in choosing an operator.

You'll find Kaikoura on the South Island of New Zealand. The waters here are both deep and rich in nutrients, making it one of the few places in the world where you can see sperm whales close to shore. Sperm whales are the longest and deepest diving of any cetacean; for the most part they inhabit deep water. Sperms are the Moby Dick whale. They were hunted for the waxy substance in their head, which does resemble sperm, and their plentiful blubber. From the bluffs here you can see the outlines of the whales, along with their especially powerful 15-foot "blows." (As in, "thar she blows!") But only the most-seasick prone will not want to take one of the many excellent whale watching cruises available here.

GORPtravel marine mammal trips in New Zealand

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands in the Japanese group and lies nestled in the Seto Inland Sea off the southeast coast of the main, and largest, island of Honshu. The mountainous island is one of the most rural areas of Japan and just happens to be an international trekker's destination. A sequence of 88 temples circle the coast of the island. Walking this circuit is a famous pilgrimage and is unusual in that it's a pilgrimage that doesn't have a final goal. You walk a circle, beginning anywhere.

Seems like the perfect mindset for an encounter with whales. Several well-organized whale watching trips head out from fishing villages, conducted by the same people who used to hunt whales.

GORPtravel trips in Japan