Tallo Billa: Deep Listening at Dusk

The trip:

The trip will begin at Sunreef Mooloolaba, where you will check-in with our friendly admin staff before heading down to our vessel Wild One. From here, the vessel will depart The Wharf and make its way through the calm waters of Mooloolah River. The team will introduce the project and equip everyone with wireless headphones. Once we exit the rivermouth, we will cruise to a pre-determined spot and anchor our vessel, deploy the hydrophones, and look out and listen in for humpbacks whales! You’ll be treated to an original, immersive experience of “Tallo-Billa,” a unique performance that combines live streaming of humpback whale song from underwater hydrophones with innovative soundscapes mixed live. The experience will begin with a Welcome to Sea Country from Kabi Kabi artist Lyndon Davis where Lyndon’s stories and knowledge will connect with the underwater soundscapes, the sounds of Lyndon playing didgeridoo on the boat will merge with live whale song for a once in a lifetime listening experience. This deeply immersive experience will be accompanied by the sun setting over the beautiful Sunshine Coast and provides a new way to connect with the ocean and our local marine ecosystems.  

 This activity is in open water and we suggest that you look into seasickness medication to minimize the chance of it impacting your experience.

Although we love hosting families with children, we unfortunately cannot take children under 8 years of age on our vessel. 

About Tallo-Billa 

“Tallo-Billa,” meaning ‘Humpback Whale’ in Kabi Kabi language, is at the heart of this Sunreef Experience. The audience will also receive a unique augmented reality print of Lyndon’s Tallo Billa painting, that will come to life with cymatic visualisations of humpback whale song and Lyndon’s voice. Developed by the Beeyali team, this project uses original visualisation techniques to create distinct audio-visual portraits to reveal environmental interconnection. The Beeyali project, conceived by Kabi Kabi artist Lyndon Davis, in collaboration with sound artist Dr Leah Barclay and photographer Dr Tricia King from the University of the Sunshine Coast, combines Indigenous knowledge, emerging science, and innovative technology to connect people with the environment in new ways. Beeyali is a call to action, exploring creative practice to raise awareness for the numerous vulnerable species in Queensland and beyond.