Whale watching

Each year several southern Humpback Whale groups leave their feeding grounds in the Antarctic to begin their epic voyage of approximately 10,000 kilometres. One of the groups travel up along the eastern seaboard of Australia, passing Batemans Bay on their way to their birthing and mating grounds in the sub tropical waters of the Great Barrier Reef beyond Hervey Bay. At birth Humpback Whale calves have little body fat and would not survive in the icy waters of the Antarctic hence the annual return to the warm northerly waters.

During their northern migration, most whales come within 3 km of the NSW coast. Headlands and lookouts in national parks can be the perfect place to see them from a distance, or you can come aboard Wandera and see them close up. Late morning and early afternoon are reasonably good times of the day to whale watch, as the glare off the water doesn't make sighting the tell-tale 'blow' too difficult to see.

The Humpback Whale is the most commonly observed, and is often seen breaching and feeding of its return trip to the Antarctic. Other species such as Right Whales, the rare Blue Whales and Killer Whales (Orcas) together with seals and dolphins are often sighted. As whales go, Humpbacks are medium sized. They grow to about 15 to 18 metres long and are black with white markings on the underside of their tails, flippers and dorsal fin. Humpbacks have the largest pectoral fins of any of the great whales and the sound of their fins and tails slapping on the water travels a long way. The tail flukes of Humpbacks can be over 5.5 metres wide and have markings unique to each individual.

Around September, the baby whales can be seen accompanying their mothers on the return journey to the colder feeding grounds of the Southern Ocean. The whales travel in small groups separated by distances of 10 to 100 kilometres. It takes about 90 days for them all to pass one point. So, with two aproximately three month windows of opportunity to see the whales, why not consider joining a Wandera cruise and get up close to these mighty creatures.