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Whale Watching in Hervey Bay
Welcome to Hervey Bay. A haven for humpbacks, and a must-do bucket list item for any wildlife lover. The world’s first Whale Heritage Site, Hervey Bay is scientifically recognised as a rare stopover site for migrating humpback whales, making it an eco-experience uniquely different from any other whale watching destination along the east coast of Australia (and the world).
Like thousands of tourists each year, Hervey Bay is where the whales choose to stop, stay and play during the cooler months of their annual winter migration. These intelligent and inquisitive creatures utilise the calm, subtropical waters of Platypus Bay to rest, relax and nurse their young, before heading back to their feeding grounds in Antarctica for summer.
Famous for our close encounters, Hervey Bay has gained international recognition as one of the best places in the world to get ‘mugged’ by whales. Bouncing back from the brink of extinction, Hervey Bay’s unique connection with humpback whales has blossomed over decades of eco-tourism in the area. Proudly known as Australia’s whale watching capital, we truly are the best place for an up-close and personal experience with these gentle giants.
Enter our whale watching competition here.
The journey
Thousands of Humpback whales pass by our coastline each year during their annual migration; from their feeding grounds in the Antarctic to their breeding and nursing grounds in tropical north Queensland.
It is here that pregnant females give birth to their 5-meter long (and 2-tonne!) calves. The gestation period for humpbacks is approximately 11-months and once born, calves accompany mum on the annual migration, nursing until at least their first birthday.
It is a constant journey, either north or south, depending on the time of the season. But there is one special place on Australia’s east coast where the whales stop to take a break – Hervey Bay.
It’s here in our Whale Heritage Site, where the whales rest, and calves practise the incredible behaviours whale watchers yearn to see, from breaching, spy-hopping to tail slapping.
Did you know? Twenty years of scientific research has proven that Hervey Bay is the only genuine stopover in what is one of the longest mammal migration journeys on the planet – a 10,000-kilometer round trip from the southern ocean to the tropics and back again.
Join us from mid-July until October
Many describe coming face-to-face for the first time with these graceful 40-tonne giants as a spiritual experience. Because they are relaxed (and not migrating), the whales are just as interested in ‘people watching’ as we are whale watching – sometimes spending hours eyeballing, slapping, spy-hopping and breaching within arms length of the boats.
Hop on board and join our fleet of specially designed vessels this winter, and see what all the fuss is about. Our fleet offers eco-certified encounters, departing daily from Hervey Bay’s Great Sandy Straits Marina between July and October each year, respectfully observing the thousands of east coast humpback whales in the protected waters of our marine park, in the lee of K’gari (Fraser Island).
Eco-experiences range from intimate all-day sailing expeditions, to half-day trips catered for all ages and abilities. From underwater viewing rooms, to hydraulic lift platforms with optional whale immersion excursions, our dedicated crew is there to help you experience these magnificent creatures in the best (and safest) ways possible.
Devoted to sustainable whale watching practices, our experienced and passionate fleet operates together as one big team. Respectfully abiding by the highest industry standards and regulations, Hervey Bay’s fleet is there to get you to the heart of the action – and ensure you have a whale of a day out on the water.
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Breach
The money shot! When a humpback whale hauls most (sometimes all) of its 40-tonnes of bodyweight completely out of the water.
Mugging
What we are famous for in Hervey Bay. When an inquisitive humpback whale approaches and interacts with a stationary vessel.
Fluke Slap
Surface slapping with the humpback’s tail fluke.
Spy Hop
When a humpback whale completely lifts its head vertically out of the water, to ‘eyeball’ its surroundings and those on the surface.
Pectoral Slap
Surface slapping with the humpback’s pectoral fin.
Peduncle Roll
When the strongest muscle in the animal kingdom, the caudal peduncle (or tail) thrashes the surface, rolling the humpback horizontally.
Head Lunge
When a humpback lunges headfirst on the surface of the water. The opposite behaviour of a breach.
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#visitfrasercoast #whalesherveybay
The world’s first Whale Heritage Site
Hervey Bay’s reputation as Australia’s whale watching capital was made official in October 2019, when the region was dubbed the world’s first Whale Heritage Site by the World Cetacean Alliance.
This 6, 000 square-kilometer area, covers about 20 percent of the Great Sandy Marine Park, spanning from Rooneys Point, across to Burrum Heads, and as far south as Big Woody Island. The area is part of the wider Great Sandy Biosphere, awarded reserve status by UNESCO back in 2009.
Today’s Hervey Bay whale fleet operates in the renamed Great Sandy Marine Park under strict regulations, aimed at ensuring the thousands of whales that come into Hervey Bay each year are protected – and that they keep coming back in greater numbers.
Joined by a select few ecologically significant sites for cetaceans worldwide, including The Bluff in South Africa, and Dana Point in the USA, our heritage-listed waters puts us on the map as a gold standard destination for eco-tourism, paving the way for sustainable whale watching practises worldwide.
The world’s first Whale Heritage Site
To qualify, a Whale Heritage Site must ensure the highest standard in respectful human-wildlife interactions, as well as showing active engagement by the local community and their tourists with marine life through art, music, science, education and other heritage and cultural events.
“These sites will become places where people respect, celebrate and protect cetaceans and their habitats long into the future.” WCA Honorary President, Jean-Michael Cousteau
As well as amazing personal experiences on the water, visitors can experience our unique connection to the humpbacks through various art installations, including the 30-tonne statue of one of our region’s most beloved whales, Nala, outside The Discovery Sphere along Main Street, Pialba.
In 2019 for the World Whale Conference, Artists Cave Urban and the Fraser Coast community, created a stunning bamboo art piece that you can find at the Hervey Bay Visitor Information Centre. This eco-friendly creation aims to inspire change while protecting the cetacean habitat from ocean-destroying plastics.
Hervey Bay Whale Festival
Whales are also celebrated annually during the month-long Hervey Bay Whale Festival, which features six back-to-back signature cultural events over two weekends in Hervey Bay.
The festival lineup in 2021 includes the popular Blessing of the Fleet and Paddle Out for Whales (pictured), plus a stellar program of new and revamped events, including Song to the Ocean, Seafood Festival, and the much-loved Whale Parade and Family Day.
The annual festival commemorates the beginning of another whale watching season here in Hervey Bay, and celebrates our unique connection to these incredible animals through artistic displays, live music, parades, workshops, food and other action-packed activities suitable for the whole family.
To view the full program for this year’s festival (July 29 – August 8), click here
Hervey Bay Fun Facts
Nala the Whale
One of Hervey Bay’s most well-studied and loved whales, Nala, is what researchers call a ‘tail-up feeder’. First spotted in the bay in 1992, Nala nurses her calves by resting vertically (most rest horizontally) in the water. She even has a statue dedicated to her at the Fraser Coast Bay Discovery Sphere.
Sheltered and calm
Hervey Bay, with its sheltered, shallow and calm waters at depths of only 20-25 meters, is the perfect place for humpbacks to get quality R & R before their long journey back to the southern feeding grounds in the Antarctic. Research has shown Hervey Bay is the place along the east coast of Australia where the whales deliberately choose to stopover.
Swim with the whales
In 2017, Hervey Bay introduced its whale immersion (swim) program, one of few places in Australia where guests have the unique opportunity to get much closer to these gentle giants. With several whale fleet operators offering swim-with experiences in the right conditions, guests now have the chance to truly see eye-to-eye with humpback whales in their own environment.
More than humpbacks
Hervey Bay is most famous for humpbacks, but they are not the only whale species that frequent our waters. Southern right whales, minke and dwarf minke whales, pilot whales, melon-headed whales, sperm whales and even orcas have all been sighted in the area on occasion.
Australia’s first whale watching destination
From 1986, Hervey Bay was the first location in Australia to offer commercial whale watching boat tours. Local operators were instrumental in the humpback recovery campaign post-whaling, establishing the then Hervey Bay Marine Park in 1989, and setting up a sustainable code of conduct for whale-human interactions – which has since been replicated around the globe.
Migaloo the Whale
Migaloo, fondly known as ‘white fella’, was first documented in Hervey Bay back in 1992, then again in 1993. The albino, adult male humpback whale, was thought to be born in the late 1980’s making him approximately 30 years old.
Image: @craigparryphotography
Image: @craigparryphotography
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