Whale watching

As the sun rose over the marina we saw two beautiful pelicans floating nearby and took it to be a sign that today would be a good day for spotting whales. In Hervey Bay September and October are the best months to see humpback whales and their calves who are building up blubber in the bay before they set off to their colder feeding waters of the Antarctic. Humpbacks can grow up to 40 meters and have white undersides, grey backs and are usually covered in barnacles. Whale hunting was banned in Australia in the 1960s and in the last 20 years the whales have started to lose their fear of the boats and may even come close and show off their calves. This was exactly what happened to us, an enormous mother whale (15 Metres long and more than 3 Metres wide) and her calf swam right underneath the boat. They played around the boat, flipping onto their backs and seemed to wave to us and the rest of the delighted audience, with their fins. You cannot imagine the giant majesty of these creatures as they gracefully and agily glide around the boat. They were so close we could almost touch them and so so big. Soon another mother and calf joined the first two and we were treated to a show of blowing and diving and even the occasional jump. Awesome!!