Whale watching in Hervey Bay on Tasman Venture

LEANNE Edmistone takes her family on a whale watching holiday in Hervey Bay.

Supplied Travel Whale breaching beside Tasman Venture, Hervey Bay. Picture: Tasman Venture for Leanne Edmistone s

GENTLE breezes barely ruffle the crystal blue of the ocean, the horizon melding seamlessly into the clear blue skies above. Conditions could not have been more perfect and anticipation was building.

An excited call went up, all eyes honed to a spot on the horizon, straining to catch another glimpse. There, did you see it?! Again, an instantly recognisable tail breaks the surface. A humpback whale!

Magical, spiritual, awe-inspiring: these are the words my Irish friend used to describe this, her first experience whale watching in Hervey Bay. My boys, Masters 7 and 4, were also thrilled.

I could not have agreed more. We cherish shared memories vastly different to those of my disappointing first and (til now) only trip more than 10 years ago. Much has changed, and for the better.

Hervey Bay is the undisputed home of whale watching in Australia and unique globally as the only genuine stop-over on the humpback whales’ 10,000 km migration between Antarctica and the sub-tropical waters of eastern Australia and Fiji.

An estimated 20,000 humpback whales will migrate north this year, up from about 2,000 in 1992 when local studies started. They spend an average 10 days resting and playing in the unique natural catchment between Hervey Bay and Fraser Island. It is here that mothers teach their calves survival skills.

Eight tour operators – many with more than two decades’ experience – ferry an average 50,000 visitors between August and October into Fraser’s Platypus Bay and surrounding Great Sandy Marine Park for guaranteed up-close encounters with whales in the wild.

We spent the afternoon aboard 20m catamaran Tasman Venture, owned by Lloyd and Robyn Burgess, and generally hosted by Vicki Neville who founded Paddle Out for Whales, a conservation/anti-whaling event held annually in July as part of the Hervey Bay Whale Festival.

We knew we were in for a good afternoon, upon seeing the wide smiles of disembarking morning guests and hearing the praise of a duo who fly up from Sydney annually to take every daily tour for a week aboard this vessel.

A whale creates a colourful display. Picture: Leanne Edmistone

The whales are certainly the star attraction, but the pleasure of riding on the bow of a flying catamaran enjoying warm sun, refreshing sea air and the beautiful landscapes of Fraser Island in perfect conditions should not be under-estimated.

After about an hour we arrived in Platypus Bay and the, ahem, hunt began. It was a slow start after that first initial tail sighting, and the crew again reminded us we were in the realm of wild creatures, not trained circus animals, which can spend up to 40 minutes underwater at a time.

A young adult male was spotted playing, slapping his enormous pectoral fin. He stayed with us for a few minutes, before again submerging and heading off. Another was spotted further away with a playful dolphin, and we made our way over. This whale was a little more curious, swimming under and around the boat, his enormous form visible a metre or so below the surface.

Eagle-eyed and knowledgeable crew kept up a running commentary of interesting facts about the humpback whales and their life in Hervey Bay, in the lulls while waiting for whales to appear or re-appear.

Reports came in of a large pod of whales not too far away, so we sped over to witness what is known as a “pursuit pod” – in this case four males pursuing and fighting for the right to woo a female.

It was truly an amazing sight to behold, as these huge, majestic creatures swam past, alongside, around and under us. Almost in sync they came to the surface again and again, mist ejecting from their blowholes as they took another breath, ready for the next leg of this amazing race of life.

The boat did not appear to bother them in the slightest, and several times two or three of the whales emerged from the deep close enough to almost touch. We followed, watched and marvelled for more than 40 minutes, before oh-so reluctantly turning for home.

Breeches, mugging and seeing a giant head rising out of the deep to cast an curious eye over the watchers are used extensively in marketing and no doubt would be thrilling sights, but don’t under-estimate the magic of every sighting.

Where else can you see this giant of the deep up close and personal, in their natural habitat, wild and free? Nowhere, but Hervey Bay. Right on our door step. Now, that’s what I call lucky.

The writer and her family were guests of Fraser Coast Opportunities.

GO2 HERVEY BAY

Getting there

Hervey Bay is 290km north of Brisbane, a direct drive of about three and a half hours. QantasLink has daily flights from Brisbane to Hervey Bay, while Virgin Australia has direct daily flights from Sydney to Hervey Bay with connection from most capital cities (not Brisbane). Queensland Rail operates regular services from Brisbane, Rockhampton and Cairns to Maryborough West, with coach transfers to Hervey Bay.

Doing there

Eight tour operators – many of whom have been in operation more than two decades - offer whole and half-day whale watching packages, leaving from Hervey Bay Marina.

We travelled with the Tasman Venture, owned by Lloyd and Robyn Burgess. Our on-board host was Vicki Neville, founder of Paddle Out for Whales, a conservation/anti-whaling event held annually in July as part of the Hervey Bay Whale Festival. Ph 1800 620 322 or see www.tasmanventure.com.au

More

whalesherveybay.com.au

Originally published as Whale watching in Hervey Bay on Tasman Venture