White whale Migaloo passes the Gold Coast under cover of darkness but could be spotted at South Stradbroke Island today

MIGALOO has once again swum past the Gold Coast under the cover of darkness — but whale watchers could spot him near South Straddie this morning.

Migaloo breaching off Surfer's Paradise during Southern migration last year.

MIGALOO, the big white whale, has once again swum past the Gold Coast under the cover of darkness and is expected near South Stradbroke Island at daybreak today.

The extremely rare hypo-pigmented humpback was spotted near Cape Byron around 2pm yesterday on his seasonal migration towards far north Queensland.

MIGALOO JUST HOURS FROM THE GOLD COAST

Bruce Nicholls, owner of Gold Coast Adventures, said Migaloo was expected to reach Gold Coast waters yesterday before sunset, but decided to frolic near Brunswick Heads before continuing his journey after dark.

“He usually swims as though he’s on a mission, so we expected him to be around Kingscliff or Coolangatta by sunset, but he decided to stay and play down near Brunswick,” Mr Nicholls said.

“We are hoping he will come past South Stradbroke early (this) morning so we will have one of our boats out there to try and get a glimpse of him.

Migaloo breaching off Surfers Paradise during southern migration last year.

“It’s very exciting as he isn’t usually this close to the coastline — last year we didn’t get to see him as he was too far away.”

Mr Nicholls said whale numbers were up almost 15 per cent on last year, compared to the usual 10 per cent yearly increase.

“We purchased a new 20-seat whale watching vessel and had it ready for commercial operation in time for Migaloo’s arrival,” he said.

“It was a great warm-up for us in the boat before we start daily VIP tours next Monday.”

Whale enthusiast Oskar Peterson, founder of migaloo.com.au, said the white whale was “a living legend” with worldwide attention.

“He has travelled the entire NSW coastline in exactly a week. When he arrived in Sydney the whole world took notice of him,” Mr Peterson said. “He’s right on schedule.”

Mr Peterson said at age 28 Migaloo was a powerful swimmer. “He travels around 7km/h with a pod of black whales,” he said.

The warmer days appeared to be having adverse effects on Migaloo’s pale complexion, according to Mr Peterson.

“His skin is getting yellower each year, which marine biologists think is because of his exposure to the sun — basically he has sunburn that keeps getting worse.”