Whales spotted off Sydney Harbour during annual northern migration

As temperatures drop, a giant of the sea is migrating north, with some 40,000 to pass Sydney on a journey from Antarctica to warmer waters.

Whale watching season is upon Sydney. Picture: Go Whale Watching/Ariel Baron

Whale hello there!

Whale watchers have been treated to a spectacular sight off Sydney Harbour, with a pod of humpbacks leaping from the water and even appearing to wave for the cameras on Tuesday.

And the sightings are set to keep coming, with about 40,000 humpbacks passing Sydney on their annual migration from Antarctica to the warmer waters of the Pacific between May and November each year.

A chance sighting of whales off the cliffs at Bondi Beach sparked a deep love for the giants of the sea in Sydney-based wildlife photographer Ariel Baron, who captured these images on a Go Whale Watching boat tour.

“At the moment, we are at the peak of the northern migration, where the whales travel from Antarctica to warmer waters in the Coral Coast,” she said.

Whales are travelling to warmer waters as part of a seasonal migration. Picture: Go Whale Watching/Ariel Baron

“Whale watching is a pretty incredible experience to get to go out in the ocean and then see these wild animals in their natural habitat that are just massive.”

Ms Baron said the experience was still exhilarating, despite her having photographed the sea creatures for several years.

Ms Baron said whale-watching was an “incredible” experience. Picture: Go Whale Watching/Ariel Baron

“It is a pretty special feeling, and a pretty exciting feeling to be out there with them,” she said.

“And there’s just nothing like whale watching, when you hear the blow, when they take their exhale, and you can sometimes hear it. It’s just incredible.”

Originally published as Whales spotted off Sydney Harbour during annual northern migration