Humpback Heaven

In the calm waters of Hervey Bay, Jennifer Ennion meets the migrating marine giants who drop into one of the world’s great whale nurseries every year

“Quite often we get whales checking people out because they’re really inquisitive and curious” Vicki Neville

It’s called whale watching, but during any excursion to view these majestic mammals in Queensland’s Hervey Bay, it’s usually the humans who find themselves under inspection.

Forget scanning the water’s surface for glimpses of the mighty creatures; in this shallow, temperate whale playground, they’ll come right up to your tour boat, look you in the eye and put on a performance to remember, with acrobatic displays, tail-slapping, diving and singing.

It’s playful antics such as these that have resulted in the region being one of only three locations under consideration for Whale Heritage Site status by the World Cetacean Alliance. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service principal ranger Alan Dyball says Hervey Bay is an exceptional place to see thousands of whales each July-November season.

“Hervey Bay is really special because it’s a declared marine park and internationally important wetland, and it’s edged by a World Heritage area,” Alan says.

That would be the world’s largest sand island, Fraser Island, which has been World Heritage-listed for 25 years. It acts as a barrier to rough seas and predators, creating a calm and protected bay for the whales on their southward migration to Antarctica.

With a deepest point of 20m, the bay is a haven for mothers to nurse their calves and for juveniles to play.

“Hervey Bay is crucial for the humpback, which is a vulnerable, recovering species,” Alan says.

“It’s the most important nursery stop on the southern journey of the eastern Australian group of humpbacks.”

About 30 per cent of whales on this annual migration go into the bay to fatten up their calves for the long journey back to Antarctica; without the energy and blubber gained during this stopover, the young whales wouldn’t survive the journey.

This break is also an opportunity for mothers to teach their calves behaviours such as breaching and slapping – all to the joy of tourists.

The whales visit between July and November and the Tasman Venture’s resident “whale whisperer”, interpretative guide Vicki Neville, says that during the season, close encounters with the whales are all but guaranteed.

“On average, we know each whale stays three to five days and because of that stopover, it makes for awesome whale watching,” she says. “They’re very relaxed and quite often we get them coming to the boats and checking people out because they’re really inquisitive and curious.”

The spy-hopping behaviour is when the whales bring their eyes close to the surface to have a look at all the tourists waving at them.

“It’s something that doesn’t happen at too many places around the world,” Vicki says.

For families, Hervey Bay offers plenty of choice when it comes to picking a whale watching experience to suit children’s needs, with quarter-, half- and full-day tours available.

The protected bay also ensures a memorable, safe and comfortable animal encounter for the youngest members of your clan.

“Because of the calm conditions in the bay, you don’t get a lot of rough weather,” Vicki says.

Best of all, sightings in Hervey Bay are guaranteed by most operators during the southern migration.

“We’ve always guaranteed sightings in Hervey Bay, because we know that the whales religiously come into the bay year after year,” Vicki says. “On any given day, there can be well over 100 of them.”

Since whaling was banned in 1963, the population of humpbacks visiting Australian waters has experienced a remarkable recovery.

“After whaling stopped in Queensland, there were only 400 to 800 whales in the eastern group,” Alan Dyball says.

“Now, there are an estimated 30,000, so in the 2018 season, we expect about 10,000 of those whales to come into Hervey Bay.”

Queensland’s other whalewatching hotspots include the Gold Coast, Whitsundays, Sunshine Coast and Tropical North Queensland.

Many operators now go beyond classic whale watching tours to include ‘swimming with the whales’ experiences (when weather and water conditions allow).

In Hervey Bay, Tasman Venture allows passengers to hop in the water while hanging off a rope that’s attached to their tender, while at Blue Dolphin Marine Tours, passengers can lie on a semi-submerged platform in their snorkelling gear.

tasmanventure.com.au; bluedolphintours.com.au