Hervey Bay whale watching season begins

With the first of more than 40,000 humpback whales having arrived in Queensland’s Hervey Bay on their annual 5,000-kilometre migration, the official whale watching season was recently opened by Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

Whale watching experiences in Hervey Bay are different from all others because whales come into the warm, shallow waters of the Bay to rest on their journey from the Antarctic to the northern tropics.

With humpback numbers growing by 10%, local whale tourism operators say this season is shaping up as one of the biggest.

Minister Hinchliffe advised “It’s terrific to hear some operators are taking bookings from overseas in a sign of growing international traveller confidence.

“More domestic and international visitors are seeking out unique ecotourism experiences and whale watching is on just about every bucket list.”

Local State Member for Hervey Bay Adrian Tantari said almost a third of all visitors to Hervey Bay went humpback whale watching noting “we’re one of the best places in the world to see humpbacks perform and one of the planet’s first Whale Heritage Sites.”

Fraser Coast Tourism and Events Chief Executive Martin Simons said Australia’s first commercial whale watching boat tours started in 1987 at Hervey Bay and added “this region was instrumental in setting up a sustainable code for whale-human interactions, since copied around the world.

“It’s the largest mammal migration in the world.

“Here the whales are relaxed, and the mothers take time to train their calves, sometimes pushing them right up to boats. The whales are as interested in the boats as visitors are in them.”

Prime whale watching season is from July to October.

Image courtesy Whale Watching Hervey Bay