Whale watching season opens in Newcastle

Newcastle's 2013 whale watching season has opened with the city offering some of Australia's best locations to watch these frolicking giants of the sea, as well as a range of whale watching tours to get up close and personal with these gentle monsters of the deep.

From May through to August each year, Newcastle's coastline comes alive with the annual migration of thousands of majestic humpback whales.

As well as whales, dolphins, seals, sea birds, sharks and more can be seen from the City's shores.

Welcoming the arrival of the 2013 season, Peter Hanrahan, General Manager for Newcastle whale watching tour company NOVA Cruises explained "this year over 15,000 Humpback whales will be making their annual migration from the freezing Antarctic waters passing Newcastle on their way to the warmer tropical waters of Northern Queensland for breeding.

"The very first whales to travel past Newcastle on their 10,000 kilometre round trip are usually the sexually active adults. These are big animals up to 19 metres in length and up to 45 tonnes in weight."

Whale watching packages are offered by:

NOVA Cruises - who offer a 2.5 to 3 hour ocean voyage to witness part of the migration of over 15,000 Humpback whales.

Moonshadow Cruises offer a 2.5 to 3 hour cruise with an excellent humpback whale sighting rate, bonus dolphin watch, morning or afternoon tea, commentary, underwater video cameras, ocean going cruise including spectacular Tomaree and Yacaaba headlands and the outer Islands.

Quality Hotel NOAHs on the Beach offer a whale spotters package with the opportunity to spot humpback whales from guest's ocean view rooms at Newcastle's only beach front hotel.

For more information on whale watching and other attractions and events in Newcastle, go to www.facebook.com/visitnewcastle

Lower image shows seals resting on a cargo ship anchored off Newcastle, as viewed from a NOVA Cruises tour.

11th September 2012 - WHALES HELPING TO BOOST TOURISM ON THE NSW SOUTH COAST