Hervey Bay

Visited: late winter/early spring

Recommendation: There is lots to see and do here even if the whales are not present. With lots of waterways and lagoons, it is a great place to explore.

We came to Harvey Bay for one purpose really, at very late winter, early spring, and that was to go out onto the water and see Humpback Whales. There are some great charters running from here, and at this time of year, calves, mothers, juveniles, come into the lee side of Fraser Island, K'gari.

Humpback whales undertake one of the longest migrations of any mammal, traveling up to 10,000 kilometres from their feeding grounds in the icy waters of Antarctica to the warm, tropical waters of Queensland to breed and calve. Unlike other places along the "Humpback Highway" where the whales simply pass by, Hervey Bay is a protected, sheltered bay thanks to the presence of K'gari. This creates a calm, safe haven where the whales can rest, socialize, and nurture their young before continuing their journey. They may stay in the bay for several days, making it an ideal location for observation.

Late winter is considered the peak of the whale watching season in Hervey Bay, offering some of the most spectacular displays of whale behaviour. The calves, who are born without the thick layer of blubber needed for the journey south, use this time to grow stronger. This is a special time for whale watchers, as the calves are often incredibly curious and playful, practicing their own breaching, rolling, and spy-hopping behaviours.

Hervey Bay is famous for a behaviour known as "mugging," where the whales show exceptional curiosity and will often approach and interact with the whale watching vessels. These close encounters are a highlight for visitors and are a key reason why Hervey Bay is considered a premier whale-watching destination.

It's only a short ride across to the edge of Fraser Island, and we skirted through some smaller offshore islands and Fraser Island to get to the Platypus Bay and we immediately started seeing sperm whales. 

On the charters I was on, I saw breaching, tail and pec slapping. My favourite behaviour was when the whales lifted themselves vertically in the water and showed their head and eyes above the surface and looked around, including at us on the boat.

Notable sightings were of a mother and a calf who came right up to the boat. They had a male adult escort with them, and he was huge and showed us his fluke more than once. We also saw a pair of juvenile males together, and they were quite curious about us as well, coming up to the boat. 

We were out the whole day, but it was very wonderful. It was a great trip, reasonably well priced. Definitely, definitely worth doing.