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WHALE WATCHING IN HERVEY BAY, AUSTRALIA
Just three and a half hours driving North from Brisbane is the city of Hervey Bay, gateway to Fraser Island and now famous as the Whale Watch Capital of the World, on a par with Churchill I guess as the Polar bear capital of the world. A trip amongst the Humpback whales is a fantastic experience. Just Imagine the fifth largest of the families of whales on this planet , 15 metres long , 45 tonnes in weight ( an equivalent of 11 elephants or 600 persons) with pectoral fins of 10 metres , leaping almost clear of the water in an awesome display of power.
They may approach a vessel with incredible gentleness, just to check us humans out, sometimes staying up to an hour.
Humpback whales migrate between their feeding grounds of
Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef, where they mate and breed. On their return journey they enter Hervey Bay and spend between 3 and 5 days resting or feeding their new born calves, safe from pack-shark attack and Killer Whales, before commencing the 5000 km trek down south.
If the Japanese finally get their way this could be pretty hazardous for these huge creatures. At least in Australian waters they are protected but in Antarctica well even though the Japanese lost their bid to resume whaling next year with its round of talks could well change that.
The reason for this migration is simple: while their food supply (krill) is in Antarctica, Humpback whales must give birth in warm waters, as the calves are born without blubber, the layer of fat that protects them from the icy waters.
When feeding, a female whale can produce up to 600 litres of milk a day and the calf gains weight at a rate of 45 to 60 kg per day. A lot of milk for sure.
Whale watching in Hervey Bay is unique.
The waters are protected by Fraser Island, the largest sand Island in the world and with clear sunny days with an average temperature of 22 degrees Celsius make it an entertaining yet educational day, as all vessels offer commentary from experienced crews. They will tell you that Humpback whales do not feed whilst on migration (5 months), but when they do they eat up to 1,500 kg of krill each day, they can also sing without vocal cords and a recording of their song is on board Voyager II, now on a billion year journey to outer space.
Simply amazing huh?.
The Dolphin is also a very frequent visitor to our coasts as well and you can see many of them at Tin Can Bay on the way to Hervey Bay.
Just three and a half hours driving North from Brisbane is the city of Hervey Bay, gateway to Fraser Island and now famous as the Whale Watch Capital of the World, on a par with Churchill I guess as the Polar bear capital of the world. A trip amongst the Humpback whales is a fantastic experience. Just Imagine the fifth largest of the families of whales on this planet , 15 metres long , 45 tonnes in weight ( an equivalent of 11 elephants or 600 persons) with pectoral fins of 10 metres , leaping almost clear of the water in an awesome display of power.
They may approach a vessel with incredible gentleness, just to check us humans out, sometimes staying up to an hour.
Humpback whales migrate between their feeding grounds of
Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef, where they mate and breed. On their return journey they enter Hervey Bay and spend between 3 and 5 days resting or feeding their new born calves, safe from pack-shark attack and Killer Whales, before commencing the 5000 km trek down south.
If the Japanese finally get their way this could be pretty hazardous for these huge creatures. At least in Australian waters they are protected but in Antarctica well even though the Japanese lost their bid to resume whaling next year with its round of talks could well change that.
The reason for this migration is simple: while their food supply (krill) is in Antarctica, Humpback whales must give birth in warm waters, as the calves are born without blubber, the layer of fat that protects them from the icy waters.
When feeding, a female whale can produce up to 600 litres of milk a day and the calf gains weight at a rate of 45 to 60 kg per day. A lot of milk for sure.
Whale watching in Hervey Bay is unique.
The waters are protected by Fraser Island, the largest sand Island in the world and with clear sunny days with an average temperature of 22 degrees Celsius make it an entertaining yet educational day, as all vessels offer commentary from experienced crews. They will tell you that Humpback whales do not feed whilst on migration (5 months), but when they do they eat up to 1,500 kg of krill each day, they can also sing without vocal cords and a recording of their song is on board Voyager II, now on a billion year journey to outer space.
Simply amazing huh?.
The Dolphin is also a very frequent visitor to our coasts as well and you can see many of them at Tin Can Bay on the way to Hervey Bay.
Firstly thank you for looking and commenting secondly Sydney is a long way from Hervey Bay and most likely there is a travel lodge motel there; I myself always stop at a pub in Maryborough which is about a 2 hour drive from here (the Sunshine Coast) which is one 100 kilometres North of Brisbane; I suggest you fly to either Brisbane or the Sunshine Coast as it is a long journey by car from Sydney.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know where you are coming from of course but if you e-mail me or put it in my guestbook as a private message which is better I will e-mail you then or you can e-mail me.
Best to do that I think if you need more info and be sure to make it private in the guest book please;
Once again thank you for your comment you will find Hervey Bay a beaut little spot.