Whale watching and fishing at Hervey Bay

From August to October, humpback whales when migrating south to the Antarctic stop in the calm waters of Hervey Bay Marine Park to nurture their calves and to play and rest.

When the whales enter the area off the coast of Fraser Island (Platypus Bay), they "suddenly stop their migration style swimming and relax with the females concentrating on feeding, preparing their young calves for the 5,000 km journey and teaching them the art of survival" (from Whale Watch).

The whales seem to thrive on the attention of visitors to the area and provide spontaneous, acrobatic shows (much like the exhibitionist dolphins).

Photo Credit: Southern Humpback Whales in Platypus Bay by Richard.Fisher on Flickr.
(The whale in the foreground (to the left of the image) is a calf, and behind is the calf's mother. Fraser Island is in the background.)

Well my wife and I went to Fraser Island to watch the whales some time ago. Unfortunately the seas were very rough and we were not able to get out of Hervey Bay.

However, my consolation was that we stopped in the Bay to do some deep sea fishing. I caught a mackerel, the largest fish I have ever caught. We were able to have mackerel steaks on the barbecue when we returned to Brisbane.

Earlier this year, we were on Stradbroke Island (further South, off Brisbane) having a cup of coffee at a Cafe overlooking the sea. As we sat at our table looking seaward, there was a stunning procession of whales in pairs and threes heading north on their annual migration to the warmer waters for breeding. The whales leaped out of the water, lifted their huge heads, waved their flippers and splashed their powerful tails as they dived and rolled. The whale parade lasted around 15 minutes.

(Editor's note: I suddenly realized as I was creating this module that my 50th lens [Giant Squid] was created about whale watching on Stradboke Island as the whales were heading North - what synchronicity!).