Oct 23, 2011
Sunrise Whale Watching
Whale playing off Hamilton Island at the Hamilton Island Race Week 2010 (Photo: Andrea Francolini)
By all accounts it has been a great season for whale watching. My only whale watching experience of this year was very low key but very nice.
Having spent a special anniversary night at qualia in the Long Pavilion restaurant and in a stunning Windward Pavilion, we woke to the sunrise and a view of Whitsunday Island over the Fitzalan Passage. The morning was very still, and the water was rippling through the passage with the change of tide.
Not long after the sun had risen we saw them – a humpback mother and calf swimming slowly against the tide. They can’t have been in too much of a hurry as they stayed in the same place for 25 minutes. They were easy to spot, with their low humped backs glistening in the sun as they slowly surfaced and submerged over and over again. Finally their heads bobbed up to the surface for the last time, and they were gone.
Humpback whales use the waters around the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef to give birth and teach their calves to swim and fish. I heard a lot of reports of whale action off the northern end of the island and also on the ferry to Shute Harbour (near Airlie Beach). A whale watching cruise is definitely high on my list of things to do for next winter.
About the Author
My family and I are new to Hamilton Island and are having a great time exploring all the things our new home has to offer. Join us on our adventures as we discover Hamilton Island. Jenni.
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Sep 03, 2012 @ 17:29:15
You are very lucky to have seen these marvelous creatures! Seeing humpback whales is an additional bonus to tourists who travel to Whitsunday Islands. I think you have more chances of finding whales and other cetaceans if you charter your own boat.