Whale Watching Hervey Bay |
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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. Whale watching has become a favourite pastime for visitors to Hervey Bay. The quality of the whale watching is recognised as being amongst the best in the world due to the large numbers of humpback whales visiting the bay and the waters of Hervey Bay being so calm and conducive to close encounters with these amazing creatures. 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. Whale watching in Hervey Bay is unique.  But the marine park of Hervey Bay offers more. Together with the Humpbacks arrive hundreds of Bottlenose dolphins, busily leaping in all directions or riding on the bow wave of charter vessels. There are large turtles dugongs and even an occasional Minke whale. The Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is so named because of its long pectoral fins (In Greek megas means great and pteron means wing). It is the fifth largest of all the whales with examples reported up to 15 metres long and around 40 tonnes in weight. The females grow to a slightly greater length than the males. The humpbacks are generally black on their backs and white on their underside although there have been several sightings in Hervey Bay of all-black whales. An all-white humpback visits Hervey Bay on occasions and this generates a great deal of excitement as good photos of the whale are still rare. The humpback's pectoral fins are generally a mottled colour on top and white underneath as is the tail fluke. Barnacles often form on the humpback's jaw, pectoral fins and the edges of the tail fluke. On its head it has a number of tubercles (round knobs) from each of which grows a long thick hair. These are believed to be sensors.
It is believed that humpback whales can reach an age of fifty years, perhaps even more, but this age of course was seldom reached during the years of commercial whaling. It appears that adults continue their stopover in the Bay, which now emerges as a regular cycle:
They stay only for an average 2 to 5 days, some longer and some whales do not come in at all.
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For more information on whale watching contact:
Whale Watching,
Enquiries - phone 07 41249943
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