Spectacular Whale Watching Tours Australia

The awesome, breathtaking grace and power of a breaching adult whale is a sight everyone should experience. To view the annual migration from the Antarctic, hop aboard one of the many whale watching tours Australia has to offer.

Your cruise boat bobs in a scene of endless blue. Suddenly, a 40-tonne humpback whale breaches the surface, white foaming water rushing from its streaked underbelly as it rolls over, pounding back into the sea. A huge nobbled head breaks the surface just metres from your boat and your heart skips a beat as the great mammal glides by and its tiny eye looks straight into your eyes.

With the humpback able to breach as many as 20 to 30 times in just 5 minutes, a whale watching trip can be a breath taking experience. The humpback whale puts on the best display seemingly for the benefit of the many whale-watching tours, and over 3,000 humpbacks alone migrate up the east coast each year.

When it comes to superb whale watching, Australia is blessed with excellent viewing and highly professional companies who have established expert whale watching trips .

Hervey Bay in Queensland is one of the best known whale watching regions and has perfected the whale watching tour w ith cruises offering hydro phones to listen to the intricate breeding songs of the humpback, and unique underwater viewing windows.

The Port Stephens region, 2 ½ hours north of Sydney, provides excellent viewing as does the Eurobodalla Nature Coast south of Sydney, Byron Bay, the eastern most tip of Australia, and the Gold Coast.

Approximately 6,000 whales will move up the east coast of Australia and include Minke, Humpbacks, Southern Right, Sei and Brydes whales. In Western Australia the numbers are fewer but the viewing just as spectacular from Augusta in the southwest corner of Western Australia, where the whales enter Flinders Bay to choose their mate before heading northward.

For more southern hemisphere whale watching, New Zealand also offers viewing around the Kaikoura Peninsula, in the South Island, renowned as a submarine paradise rich in plankton and krill. Year round whale watch tours and helicopter flights are available to view the sperm whale, one of the only places in the world with reliable year round viewing.

In the Kaikoura district, with its magnificent mountainous backdrop, and the northern tip of the North Island, breeds such as Humpback, Minke and Pilot whales can be viewed.

Whale watching tours in Australia and New Zealand are eco-sensitive and governed by strict rules of approach. Luckily, the whales are inquisitive and frequently swim up close to the boats affording some exceptionally close encounters. Vessels are invariably spacious and extremely comfortable, many purpose built and tiered to maximise viewing space.

Depending on location whale watching packages commence around early May with the last of the whales returning to Antarctic waters late November. Cruises can last from 2-3 hours to full one day tours .

Some tour companies offer senior, student, YHA and family discounts. Bookings are essential with most companies providing refunds if a whale watch tour i s cancelled due to weather.

For life-changing whale watching tours, Australia has a range of companies who put both the environment and the client first.

Helix CMS Copyright © 2006, Whale Watching Tours, Australia