Hervey Bay

There are over 15 different Hervey Bay Whale Watching cruises so if you need help choosing, we can recommend the most suitable tour for you. As locals, we know each tour & vessel. The main differences are the timings & duration on the water, vessel type, and inclusions such as meals, hydrophone, swim with whales and other activities.

Hervey Bay was declared the first Whale Heritage Site in the world in 2019 and recognised globally as a premier whale watching destination.

It is the only place on Australia’s east coast where thousands of humpback whales take a break during their annual migration and stay up to two weeks in the calm, warm waters of Platypus Bay in the lee of K’gari (Fraser Island). The large number of whales in this relatively small area results in extraordinary whale watching from mid-July to late October.

A few fun facts!

• Adult humpback whales are about 13-15 metres long and weigh 35-40 tonnes!
• They can consume up to a tonne of food in a day.
• When swimming, humpbacks breath every 6-8 minutes and when resting every 10-20 minutes.
• Calves remain with their mothers for about 6 to 12 months nursing on fat-rich milk and growing rapidly.
• Hydrophones are microphones that crews lower into the water so you can hear whales singing (typically called "whale song").

Watch out for these whale behaviours!

• Head Slap - lunging head-first out of the water up to 6 metres.
• Breach - the whale propels itself out of the water, clearing the surface with two-thirds of its body or more.
• Blow - as a whale exhales and inhales at the surface, a cloud of water vapour is produced above its head during exhalation.
• Pec Slap - the whale rolls sideways at the surface slapping a pectoral fin against the water.
• Tail Slap - forceful slapping of the tail fluke against the surface resulting in underwater sounds.
• Spy Hop - the whale propels itself out of the water clearing the surface with two-thirds of its body or more.