Watching the migration of humpback whales is always an amazing experience that I don’t think I could ever tire of. Sunday morning’s commercial boat trip was my third time out on a boat to spot whales enroute from Antarctica to Great Barrier Reef saw us following a pod of three whales along their journey. They certainly provided the excited humans on the catamaran with a spectacular show of pectoral fin waves, breaches which saw them hauling their mammoth bodies out of the water for a spin, and swims on their backs which made their white bellies visible.

The boat operator usually stays about 50-100m away but even that was close enough to hear their deep guttural breaths accompanied by sprays of seawater that came out of their blowholes. You can’t help but be filled with awe when you hear that.

Sydney is incredibly lucky to have these magnificent creatures of the sea pass by her door step. These commercial trips leave from Darling Harbour, which is in the city centre. Many whale watchers’ photos have the Sydney skyline as its backdrop!

Apparently there have been more whales this year compared to previous, suggesting a healthy increase in the humpback population. Unfortunately other whale species like the blue whales had been hunted almost to extinction in decades past and the population hasn’t recovered.

Nonetheless, Sunday’s outing is a reminder to keep our oceans clean so that these beautiful whales will always have food to eat and oceans to survive in.

For visitors to Sydney, June to August is the time to catch the humpback whales in action!