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Date: May 2005
Location: Hervey Bay, Queensland Australia
For whale calves, their mums are their teachers and the calm waters
of Hervey Bay are their classroom, reports
Sue Fuller.
It's here in the sparkling clear blue of the bay that mothers teach their calves the basics of whale behaviours.
During our half-day whale watching tour onboard the award-winning Hervey Bay Whale
Watch's Quick Cat II, we were treated to a spectacular display of breeching,
head lunging, pectoral fin and tail slapping, as the mothers readied their calves
for the long trip south to Antarctica.
For quality whale watching, Hervey Bay is
hard to beat as roughly half of the 5,000 migrating whales currently travelling
the east coast of Australia spend time in
the bay.
Our tour has an onboard environmental scientist, Jacinta Padgett, who explains that the whales spend between a couple of hours and a couple of weeks in the bay.
"Hervey Bay is like school for the young calves," says Jacinta. "They watch their mother very closely and replicate her actions."
During the July to November
season, Quick Cat II leaves the Hervey
Bay marina daily at 8am and 1pm for the afternoon tour. Spirits are high as
we cruise out of the marina withkids and adults alike eagerly anticipating their
first sight of a whale.
We don't have to wait long - just 20 minutes out of the marina, the gentle mist of whale breath is the first sign of a pod of four giant humpbacks.
"Their lungs are as big as a small car," explains Jacinta. It's the first of many fascinating "whale facts" shared by Jacinta and skipper Glen.
While this pod keeps their distance from the boat, it's not long before a massive
humpback breeches just 100 metres away. Weighing around 40 tonnes (the equivalent
of 10 elephants or 20 Holden cars) the whale uses it powerful pectoral fins to
push itself out of the water. Eyes boggle and people actually cheer!
Then another, and another! School's in and the lessons are underway. The spectacle of these gentle giants at play never fails to fascinate our fellow passengers. With every sighting, we move to the closest side of the boat to the whales and it seems, collectively hold our breath. Even with today's full capacity of 80 passengers, there's plenty of room on the two storey deck and enclosed cabin.
We spot dolphins surfing near the boat's bow and when skipper Glen drops a hydrophone overboard the musical moans of whale song fills our ears.
Only male whales sing, explains Jacinta. "They sing a song for about half an hour, and then sing the same song over and over for up to eight hours. This one sounds close."
It's a fitting high note to end our morning's lesson. Be quick to catch the end
of the season, which runs until November.
There's a range of whale watch tours to choose from, including full day and half
day tours and a twilight cruise, operating mainly from Hervey
Bay marina, but also Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island, winner of Australia's
Best Ecotourism Resort in the 2004/05 national tourism awards. The newest operator
is the luxury super yacht, Southern Cross II (formerly Bondy's America's
Cup hospitality cruiser).
A three-time winner of best whale watch operator at the local tourism awards,
Quick Cat II has just won best tour operator and best access categories.
For more info on whalewatching, visit http://www.whalesherveybay.com.au or http://www.frasercoastholidays.info.
For Hervey Bay Whale Watch Quick Cat II bookings, call 1800 671 977 or visit http://www.herveybaywhalewatch.com.au/
Getting there
Self Drive
Maryborough is just three hours drive (255km) north of Brisbane
along the Bruce Highway. Hervey Bay is a
further 34km northeast via Maryborough.
By Air
Jetstar and Virgin Blue operate direct jet services from Sydney
to the Fraser Coast, with convenient connections
from most Australian capital cities. Sunshine Express Airlines have several daily
flights from Brisbane to Hervey
Bay and Maryborough.
Jetstar http://www.jetstar.com
Virgin Blue http://www.virginblue.com.au
Sunshine Express http://www.sunshineexpress.com.au
By Rail
QR (Queensland Rail) operates regular services from Brisbane,
Rockhampton and Cairns
into Maryborough West. Transfers to Hervey
Bay can be included via the Trainlink bus service, which connects with every
train.
By Coach
Greyhound Pioneer and Premier Motor Services operate several services each day
through Maryborough, Hervey
Bay, Howard and Childers.
Suncoast Pacific also operates daily services from Brisbane
via the Sunshine Coast and Tin Can Bay.
- By Sue Fuller
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