Gold Coast woman in ‘disbelief’ over amazing moment with three humpback whales captured on film

A Gold Coast mother has shared her once-in-a-lifetime encounter with three humpback whales which swam up close to her.

Local yoga and pilates teacher Laurel Collofello said she first spotted the whales from the shore near Rainbow Bay on the southern end of the Gold Coast on Tuesday.

“I never go there, the timing was incredible,” she told 7NEWS.

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“I could see some whales coming through and thought I could go check them out on my stand-up paddle board.

“It looked like it would be a windy day with less clarity (but) it was so crystal clear, I couldn’t believe it.”

Collofello said she paddled to a safe distance away from the marine mammals and saw a mother and calf, as well as a third adult whale in tow.

Putting on her goggles and taking her chance, she jumped into the water to get a better look.

And then something amazing happened.

“I jumped in the water and they had actually swum towards me,” she said.

The three humpback whales, including a mum and calf, circled Laurel Collofello at Rainbow Bay on the Gold Coast. Credit: 7NEWS

What Collofello didn’t know at the time was that another local was capturing the whole encounter on their drone.

The footage was uploaded to social media and has been viewed more than 100,000 times, with the drone owner pleading for public help to identify the woman in the video.

“I saw the drone but didn’t know who the owner was,” Collofello said.

“I got a message from a wonderful woman at work asking ‘Is this you?’ I couldn’t believe it.

“They actually circled me, which I didn’t notice until I saw the drone footage.

“From the water you can’t tell what their next movement is, or where they are going to pop up.

“And then to get in the water and to have the mum and bub so close, I was a little bit taken aback — they had come quite close to me.

“They’re just so beautiful.”

The mother-of-two — who has been a keen paddleboarder for the past 14 years — said she had previously encountered another whale calf at Mermaid Beach about eight years ago.

“I think it’s the babies that are quite curious,” she said.

Collofello said she was “pretty lucky” in this latest incident to have experienced such a close encounter at a time when the annual humpback whale migration back south is beginning to trail off.

“To have those 30 seconds captured so beautifully by the drone is pretty exceptional,” she said.

“It was really beautiful to show my kids, they don’t believe me when I say I go out and paddle with whales.

“I’m still in disbelief!”