A group of lucky tourists were treated to a breathtaking moment off Australia’s coast on Sunday.
For those fortunate enough to be on board, it was considered to be a “once in a lifetime experience.”
Brent Milne was the guide on Noosa Ocean Adventures’ whale watching tours on Sunday.
After wrapping up with one group that had seen a few whales splashing on the surface, he said the second group, which left the dock around 10:30 am, had lucked out to witness the “highlight of the day.”
In a rare occurrence this early in the season, two massive humpback whales bobbed their heads out of the water just a few feet away from the boatful of tourists.
Despite running these tours for more than 30 years in Queensland, Brent said yesterday’s whale encounter still had him “carrying on” as much as the tourists who cheered at the sight of the whale duo.
Brent said as the tourists grew excited with “lots of oohs and ahs”, they were “sort of interacting with the whales”. Screams of excitement can be heard in video footage.
“Because the whales have got incredible sight, incredible hearing, and they’re not looking at the boat, they’re looking at the people,” he explained.
“So [the whales got] just as curious as our passengers.”
The tour guide said a group of international and interstate tourists, as well as locals on board, were “absolutely blown away.”
For many of them, it was the first time they had seen a whale.
“They loved it. They were so stoked.”
Is it common to see humpbacks act like this?
Brent explained the “mind-blowing” encounter on Sunday is commonly known as “mugging” in the industry.
“Where the whales are super curious, and they come over to eyeball and have a look at the people and sort of check them out.”
The two whales spotted on Sunday are believed to be teens and are part of a group that migrates up and down the coast. Source: Noosa Ocean Adventures
However, it’s not common to see these mammals behaving so curiously this early in the season, he added. Whales are more typically spotted near Noosa from July to mid-October.
“So that encounter for this time of the season, we’re only in our first week of the season, it was pretty special.”
The two whales spotted on Sunday are believed to be teens and are part of a group that migrates up and down the coast like clockwork every year in search of warmer water during the mating season.
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After spending the summer in Antarctica for the feeding season, Brent explained that they leave as it cools down and migrate north towards the equator.
They are part of a “huge environmental success story,” he added, “we’re just getting more and more whales migrating up the coast”.
“The numbers have been increasing every year for the past sort of 20 years at about 11 to 13% a year.”
Queensland’s coastline is a prime location to witness the migration, with whales often swimming close to the shoreline, making them visible from numerous vantage points.
This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as the “humpback highway” due to the large number of whales passing by.
More than 60,000 humpback whales migrate along Australia’s east coastlines from NSW to QLD, and along the Western Australian coast.
If you’re considering a whale-watching tour, now through to the end of October is the best time to go, Brent said.
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