We booked the Whale Watching trip online with a local company called Whale Watching Sydney, they have a range of cruises, but we chose the 2 hour one.
The cruises depart from Wharf 6 in Circular Quay.
They advertise that if there are no whales spotted you get a free return trip.
Humpback whales can be seen off the coast of Sydney between May & November.
The journey of a Humpback whale:
May to July they head north from the cold waters of Antarctica to Queensland and warmer waters
They will then stay pretty much in the breeding grounds of North Queensland for about a month.
In September they can be seen starting their journey south again back to Antarctica
October & November is the best time to see them with their calves as they pass by the Sydney coastline.
Their return journey covers some 10,000 km!
Whilst the trip is predominantly to spot the whales you should also keep an eye out for dolphins, seals, seabirds & Flying fish.
Our Whale Watching Cruise:
We were lucky to have a very sunny & warm day in October for our trip which was a good start! The boat was very spacious & comfortable, we didn’t go inside the air-conditioned saloon but is has plenty of seats, LCD television screens & large windows to see out. There is also seating outside, although we spent much of the time on our feet dodging about to see if we could spot the whales!
The boat is fast, reaching a speed of up to 20 knots, we had left Circular Quay behind and were out on the ocean within 20 minutes!
We soon realised that although it was warm back on dry land, we really needed to pop on our fleeces out on the ocean! There was a bit of a swell at times but once we found our sea legs we were absolutely fine.
The crew members were very helpful with excellent knowledge of the whales, they kept us constantly updated with possible sightings.
We could feel the anticipation of everyone on board as we patiently waited for a first sighting! We were all hoping that we would be lucky enough to see a whale breaching, which is when they literally leap out of the water.
The first sign that there maybe a whale about to breach is the sighting of a spray of water as the whale nears the surface to breath, we saw a few of these but sadly no breaching.
We sailed out a little further to another area where the crew had heard there could be whales. We bobbed about on the water for a short while before our patience was rewarded, the gasp from everyone on board was audible as we were treated to the spectacle of a calf breaching! What a truly amazing sight, it was breath taking!
It was our lucky day as we spotted more than one calf entertaining us with their leaps and back flips! We didn’t see a mother breaching, but the calves were active for quite some time, the excitement among the passengers was electric!
We discovered that if we saw a huge splash of water, we had just missed a whale breaching!
As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, I was also incredibly lucky to see a Flying Fish come up out of the water right in front of me as I was looking over the side of the boat! Amazing!
All in all, we spent about an hour and a half actually whale watching, the crew informed us that it had been a good trip as they hadn’t seen any whales on a trip earlier in the day.
This was one of our most enjoyable not to mention memorable experiences during our Australian adventure, if you’re heading for Sydney between May & November it is a must do!
Tips:
You might think it’s a warm day, but you should take a fleece or jacket with you as it does get cold on the ocean.
It is a fast boat so it can be a bumpy ride and when the boat is stationery watching for whales it does rock so if motion sickness is a concern you may want to think about taking a tablet to prevent it.
Patience is the key – it can take some time before you spot any whales.
A camera is a must but it takes a bit of time to steady yourself on deck to get that all important shot!
Getting Around in Sydney Exploring Sydney’s CBD
Kiama Blowholes Day Trip to the Blue Mountains
Shangri la Hotel Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama
Whale Watching Royal Botanic Gardens