Hervey Bay - A Whale Enthusiasts Dream

Whales. Ocean.

Hervey Bay was a must-visit location for us as we (Rachel especially) wanted to see whales closer than what we had seen from the shores of Rainbow Beach and Double Island Point.

Hervey Bay is a wonderland for whale enthusiasts. This town offers plentiful tour options, ranging from half-day to full-day whale expeditions, and even sunset cruises around the bay.

We chose the tour company Freedom Whale Watch (https://freedomwhalewatch.com.au/) for our tour. This company offered a full-day whale watching experience and guaranteed whale sightings. They also offered plenty of food including morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea, as well as tea and coffee all day.

Review of Freedom Whale Watch:

Our skipper on Freedom Whale Watch was Keith and he was very informative and a great host. He made us feel part of a big team on board from the get-go and within 5 minutes of the catamaran leaving the harbour we were all eyes on the water ahead. We were all looking for a splash, a blow, or a fin. It wasn't long until a few people had spotted our first blow of the day - all arms and fingers on deck pointed to this scene and the skipper turned the boat in that direction: our arms were the compass.

We traveled to Hervey Bay early September, around the time humpback whales, will travel back down south with their newborn calves. In total, we saw about 10 humpback whales (and some calves) and were told this was "on a bad day" due to the windy conditions (harder to see the whales unless they make a big splash). Keith knew what to do though and directed the boat north to a protected pocket alongside Fraser Island (we have a blog post on Fraser Island if you would like to read more about this untouched largest sand island). Here we saw many more whales close up. We were even lucky enough to see many 'creme of the crop' breaches.

Click to view a whale following alongside our catamaran:

4 Quick Facts

Whales can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes.

Mother whales travel up north to give birth to their young as the water must be at least 18 degrees for the birth.

Female whales do not have teats. To feed their young, they lay on the floor of the ocean and release their milk into the water. The baby calf will then drink up to 600L of milk a day (around 30% fat), along with a lot of seawater, straight from the ocean.

We were told on board that whales like the colour red, although Marcus and I are skeptical about this (those on the boat who were wearing were told to wave their arms and move to the sides of the boat to attract the curious whales). Maybe the boat crew chose a new colour each day depending on the most common colour worn that day.

3 Recommended Things to Do

Go on a whale-watching cruise! We would recommend Freedom Whale Watch.

Walk the green spaces along the waterfront at Hervey Bay.

Get a photo with one of the many whale statues.