Where to Watch Whales on Australia's East Coast
Every year, humpbacks make one of the longest migrations of any mammal on earth - from Antarctic feeding grounds to the warm water off Queensland, and back again. The whole thing happens within sight of the Australian coast, and most of the best places to watch it cost nothing.
Here's when to go, what you're looking for, and where to stand.
When they pass
The migration runs in two directions, and they're quite different to watch.
North, May to July. From mid-May, humpbacks start moving up the coast toward warmer breeding waters. They travel with purpose and further offshore. Peak viewing is late June into early July, and on a good day you can watch a steady procession go past.
South, September to November. The return leg is slower and closer in. Mothers travelling with new calves keep near the shoreline and take their time - October and November are the best weeks for it. This is when land-based watching genuinely rivals a boat.
If you only go once, go in October. If you want numbers, go in early July.
What you're looking for
Most people scan for a breach and miss everything else. Start with the blow instead.
The blow. A short white puff of vapour that hangs a second or two longer than sea spray. On a still morning you can see one from several kilometres away. Once you've spotted a blow, keep watching that patch - a whale surfacing to breathe will usually do it several times.
The fluke. The tail, lifted clear as the whale begins a deeper dive. It means you've probably lost them for eight to ten minutes.
The breach. The whole animal clearing the water. Spectacular, unpredictable, and well worth the wait.
Give it twenty minutes. Whale watching from land is mostly waiting, and the people who see the most are the ones who are patient.
Sydney's eastern beaches
Ben Buckler, North Bondi
The headland at the northern end of Bondi Beach, and our pick for a short visit. It sits high enough to give you a wide arc of open water, it's a five-minute walk from the sand, and you can be there with a coffee before work.
We named a frame after it, so we're not impartial. But the geography does the work - the point juts out far enough that whales tracking the coast pass across your view rather than away from it.
The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk
About six kilometres of clifftop path, and the best sustained whale watching in the eastern suburbs. Rather than committing to one lookout, you're moving between a dozen of them.
The stretch around Mackenzies Point, between Bondi and Tamarama, is the standout - elevated, exposed, and looking straight out into the migration path. Marks Park just past it has benches and the same outlook.
Further along, Waverley Cemetery at Bronte is one of the more striking places in Sydney to stop and look at the ocean, whales or not. Gordons Bay and the headland above Clovelly round out the walk.
Do it early. The light is better, the path is quieter, and the sea surface is usually calmer before the wind gets up - which makes spotting a blow considerably easier.
Further around the harbour
North Head, Manly and the South Head Heritage Trail from Camp Cove to Hornby Lighthouse both put you on the sandstone at the harbour entrance, where whales pass close. Federation Cliff Walk from Dover Heights to Watsons Bay is the quieter option.
Cape Solander in Kamay Botany Bay National Park is the most reliable land-based spot in Sydney, with a purpose-built viewing platform. Worth the drive during peak weeks.
Further up and down the coast
Cape Byron, NSW. The most easterly point of mainland Australia, which means the migration passes closer here than almost anywhere else. The lighthouse walk is busy for good reason.
Port Stephens, NSW. Tomaree Head gives you a steep climb and a very large reward. Whales often move inside the headlands here.
Jervis Bay, NSW. Whales regularly enter the bay itself to rest on the southern leg. Cape St George Lighthouse and Point Perpendicular are the vantage points.
Hervey Bay, Queensland. The one place on this list where whales stop rather than pass through. They rest in the sheltered water off K'gari (Fraser Island) on the way south, sometimes for days.
Before you go
- Mornings are better. Calmer water, better light, fewer people.
- Wear polarised lenses. Glare off the surface is what stops most people seeing anything. Polarised lenses cut it, and lift the contrast between a white blow and a white-capped wave - the difference between scanning comfortably and giving up after ten minutes. Need new shades? Shop the collection.
- Bring binoculars if you have them, but you don't need them.
- Check the swell. A flat sea makes a blow obvious. A messy one hides everything.
- Report what you see. The ORRCA census and various citizen-science counts rely on land-based sightings.
Tag us at @pacificooptical with #FrameYourHorizon if you spot something.
