A pod of humpbacks has been feeding on anchovies close to the shore in recent weeks. The area has become a huge draw card for locals and tourists as the whales lunge out of the water to feed on the anchovies close to the surface. Several surfers and kayakers have reportedly been knocked into the water as they try to get up close and personal with these awesome creatures.
Local police are doing their best to keep people at a safe distance, but looking at the video below, they haven’t been entirely successful.

It is very important to keep in mind that deliberatly swimming this close to Humpback Whales in Australia is not only very silly and dangerous but also illegal!

Picture: Damian Shaw Source: The Sunday Telegraph

MEET mini Migaloo – the baby albino humpback whale that’s been making a big splash off the NSW coast.

The playful calf, aged between two and five months, thrilled hundreds of whale watchers at Bondi Beach yesterday, as it passed Sydney with its mother on its migration south about 11am yesterday.

Lapping up the attention of one group of tourists aboard a Whale Watching Sydney vessel as it passed by, the youngster joyfully jumped out of the water several times as if to pose for the cameras.

While it would take a DNA test to remove any doubt, National Parks whale expert Geoff Ross said it was “highly likely” the calf was the offspring of the famous Migaloo – the world’s only all-white humpback whale.

Migaloo, spotted last Sunday off Cape Byron on the state’s northern coast, is now swimming past Eden, about a week ahead of Migaloo Junior and the mother.

“It’s a beautiful, very healthy calf,” Mr Ross said. “The chances of it being Migaloo’s are high. I’m very surprised to see two albinos so close together in distance.

“Even if you have one albino, it is very rare for the melanistic gene to be passed.

He said it would be Migaloo junior’s first visit to Sydney.

Passengers and Crew had a great Whale Watching cruise this morning when after about half an hour of waiting patiently off Port Stephens these two Humpback Whales decided it was time to play and put on an excellent display of Tail Slapping!

Humpbacks will use these giant tail muscles as a form of self defence against predators such as Orcas or Sharks but this was a great display of them using their tails for fun!

With the Southern migration starting up we can expect to see alot more videos like this one popping up, especially when the calves start passing by and showing off for the Whale Watch boats…

A couple of the latest video updates from YouTube

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When you take a look at most Australian Whale Watching websites, you are sure to see pictures of Humpback Whales breaching out of the water or showing off their impressive tail flukes as they go on a sounding dive. Humpback whales are the most common whale to encounter on the Eastern coastline of Australia, how ever they are not the only species of whale we see on our cruises.

Over the last few weeks Port Stephens and Nelson Bay has seen an influx of visits with Southern Right Whales. These whales are highly endangered and scientists estimate there may only be 5,000 (five thousand) left in the entire world! Last season (2010) Imagine had visits with around 6 Southern Right Whales, including some newborn calves. This season so far we have had visits with at least 8 Southern Right Whales, including calves and we have heard from the other companies of around 6 more while our boat has been out of the water! Hopefully this means will we get to see a lot more of these friendly whales in the coming years.

The most distinguishing feature of Southern right whales is a series of natural growths called callosities on the front of the rostrum or head. The largest of these callosities is called the ‘bonnet’. Callosities are also found on the whale’s chin, on the sides of the head, on the lower lips, above the eyes, and near the blowholes.

Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis)

Length: Adults: 14 m to 18 m;

Calves: 5 m to 6 m at birth

Weight: Adults: up to 80 tonnes;

Calves: 1 to 1.5 tonnes at birth

Gestation: 11 to 12 months

Weaning age: 11 to 12 months

Calving interval: Generally 3 years

Sexual maturity: Age: 8 to 10 years

Mating season: July to August

Calving season: June to August

Cruising speed: 3 km/hr

Blow pattern: V-shaled bushy blow to 5 m

Protected: Since 1935

]]> http://www.imaginecruises.com.au/which-whale-is-which-southern-right-whale/feed/ 0 http://www.imaginecruises.com.au/the-whale-watching-week-that-wasnt/ http://www.imaginecruises.com.au/the-whale-watching-week-that-wasnt/#comments Sat, 23 Jul 2011 03:04:14 +0000 Imagine http://www.imaginecruises.com.au/?p=1513 Saturday 23rd July

Did anyone notice the weather this week..? The Nelson Bay Whale Watching cruise boats were tucked up in the safety of their docks for most of this week as the Port Stephens coast played host to some extreme weather conditions. But do not despair…!

We grabbed a screen shot from a weather site today that shows by Monday we should be back to some excellent Whale and Dolphin watching weather as the huge swell and seas and strong winds ease.

What do Whales and Dolphins do in bad weather?

Many people wonder what happens to the whales and Dolphins when the seas are rough..? Well the short answer is not to much at all! Like most animals, Humpback Whales and Dolphins are very well adjusted to their climate. The Humpbacks spend half of the year in the freezing waters of the Antarctic which makes them fairly comfortable in the wind and rain. Both Dolphins and Whales are born with and then continue to grow a warm layer of fat to protect them from the cold water. However I do suspect that like myself they do prefer the warm sunshine.

This week while most people were snuggled up in doors staying dry, the Humpback Whales would have continued their northern migration past Port Stephens. When the swell is larger, it is not uncommon to see the Humpbacks having a bit of a surf in the swell to help them along! The sightings before this rough weather week have been excellent and in this week to come we are sure the sightings will be great!

Whale Watching departs daily at 10:30am and 2:00pm (3 hours)

Nelson Bay Cinema
Cinema Mall, Stockton Street, NELSON BAY
Starting: Thursday 28th July end Wed 3rd August
Times: 11:45am, 3:15pm and 6:45pm (102 mins)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oceans/105670462800308

See you on the water!

Wow! The last few weeks of Whale Watching in Nelson Bay have flown by and hundreds of lucky passengers have been able to experience a ‘Sail with the Whales’. Apart from spending time with the whales, each daily trip regularly consists of seeing the Port Stephens resident Bottlenose Dolphins and we also usually get to see a family of Australian Fur Seals on Cabbage Tree Island.

During the last week of June and just yesterday afternoon (8th July) guests were treated to a very special ‘audience with the whales’ as two male Humpbacks sang us their mating calls. Imagine is equipped with a Hydrophone which is basically an underwater microphone. With the wonders of Technology we captured some of this in the video below!

Two posts ago we asked the question “Want to go Whale Watching this weekend?” and some lucky people chose to come out for a sail on Imagine…

‘The Humpback Whale traffic is steadily growing on the whale highway off Port Stephens and some of the most spectacular things for these huge animals to do is Breach or Spy-hop.

Breaching is when the whale flicks its tail three times and can launch itself completely out of the water, this is no small effort for an animal that can weigh up to 60 tons.  Spy – hopping is a term used to describe when a whale sits vertically in the water and raises (hops) its head out of the water to have a look around (spying).

… So, back to last weekend and why were our passengers so lucky? Well as you can see, these photos from both Whale Watch cruises on Sunday 5th June 2011 speak for themselves!

Passengers got the double treat of awesome whales and the benifit of having crew member Didj Hopkins onboard, camera at the ready to snap these great photos!

NBN News gave the 2011 official opening of the Port Stephens Whale Watch Season some great coverage. The cameraman and everyone onboard were treated to some excellent breaching by a huge Humpback Whale. To see the video please click on the NBN banner to the right.

This years official opening was themed ‘Youth for Whales’ and Imagine was glad to welcome onboard 10 local high school students as well as National Parks ranger Leanne Ellis who got to be a part of this very special cruise.

Were you a part of the official opening..? Local resident John Longworth has put together this nice compilation video (below) of the days events!