Date: May 2008
The Humpbacks are coming!
BOOK YOUR WHALE WATCH CRUISE NOW!
Summer is over and now is the time to plan a sail with Imagine Cruises in Port Stephens to see the northern migration of the Humpback whales. Right now the whales are swimming north away from the freezing waters of the southern ocean where for the last four months they have been gorging themselves on krill, a tiny shrimp like creature that abounds in those Antarctic waters. The Japanese whalers have returned home and fortunately, at least for this year our Humpbacks are safe. The weather this summer was a bit unsettled and long-range forecasts are suggesting this winter may be better than last. Imagine Cruises begins operating two whale watch cruises daily from the 20th May all the way through to November. As the population has virtually doubled in the last five years we are seeing whales pretty much every month including the months of August and September when ten years ago we hardly saw a whale.....
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ead more
Check out some of the awesome pictures from last season.
Why is Port Stephens such a good place to watch whales?
Although there are many good points along both the east and west coasts of Australia to watch whales, Port Stephens is one of the best spots because our season lasts from May to November. Whether you stand on a headland or cruise with Imagine there is a very good chance you will see at least one and usually quite a few more as they travel very close to the shore heading north to avoid a very strong south setting current. Imagine Cruises sails two 3-hour trips every day out of Nelson Bay 7 days a week. For a truly memorable experience remember to dress warmly & bring your camera!
How close can we get?
New Australian regulations permit us to approach adult whales to within 100 metres, and adults with calves to within 300 metres. However if a whale approaches us, and they are often very curious around boats, so long as we are stopped in the water it is quite possible and legally permissible to stay with an animal right alongside. It is important though to understand that these are very large wild animals and we exercise caution and sensitivity while we are in their presence. Just like humans, these animals have times of the day when they might be resting or suckling or mating and we are careful not to disturb them during these periods.
BOOK YOUR WHALE WATCH CRUISE NOW!
Whaling and the IWC
Frank Future a director and operations manager of Imagine Cruises is secretary of Whale and Dolphin Watch Australia the national commercial whalewatch association. Frank attended last years International Whaling Committee meeting in Alaska as an observer and representative for Australia’s commercial whalewatchers. Frank and Steve
Mitchell the WADWA president took the “Teens against whaling kids”, Skye Bortoli, Ayesha and Caitlyn to Alaska to protest the intended kill of Australia’s whales and handed 40,000 petitions to the IWC chairman William Hogarth. Teens Against WhalingAussie teenager Skye Bortoli seen regularly live on the Today Show during the Alaskan IWC meeting, recently delivered to the Japanese opposition party the Daily Telegraph/ Today Show Internet appeal th
at totalled more than 130,000 petitions from Australian’s opposed to whaling. Skye is determined to take her message to the next IWC meeting being held in Santiago Chile in June this year......
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To see more about these kids check out Skye's web site
And the You Tube Video
Whale mascots for Aussie cities.
53 Coastal Councils along both the east and west coasts of Australia have now adopted a Humpback whale as a mascot including Byron bay, Hervey bay, Port Stephens, Newcastle and Sydney. Maybe your town would like to find out how they can adopt a whale, email us on this one.Why do we care if a few whales die?Commercial whale watching attracts more than $300 million a year to small Australian coastal communities and provides thousands of jobs in tourism during the winter when tourism dependent economies historically suffered a seasonal downturn. If commercial whaling on Humpbacks resumes or even the so-called “scientific whaling”, we have no idea how these whales will react to vessels in close proximity. Once these long-lived big-brained mammals begin to associate boats with pain and death, it’s hard to imagine they will be as friendly as they are now. Vessel avoidance could become common and there are plenty of historic instances where angry and fright
ened whales have sunk small vessels. A frightened 40 tonne animal could easily become dangerous to small boat traffic around our coast.
What can I do to help?
There are some very good conservation groups such as
IFAW, Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd who are very active and always can use more support. Make sure you are up to date on the
Approach Distances and Guidelines for Whales and Dolphins and then tell your friends.
You can also
EMAIL OUR Prime Minister and express your concern asking him to intervene with his Japanese counterpart
Whale and Dolphin Watch Australia Inc.
The Australian national association of commercial whalewatchers has now opened its doors to all commercial operators, individuals, scientists and business owners who share in the nature based business of whalewatching. Once a boat operator only association, WADWA is now encouraging any person or company that makes money from living whales and dolphins to join in and help create a stronger voice to protect the whales for future generations. WADWA always tries to be represented at the annual International Whaling Commission conferences.
For more information about joining this national association contact Frank Future the WADWA secretary at
frank@nelsonbay.com
“Festival of the Whales”27 September – 12 October 2008
Port Stephens is hosting the “Festival of the Whales” during the spring school holidays from 27th September – 12th October 2008. There will be stacks of things for kids and families so come and celebrate the return of the whales. D’Albora Marinas at Nelson bay are hosting the two week long festival and have partnered up with whale cruise operators Moonshadow, Imagine and Spirit Cruises plus booking services Port Stephens boat hire, KD Winnings and the RSL to host this years festival.The aim of this event is to let folk know especially families, of this fantastic opportunity to celebrate the recovery of the mighty Humpback whales returning past Port Stephens. Newborn calves will accompany many of the adult females during October.The Festival will include lots of music, fun activities for kids and educational talks about these beautiful mammals. Holding the Festival during spring when the weather is warming up was chosen as the best time to showc
ase our fantastic waters. Nelsons bay d’Albora Marinas and its boutique shops, restaurants and cruises is the gateway to NSW largest new Marine Park and is a fantastic place to relax explore and have fun.
Alist of Festival Events can be viewed at
www.whalefest.com.au
Purchase a GIFT VOUCHER for friends or family. A Whale watch cruise gift voucher with Imagine can make a unique birthday gift for a friend or family and can be done over the phone. Email us or call direct on (02) 4984 9000
