Friday 19th August 2011

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

Looking at our news updates you might think Imagine hasn’t been out on to many whale watch cruises in August…. well you would be right. The gods haven’t been kind to us during the last two weeks with some engine and gearbox trouble keeping us out of the water…

The good news for Australian whale watching is the humpback whales are still passing Port Stephens in good numbers so now, with the boat back in the water we are sailling out to take a look. There have still been excellent sightings and visits with whales and we have even had a couple of Mothers with their new born calves. The bay’s Bottlenose Dolphins are always about and we are still catching up with the Australian Fur Seals at Cabbage Tree Island

Thanks to Ronnie Shaw for posting the Humpback Whale breaching photo at the top of the post, it’s always good to show the public that guests can get great photos opportunities on board!

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!

Free ‘Oceans’ Movie pass with every Midweek Adult Whale Watch direct booking by calling us on 02 4984 9000.

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!

Saturday 9th July

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!

10th June 2011

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!

9th June 2011

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!

Friday 3rd June

Passengers and crew of two of the ports whale watch vessels “Imagine” and “Spirit” witnessed a sad whale watchintg event in nature yesterday. A small humpback calf clearly seperated for some time from its mother was labouring along past the entrance of  Port Stephens at 11am.

Barely able to swim and struggling even to raise its head for a breath, the barnacle encrusted calf appeared near the end. Both skippers of Spirit and Imagine spoke with National Parks and Wildlife Service Manager Mick Murphy about the possibility of its stranding somewhere along the NSW coast in the next few days.

It is generally understood that a Humpback calf requires its mothers milk for a full year if it is to survive. Whatever the reason for this calf’s seperation, it will die within days unless by some miracle it is adopted by a lactating female that has lost her calf.

This incident is of a different nature to the strading of sick Humpback Whales recently on the Western Australian coastline.

Later in the cruise two healthy Juvenille Humpbacks were sighted going north and an amazing feeding frenzy involving hundreds of Common dolphin and thousands of Gannets massing to feed on bait fish.

Whale Watching in Port Stephens has begun!

The Humpback whale migration has begun in force and since last Friday we have not as yet missed seeing a whale on any of the 8 whale cruises. According to the weather sites we use, the sea and wind conditions will be excellent for Nelson Bay and the surrounding Port Stephens areas for the coming weekend.

The whales have already been showing off with some tremendous breaching. On the very first cruise, Imagine was mugged (when the whales come right up to the boat) and the close up action hasn’t stopped there. This weekend has seen some very friendly whales and more breaching. On Monday morning’s whale watch, not only did we get to see the whales with the amazing backdrop of Fingal Island’s historic lighthouse, guests were also treated to some more spectacular breaching!

Lucky passengers on Saturday got to see the rare sight of a Minke Whale with her calf, as Imagine sailed past the islands!

All of our whale watch cruises start with a Dolphin cruise inside the bay with the friendly Bottlenose Dolphins. At this time of year we also regularly see the offshore Pacific Common Dolphin that love to come and ride the pressure wave from the bow of the boat. The afternoon cruise is proving popular, although it may be a little colder we are sure you will agree that sailing at sunset is worth it!

Friday 20th May 8:30am

After a great week of weather and patiently waiting for the Humpbacks to arrive in Port Stephens, we can now officially say “The Whales are here!”

As the fog lifted to reveal a beutiful sunny day and calm ocean, Skipper Frank Future was patiently watching the water to the South of Boat Harbour and just like that, a blow, and then another! It looks like we have two Humpback Whales making their way North so when Imagine pulls out of Nelson Bay for the morning whale watching session guests should be in for a treat.

We will keep you all posted as the day progresses, and try to get photos and video of the first Port Stephens Humpback Whales for 2011!


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