LOCAL photographer Tahnee Stevens ticked off a bucket list item last weekend when she got face-to-face with a humpback whale.

Stevens was fishing about 2km off Snapper Island when an 8m whale approached her boat. She said it was one of most exhilarating experiences of her life.

“It was my first time ever fishing but instead of catching fish we saw this absolutely amazing majestic creature,” she said.

“Whales are my favourite animal and this is the closest I have ever been to one.”

Humpback and dwarf minke whales migrate to the warmer waters near Port Douglas each year along the east coast of Australia.

Have you had a whale emcounter? Email your footage and images to editor@newsport.com.au