A whale of a season
Sighting of a mother and calf humpback whale kicks off this years season
As the Sailaway VII sailed past Snapper Island guests burst out cheering when spotting a mother and calf Humpback Whale playing in the warm ocean water.
This was an unexpected bonus and kicks off this year’s whale season in Far North Queensland for 2022.
Last Tuesday the crew from Sailaway VII saw in the distance the water break. This was the first close-up sighting of the whale season for the crew from Sailaway who were venturing out to the Mackay Coral Cay for a day of snorkelling and exploring the clear waters of this majestic part of the outer reef.
“People are excited by the sheer size of these mammals, it’s impressive,” Steve Edmondson, Sailaway said.
“Each year whales make the journey north up the east coast of Australia to breed and give birth in the shallow warm waters,” Steve said.
It’s in the clear waters that you can witness a beautiful and heart-warming view of these animals in the wild yet there are few places to be among the whales in their breeding season. “It’s pretty common to see a mother and her newborn calf.”
Whale sightings are a bonus to the journey from Port Douglas for many visitors.
During the height of Whale season, tours will explore the reef and it’s a fair gamble that there will be a daily whale sighting.
That’s a huge draw card for the travel industry with tours dedicated to spotting Minke and other species of whales.
“The fact that visitors see them in the wild is exciting. Sighting a whale always gives people a thrill and puts a big smile on their faces, often resulting in cheering and clapping,” Steve said.
Yet it's not only the whales returning to our region, so are the travellers who are choosing Port Douglas as a tourism destination after Covid travel restrictions. A healthy dose of nature is uplifting and makes memorable moments with family and friends.
“Port Douglas has seen an incredible bounce back with an influx of visitors from our southern states enjoying the tropics and joining in the range of nature-based experiences in this region,”.
The increases are also evident with inbound tourism. “The international markets of Europe and USA have also returned.”
"It’s good news for the region and maybe for those exhibitionist mammals in greater numbers each year and a privilege for visitors to observe their interactive behaviour, and put on a display of tail slapping and breaching”.