Whale Watching season will officially commence on the 12th May, with greater expected whale numbers due to migrate. Experts estimate around 30,000 whales will migrate along the coast of NSW in 2018 and it has been predicted that the record number of 3033 whales spotted during a single NSW season will be broken this year!

The whales will begin their journey heading north from Antarctica, to the warmer waters of nothern Queensland. You can expect to see whales passing Sydney's coast between May and July. There is a slight dip in sightings during August but once September hits the whales will start to make their journey south to feeding grounds in Antartica. 

The first whale watching tours of the season departed Sydney yesterday after weeks of anticipation. Manly Whale Watching has been keeping an ear to the ocean for news of these majestic creatures and they are finally gracing our shores once again. 

Ocean Tracker, the largest vessel on offer at Manly Whale Watching, departed on it's 4 hour Discovery cruise yesterday directly from Circular Quay. After a bit of searching passengers were blessed with a number of sightings. The tour marks the very beginning of a spectacle that is eagerly anticipated every year and is something not to be missed! 

These lucky Whale Watcher's got a very welcoming hello from this friendly humpback whale last weekend! To get the chance to see this for yourself on our adventure vessel click here.

Our first tours went out over the weekend and they were a raging success! Great to see the whales coming again past our shorelines. Tours will soon be running 7 days a week, so book now to be among the first to welcome these animals for our 2015 season :)

Every year we get to watch amazing things happen as the whale population swims past our shorelines. Yet, every year, we are in awe as people around us have remarkable experiences with these creatures. Last weekend marked a special moment for surfers on the Norther Beaches as a young Southern Right came in curiously close. This youngster seemed to soak in the chilled out beach vibes as he sat in the shallows with surfers for hours. Our friend Joel Coleman, of Saltmotion photography, was lucky enough to capture the magic and shares his memory of the experience: 

"If you spend enough time in and around the ocean occasionally you will witness something incredible. Sunday morning at Freshwater Beach was one of these special days. A Southern Right Whale stopped by and decided to hang around in the shallow water for well over an hour. After watching the whale from the clifftop for about twenty minutes, myself and a friend decided to see if we could get a closer look. I honestly thought by the time I got my in water camera together and swam across the bay the whale would have moved on. Thankfully I was wrong and I got to spend an hour photographing and videoing this incredible creature. An experience I will not forget.

Enjoy your day,
Joel Coleman…"


http://www.saltmotion.com/daily-photos