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HERVEY BAY’S ULTIMATE WHALE WATCH RUNS FROM JULY TO OCTOBER.

Hervey Bay’s Ultimate Whale Watch is a Tourism Australia Signature Experience and a Best of Queensland experience, and is led by qualified Marine Biologists, providing guests with interpretation of humpback whale behaviours and the great migration.

Ocean Defender, our 12m RIB vessel, is purpose-built for whale watching, offering water-level views and small group tours with a maximum of 38 passengers for an intimate experience. Whale season is July to October – with guaranteed whale sightings from July 15 to October 9.

The only operator in Hervey Bay to have been researching Humpbacks Whales for over three decades, Pacific Whale Foundation Australia’s scientists are responsible for the South Pacific’s longest running photo-identification project and the largest curated database of Humpback Whales in Eastern Australia, having detailed the life histories of over 8,000 individual Humpback Whales.

An Australian, wholly-owned social enterprise company, Pacific Whale Foundation Eco Adventures Australia runs eco tours and the Ocean Store merchandise shop to raise funds for education, conservation and research projects, with regular involvement in school visits, virtual classrooms, community forums and educational conferences, as well as coordinating and managing a series of Clean Up Events.

HERVEY BAY NATURE CRUISE RUNS FROM DECEMBER TO JUNE.

Need a dose of nature-therapy? Hervey Bay and the Great Sandy Strait will delight the nature-lover!

Cruise the Great Sandy Strait, a water wonderland of wildlife! The Great Sandy Strait is a special place, nestled between the largest sand island in the world – K’gari (meaning paradise in the local Butchulla language) – and the Fraser Coast on the Australian mainland.

Join us on a leisurely two-hour morning cruise to discover why this area of the world is considered a marine playground for an array of wildlife, including endangered and threatened species. Spot marine animals and birds, along with wildlife along the shorelines.

Learn about sea and land animals, birds, the marine and coastal habitats, conservation approaches and Pacific Whale Foundation Australia research programs. Pacific Whale Foundation Australia has been operating research, conservation and education outreach programs in Hervey Bay since 1984.

This lovely, two-hour cruise on the clear waters of the Great Sandy Strait offers a safe, relaxed experience – and a great opportunity for some fantastic wildlife photos!

WHO WE ARE

Pacific Whale Foundation Australia and our ecotour operations, PWF Eco-Adventures Australia, are registered Australian charities set up to promote the mission and vision of our parent company Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF). PWF is an international Non-Government Organisation with a mission to protect the ocean through science and advocacy and inspire environmental stewardship. All profits from our ecotours and retail sales go towards supporting this mission here in Australia.

Early pioneers (1980’s) in non-invasive whale research, our scientists began offering educational whale watches on the weekends, after studying whales and their ocean environment during the week. The trips were a means to share our findings, educate the public about whales and our ocean environments, and raise the needed funds for our Research, Education and Conservation work. This model continues to this day, with expanded whale watch eco tours, nature tours and retail sales in our Ocean Store.

Hervey Bay is the Whale-Watching Capital of Australia and the first whale heritage site in the world. If you want to watch whales in the wild, no other destination can rival the sheer number and quality of whale encounters you’ll experience here. But, what makes Hervey Bay whale watching so unique?

During whale season, thousands of humpback whales make this calm, protected and relatively small area a popular stopover on their journey to Antarctica. So many “big fish (mammals, actually) in a small pond” makes the likelihood of sightings almost certain.

Hervey Bay’s whales also tend to stay a while, 10 days on average. All age groups of whales can be found in our waters, including mothers and their calves, as well as juvenile and adult males that can often be heard “singing” underwater.

Experience with us the awe of watching organic behaviours of ocean wildlife in their natural environment as we share the waters of the Great Sandy Marine Park with whales, dolphins, turtles and an ever-increasing diversity of marine life.

Selecting a whale watching tour from the plethora of options you are likely to discover online, or the brochures you find in your local hotel or tourist office, is not easy. Your final choice may be based mostly on proximity and convenience, but hopefully after visiting the IWC online Whale Watching Handbook, you will also want to ensure that you choose a responsible whale watching experience. Here is a quick checklist that you can use to help you identify a responsible whale watch tour operator, and a handy acronym (SCORE) that will help you to remember the key attributes of a good tour. Look for an operator that prioritises:

SAFETY:

Choose an operator that provides life jackets, conforms with local permitting and licensing regulations, has good communications with shore, and conducts a safety briefing for passengers before departure.
CONSERVATION:

Choose an operator that contributes to the conservation of whales and dolphins in some demonstrable manner.
ON-BOARD EDUCATION:

Choose a tour that includes opportunities to learn about whales or dolphins from a guide or interpreter.
REGULATIONS:

Ensure that the operator follows local regulations in place to protect whales and dolphins.
ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNITY:

Choose an operator that demonstrates a commitment to the environment and the local community.

You can evaluate a tour operator’s SCORE by asking questions when you visit their office or phone to book a tour. But you can also use the SCORE acronym to evaluate and compare the information that operators present on their websites if you are booking a tour online. Look for signs of their commitment to these principles.

For more information consult the IWC/CMS online whale watching handbook.

We offer the only whale watch based on over 30 years of whale research in Hervey Bay.
Three departures daily at 7:00am, 11:00am, 2:30pm
Trip duration approximately three hours
Check in at the Ocean Store, Shop 1 Great Sandy Straits Marina, Urangan Harbour
Your ticket to adventure will HELP SAVE WHALES!