On our way back down the coast, Mike and I stopped in Port Macquarrie again. You might remember it as where we celebrated Mike’s birthday and the place I sighted a wild koala. We had a little time to kill before we needed to be back in Newcastle so we decided to go whale watching.
This excursion was one of the first “touristy” things we did. And by “touristy” I mean, fun-things-that-cost-money. We had considered whale watching in Hervey Bay, but the price tag turned us away pretty quickly. Tours started at $85 AUD for 2 hours on a large boat with 300 people and went up from there. In Port Macquarrie we paid $35 AUD for 2 hours on a snappy Baywatch-like boat with 12 people*. I think we made the better choice.
Before we even made it out of the river we spotted dolphins. That’s something I didn’t realize about Australia before. Dolphins are everywhere.
To be honest, I think I enjoyed the boat ride just as much (or even more so) than the actual whale watching. The ride is fast and exciting, and if you enjoy catching wake you’ll love it. I was always a bit disappointed when we slowed down so we could actually start looking for whales.
It look a long time to find one, but we finally came across a teenage humpback. He came right up to our boat and did a bit of showing off. Our skipper was able to identify the whale as one he sees often due to a scar on the whale’s back.
I’m sure a different tour on a different day would have resulted in spotting more whales, but that’s the nature of the activity. You never know what you’ll see. Personally, I was happy with the dolphins, whale, and high-speed boat ride.
xo, jill
*I don’t remember the name of the company we used but we booked via Ozzie Pozzie Backpackers.
I love whale watching! I did it once in the States and it was amazing!! And yes, the dolphins! Haven’t seen many yet, but hope I will in WA!
Oh and I got your Email, will reply before I head out to Perth on Sunday!!
Kristina x
http://le-fabuleux-destin-de.blogspot.com.au/
Whale watching is something I’ve never done, simply because I’ve always felt it was high-risk and fairly pricey. And the risk I’m talking about has nothing to do with danger, but rather that most excursions seem to offer huge caveats that you may not see a whale! Which is fine, I get that nature has better things to do than cooperate with intrepid sightseers, but I’d hate to shell over all that money and see nothing. I think you definitely made the smart choice, since $35 for 2 hours is far more reasonable, and toss in the dolphins and the high speed boat ride and what more could a girl want?
All of the operations here seem to work really really hard to find you whales. They use planes to sight them and everything! (Not sure if they are that gung-ho other places or not). But I suppose if the whales are off doing other things, the company can’t really do much about that!
Have a great time in WA! I’m really eager to head out there…but it’s sooo far away!
So awesome! Not many people in the world have the experience of seeing whales in the wild. Definitely one of my fondest memories.
crazy!! They are soo close! were you scared?
crazy!! They are soo close! were you scared?
crazy!! They are soo close! were you scared?
crazy!! They are soo close! were you scared?
crazy!! They are soo close! were you scared?
Not at all. Whales are typically very gentle around humans and this guy was no exception.
They’re pretty amazing animals, aren’t they? Every time I see an animal in the wild, I always hope that I’ll have the opportunity to expose my (potential) future children to animals in the same way. Here’s to wining the lotto!