Whale Watching in Hervey Bay

Five years ago.

Each year with the changing of the seasons, humpback whales migrate along the eastern coastline of Australia between the southern Tropics and the Antarctic. The majority of humpbacks in Australian waters migrate north from June to August, and back towards the Southern Ocean from September to November. After spending the southern summer feeding in the colder waters near the south pole, they travel up to 5000 kilometres north to warmer seas where they reproduce. Humpbacks range all the way to Cape Tribulation in the Great Barrier Reef. During their migration Humpbacks sometimes come close to shores. Hervey bay is a favourite playground of these magnificent animals.

The calm waters of Hervey Bay sheltered by Fraser Island, is an ideal stopover for Humpbacks.

One weekend found me with nothing to do so I thought to get on the trail of some whales. On a cold breezy and overcast day in October, I booked a spot on a boat for a bit of whale watching.

Whale watching is an enjoyable and interesting experience and is popular in many locations around the world. Hervey Bay is the whale watching capital of Australia.

The first sign of a whale is the blow, a bushy double stream of spray that rises about 3m high. This blow is an exhalation of water by the Humpback as it breathes through two blowholes near the top of the head. 

Humpback whales sometimes travel in temporary groups called pods. Pods are loose traveling groups and some of the whales leave the group after a few days. Many whales live separate from groups but pods stay together for a longer time during the summer, co-operating to forage and feed. The core of a pod is the mother-and-calf/calves bound by the strong and lasting bond. Pregnant cows and cow-calf pairs bring up the rear of a migrating pod led by a group of young males.

At one time, our boat was in the middle of about a half-dozen pods. Humpbacks do not seem to mind the approach and presence of boats.

Humpbacks are very acrobatic, often breaching high out of the water and then slapping the water as they come back down.

Sometimes a whale pokes its head out of the water for up to 30 seconds to take a look around. This is called spyhopping.

Humpbacks range in color from white to gray to black to mottled.

The stubby dorsal fins are visible when the whale surfaces.

Humpback whales are very agile, propelling themselves with their tail fins to make high jumps out of the water.

Lobtailing. When humpbacks slap their tail on the water's surface making a very loud sound.

There are distinctive patches of white on the underside of the flukes. Like the identifiable patterns on their pectoral, these markings are unique to each individual whale.

Whilst fish swim by moving their tails left and right, whales swim by moving their muscular tail or flukes (up to nearly 4m wide) up and down.

The humpback's skin is frequently scarred and often covered with barnacles.

The smooth streamlined shape of an adult whale allows it easy movement through water.

Humpback whales live at the surface of the ocean, both in the open ocean and shallow coastline waters. They prefer shallow waters when not migrating. 

Logging is when a whale is resting at the surface of the water, with its tail down.

The Humpback Whale is the fifth largest of the aquatic mammals.  Humpbacks grow up to 16m long, around 40 tonnes in weight, and live up to 50 years or more. Humpback whales are an endangered species. 

Australia has one of the highest rates of species extinction in the world. In 1963 when the Australian east coast whaling industry ended, the east coast population of humpbacks had been reduced to a little over 100 individuals. This population recovered steadily and in 2006 their numbers were estimated at around 8000.

There are reports that humpback whale populations in Australian waters have recovered to the extent that they may be down-listed from the official list of threatened species. The recovery of the humpback population has contributed significantly to the rapid growth of Australia’s whale watching industry.

Barrington Tops

Barrington Tops National Park in NSW is little altered by time, even in August 2018. It is a haven for adventurers and outdoors lovers. More than half of the park is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area- and the Gondwana Rainforests is one of my favourite haunts. Barrington Tops has so much to offer to conservationists, visionaries and dreamers. Though the terrain is generally rough and the climate sometimes unforgiving, the park is also a bushwalking and birdwatching destination. Its tracks and trails are sometimes also trod by plodders. Walking the Barrington is an experience that’s worlds different from any urban stroll in the park or seeing any human made structure. This is the awesome real world, the majesty of nature manifest in the rugged mountains and rainforests.

About three-quarters of the park is a declared wilderness area. The park is characterised by narrow ridgelines, rugged escarpments and deep river valleys in all directions.

There’s about a 1300m difference in elevation between the highest and lowest points in Barrington (in comparison the elevation difference in the Cordillera range in the Philippines is around 2600m). This dramatic range in altitude results in a range of forest types from subtropical rainforests to snow-gum country, and everything in between. The largest temperate rainforests in mainland Australia are found here.

Many birds such as parrots and cockatoos are common overhead and in the trees. Lyrebirds may be seen in the undergrowth. This shy one above, was on the Corker Trail cheering us on. It must have heard the cheers for trail runners on the Thunderbolt race. “You’re almost there,” it sang as we commenced the 12km climb to Careys Peak. 

A few hours after we left the liarbird, we reached the SnowGum-forested mountain top to be greeted by this historic hut built sometime in 1934. I felt warm on the climb, but in the midst of Sub-alpine woodland in the cool temperate rainforest dominated by the Antarctic beech, I was shivering.

Careys Peak (1,544 metres above sea level) is one of the higher points in the park. I felt on top of the world standing on this summit at the edge of the escarpment. 

Surrounded by wilderness, I swept my gaze across the rugged high mountain ranges. The mountains spoke to me like the bilig back where I was born. Amidst the blustery cold of late Winter, I heard the whisper “Inmali ka?”  “Wen, I hear you. Inmali ak.” I said.

From Thunderbolts Lookout facing due south to a panorama of untamed wilderness.

The Corker Track is a local legend, climbing 870m at 7-8% gradient over nearly 12km. The trail rises immediately from the start and the forest type changes from blue gums and white box to messmate and brown barrel. Further on up the slopes, it changes again to sub-alpine forest with snow grass and an understorey of thick pepperbush, and then to big stands of Antarctic Beech forest on top of the range. Trail runners often visit this trail for some hill training.

There was a race on that day - the Thunderbolt classic. These guys did the marathon.

I don't know the winners but I think I got a photo of them.

Wilderness streams, such as the Allyn River and Williams River find their headwaters in the Barrington Tops. 

The accessible Rocky Crossing Track includes Blue Gum loop that goes along a beautiful section of Williams River where the following photos below were taken.

There’s beauty in the silver singing river...

I can’t see my reflection in the waters...

At the Pool of Reflections, I reflected – on a rock.

And I swear I see my reflection/

 somewhere so high above this wall.

Looking north to Barrington Tops from Salisbury.

This reminds of the fragility, remoteness and isolation of this beautiful wilderness. Let us keep it in its pristine state and look after it in whatever way we can. There were big plans and commercial ideas mooted for this National Park wilderness in the past. Conservation won out as it should but let us not get complacent, don’t let anybody pave this paradise.

The winners of the Thunderbolt Classic on the day.

This is for the non-standard 42.2km event (33km plus Careys Peak).