Whale Watching off Gold Coast, Australia

Clouds of white mist linger above the horizon off Gold Coast, created by breaching humpback whales who’ve come to the waters off Queensland, Australia to mate and give birth. Every year, over 30,000 of these humpback whales migrate along the “Humpback Highway” which spans over 5,000 miles from Antarctica towards the northern end of Australia. Their journey is no easy feat, as they only feed opportunistically once they leave the nutrient-dense waters of the Antarctic.

Groups of strong bull whales are the first to lead the migration, cruising fast and eager to mate in the warmer waters. Juvenile whales follow shortly after, as do the slower pregnant whales who are due to give birth as soon as they reach the breeding grounds. Calves born the year before and their mothers trail the rest, with the calves weaning and gaining strength to soon become independent.

The first time I’d spotted a humpback whale off the Gold Coast was during a scuba dive trip to Wonder Reef, a buoyant artificial reef installation encrusted with barnacles and home to reef fish both big and small. I’d just finished pulling up my seven-millimeter wetsuit, a mere eggshell of warmth compared to a humpback whale’s six inches of blubber, when a female humpback and her calf appeared.

“That calf could’ve been born just moments ago,” one of the divers said. It would explain the thick layer of particles in the water. Perhaps the remnants of a whale’s placenta?

We spent our surface interval admiring the mother humpback and her newborn with the glimmer of the Gold Coast skyline as our backdrop. As the calf grows, it will drink up to 350 liters (92 gallons) of milk per day, living solely off the mother’s fat reserves.

When the mother and her calf dive deep into the water, I hold my breath for their return. Humpback calves have just a fraction of the lung capacity an adult whale does, so they often emerge for a breath on their own. After a few minutes, the calf and her mother return to the surface for a deep breath before diving and cruising ahead of our boat. Contending with boats, sharks, and even orcas, their long journey to the frigid waters of the Antarctic will be a long one.

The next morning, I ventured out further onto the open ocean on a whale watching excursion in hopes of seeing these gentle giants from a new perspective. One of the most humbling things that I’ve ever done was come eye to eye while swimming with humpback whales in Tonga. A juvenile whale came up to me and twirled underwater, performing a pirouette. I twirled. Then, she twirled again. We engaged in some form of ocean-themed dance off. When I swam alongside humpback calves in Tonga and French Polynesia, their mothers always kept a close eye on me–watching every interaction from the deep blue.

This day, I was out in my element rather than theirs. Our whale watching ship set off from The Spit and as soon as we were out of the marina, we saw our first blow of water at 11 O’clock from the bow of the ship. A few minutes later, two whales appeared at 3 O’clock just a few hundred feet away from our vessel. In the distance, we saw flashes of gray followed by a white splash–whales breached, fin slapped, and exhaled all around us. It looked like rush hour on the Humpback Highway.

Marine scientists onboard had their cameras ready to snap pictures of the whale’s tail fins to upload into a database where cetacean researchers all around track individual whales and their migration and behavior patterns. Like human fingerprints, no two whale tails are exactly alike. The notches, scars, patterns, size, and even shape of the tail can distinguish one whale from the next.

The whales around us on this day traveled in twos and threes, most likely bulls traveling together or a female plus her escort. Some slapped their fins and their tails, which might be done to communicate. In the far distance, we witnessed their mighty breach. I’m not sure what the calorie expenditure would be to launch a 30+ ton body out of the water, but I have a small feeling it’s quite a lot.

When the whales disappeared, our boat looked for round water slicks on the water, a sign of a whale’s presence, caused by the propulsion of the whale’s tail as it dives to the deep blue.

On our way back to the marina, we witnessed the gray silhouettes of two whales ‘logging’ on the surface of the sea. Humpback whales are voluntary breathers, where each breath is a conscious decision. If a whale is tired, they’ll often float or swim slowly at the surface to catch a breath (or a few breaths) of fresh air with little effort.

There are few places in the world where you can spot humpback whales so closely and so consistently to a major city. Add in the appeal of scuba diving and surfing, the Gold Coast is a dream for ocean-obsessed travelers like me.

If you want to spot these whales for yourself, visit from May to September. There are tens of operators available ranging from all-day expeditions on small ships to private sailing yacht charters to half-day trips on large vessels. Or, hop on a dive trip along the Gold Coast during whale migration season for a chance to spot a fin or fluke on your way to the dive sites.