Whales on the Humpback Highway 2025

We are a booking agent for all three cruise companies here in Nelson Bay.

Moonshadow TQC Cruises

Aquamarine Adventures

Imagine Cruises

As we can't be out there everyday ourselves, we like to bring you the best of what's happening out there via this page.

Please enjoy.

Posts courtesy of Moonshadow TQC &  Lee Matthews

12th August

It was a lovely Day out on the water this morning, Sun was out and the whales were present. We had two amazing migrating whales Traveling North towards Cabbage Tree Island.

They had great surface time giving our passengers a good look at their beauty and size. There were other pods spotted further out but to far for us to travel to.

On our way past Cabbage Tree Island we stopped in to see our Australian Fur seal friends sunbaking on the rocks. A few must have been out fishing as we could only see 6.

We were Welcomed back into the Harbor by our local Bottle nose Dolphins

30th July

While it was a drizzly day out on the water and what us humans would describe as ‘cold and miserable’, apparently the whales didn’t mind the rain. Our legendary skipper put in the hard yards with his search and came up trumps, with our first mugging of the season! Hiding under “cover” at the back of the boat, our local resident photographer Lee was in the right position to capture this surprise breach.

These two humpbacks became super curious, circling the boat, trumpeting loudly, with lazy headstands showing everyone their beautiful flukes, and one extremely close tail lob! We also spotted an albatross taking some time out to have a rest and groom itself. Definitely worth the dodging the rain shower today we’d say! 

24 - 27th July

Humpback Whales are known to communicate from one pod to another by a variety enthralling behaviours that we as passengers take much delight in being able to view during our whale watch cruise. Luckily Humpback Whales are very curious and love to know what is happening in their environment, and quite often swim nice and close to our boat to do a bit of people watching – while we are watching them they are also watching our crew and passengers.

Our passengers have been witness to a number of behaviours over the past weekend from breaching, tail slapping, pec slaps, beautiful tail diving, close passes to the boat, breaching and much more. During one cruise we also sighted a heat run, this occurs when the males within the pod become very vocal and aggressive to one another as they try and compete for the attention of the female in the pod, you quite often see a whale throw its tail creating a big white water splash and showing off their powerful force.

It has not just been the whales, the other stars seen was a beautifully large sea turtle, local Bottlnose Dolphins and seals at Cabbage Tree Island

23th July

The early morning showers have disappeared just in time for the 10am Whale Watch Cruise aboard the Hinchinbrook Explorer to depart. There is great anticipation onboard of what today may bring. We have not had to wait too long as just outside the heads on the Yaccaba side of the entrance to the Bay with the crew spotting three different pods, the skipper has cruised along side at the same pace of the whales to give everyone a good view of the whales. As we were about to leave the pods to continue their journey there has been startled white water splashing with the whales launching into a display of tail lobbing and slapping.

20th July

What a stunning sunny winters day for the Human Whale Event at Fingal Bay! Hundreds of ocean lovers took part in forming a giant 100 meter long Whale shape on the  gorgeous beachfront in Fingal Bay this morning – all to be captured from above in one epic drone shot!

For our passengers on the 10am whale watch cruise aboard the Hinchinbrook Explorer we have cruised along through the bay taking in the view of Shoal Bay and Mt Tomaree before heading towards the off shore island, close to Little Island we have located a pod of Humpback Whales. All whales spent a good amount of time on the surface of the water with relativity short sounding dive times. There is nothing better than being in the beautiful winter sunshine and watching whales in their natural environment. We can’t forget the seals, so we have headed over to Cabbage Tree Island to look at how many are enjoying the prime position on the rocks at the base of the shore line.

18th July

Today’s 10am Whale Watching cruise had us locate numerous pods of Humpback’s all casually & peacefully migrating north with the odd tail slap here and there. Even when they are not displaying their active behaviors like we are sometimes so privileged to witness, it’s still such a thrill to experience whales like you can’t from the shore.

9th July

Conditions off shore for our whale watch cruise could not get any better today, with what can only be described as glassed out seas, nice and calm with just a gentle roll of swell, brilliant blue skies and warm winter sunshine! The whale highway is busy again this morning with numerous pods seen, one whale even surprise everyone aboard the Hinchinbrook Explorer as it dove under the boat and popped up on the bow. We also had a pod of Short Beaked Common Dolphins interacting with a pod of Humpback Whales. The seals on Cabbage Tree Island are loving all the warm sunshine as they bask on their favourite rocks at the base of the island, while a few seals were in the water swimming.

For the keen twitchers or bird watchers, we have seen Sea Eagle soaring above on the thermal as it conserved its energy while searching for food.

5th July

The winter school holidays at Port Stephens are the perfect reason to book the family on a whale watch cruise, rug up the kids with jackets, scarves and hat to keep warm and jump on one of the whale watch cruises to experience the thrill of seeing and hearing the mighty Humpback Whale just meters from the boat.

The Hinchinbrook Explorer was the first vessel to head off shore and we have been successful in locating a number of pods of Humpback Whales around the Boondelbah and Little Island. We have spent time viewing the whales in their natural habitat as they made their way north bound, all whales were content and happy swimming along with a few beautiful tail dives displaying the underside of the whales fluke as they dove beneath the surface of the water. We cannot forget about the seals on Cabbage Tree Island who as expected have been basking the warm sunshine on the rocks at the base of the island.

MV Osprey has departed from the d’Albora Marina at 11am and cruised in the direct of Fingal Island, the crew have reported the sightings of multiple pods of whales in the vacinity. The highlight of this cruise has been a couple of surprise breaching whales quite close to the boat catching everyone unaware, and the dominate display of head lunging that almost appears as a lazy breach when the whale doesn’t quite have the energy to launch itself completely out of the water. Cruising back toward Nelson Bay on the return to the dock we have traversed along Jimmy’s Beach to watch a pod of the local Port Stephens Bottlenose Dolphins.

30th June

The phrase ‘Whale Soup’ is being whispered frequently at the moment – we seem to be coming into the peak of the northern migration of the whales traveling along the Port Stephens coastline. Our crew are reporting numerous pods within sight of the boat, one pod of whales that was of high interest was a pod of whales showing off with double breaches during the 10am whale watch cruise. But there are just so many whales that we appear to being floating within a massive bowl of whales.

The afternoon cruise has began with a few showers about, but the clouds have quickly disappeared and the blue sky & sunshine has reappeared. The ‘Whale Soup’ from our morning cruise has continued with large numbers of pods of Humpback Whales. We have stayed with one lone active whale near to the Fingal Island Lighthouse, the Humpback Whale has been tail slapping and peduncle throwing non stop, creating alot of white water splashing.

23rd June

We had encounterd numerous pods of beautiful Humpback Whales over the past few days, and today has been no different. There are whales in every direction we look and they are very active showing off their sheer size and strength, especially as they breach themselves fully out of the water. What can only be described as a breach-a-thon of Humpback Whales repetitively breaching, launching out of the water and creating a massive white wash of splashing landing back on the surface of the water – the sound catches you too.

22nd June

We could not of asked for a better day, there is hardly a breath of air movement and the sun shine is sparkling on the surface of the nice calm sea conditions. Our first pods of Humpback Whales have been located close to Fingal Island, we have cruised along with three pods as they have traveled towards Broughton Island. All whales spent a good amount of time on the surface of the water and one pod coming in nice and close to the Hinchinbrook Explorer. The close pod of three Humpback Whales have then become quite relaxed and playful with displays of breaching, tail slap, fin slaps, tail lobs and rolling about on the surface of the water. Before heading back to the d’Albora Marina we have cruised past Cabbage Tree Island and the seals, the usual gang were resting on their rocks, but also a couple swimming in the shallows of the water.

Have you ever seen a pod of whales in a Mexican Wave, no, well neither had we until this afternoon. In what could only be described as a Mexican Wave of Humpback Whales breaching one after another – it was quite the sight to see! They were super active, spy hopping, pec slaps, head lunges and rolling showing their beautiful white bellies. But the afternoon continued with numerous sighting of additional four pods within close proximity of the vessel.

Not to be forgotten in the midst of all the whales, the dolphins too have made several appearances on the way past Mt Tomaree there has been a pod of local Port Stephens Bottlenose Dolphins and then again a pod of approximately 20 dolphins near the seals on Cabbage Tree Island.

21st June

What a fantastic winters day to be out on the Port Stephens Humpback Highway! 

We had blue sky, sunshine and great sea conditions off shore making for the perfect whale viewing. Even before cruising out through the headland at Shoal Bay the crew had seen blows quite near to Fingal Island, so we knew at this point we are in for a great day aboard the Hinchinbrook Explorer. Sure enough as we reached closer to the Island we were greeted by approximately 10 pods of Humpback Whales within close vicinity. They had heated up quite a bit for 3 or 4 of these pods with very active heat runs occurring; a heat run is described as a pod of whales generally consisting of majority males who are chasing and becoming very competitive towards a female within the pod. The males try to dominate the situation making themselves appear like the bigger male and often there is a lot of grunting or head lunging as they try and impress the female. If this wasn’t enough excitement, the passengers were treated to a magnificent display of playful whales breaching, double breaching tail slapping and more!

Not to be outdone, we also sighted a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins off shore and an impressive Hammer Head Shark.

Our afternoon cruise spotted a pod of five Humpback Whales, with the pod appearing to be resting and logging on the surface of the water. We also viewed other pods of quiet whales, we think they were also enjoying the Port Stephens sunshine and glassy seas conditions. As we moved on towards Cabbage Tree Island, we looked back and were surprised and amazed to see the pod of five whales again and to see there was a very new born calf with them. At this point the calf had become very playful and breaching its tiny body out of the water. Such a beautiful creature to see so early in the season. 

20th June

What an incredible morning we’ve had offshore this morning on our daily whale watch cruise! As soon as we ventured past our two headlands (Tomaree and Yacaaba) we could already see an abundance of whale spouts each direction we looked. As we headed out further we came across around 3-4 pods of humpbacks totaling around 10 whales in total. These pods were all coming in nice and close to our boat along our port, starboard and bow. We had a wonderful display of breaches, head lunges, spy hopping, tail lobs, fin slaps, and even one was showing it’s underside and tail slapping for us. A large pod of oceanic dolphins didn’t want to miss out on all the fun so they joined us for some bow surfing! Venturing home we saw around 10 lazy fur seals napping at Cabbage Tree Island and then a nice pod of local bottle nose dolphins coming in past Yacaaba Headland.

Passengers aboard our afternoon Whale Watch Cruise have been treated with beautiful sunny winters afternoon on the water with glassed out conditions with little to no swell. The crew report whales in abundance with at least 4-5 pods of Humpback Whales sighted close to Fingal Island Lighthouse. A number of whales took quite an interest in MV Osprey and swimming very close to the vessel – perhaps a bit of people watching! So special when it appears as the whales are eyeing you standing on the deck of the boat. Such an entertaining and special way to spend an afternoon, even our crew were totally enjoying themselves and also in awe of the close encounter. The cruise did not end with our time with the whales, we have then cruised towards Cabbage Tree Island where there have been a number of seals basking in the sunshine on the rocks, there has also been one seal swimming in the water and he was receiving cheers and encouragement from our passenger as its launched itself out of the water to climb onto one of the rocks.

19th June

The warm sunshine and clear skies, along with the cool sea air and smooth sea conditions provided for a perfect day to get out on the water to visit our giant friends of the sea. On both our morning and afternoon cruises onboard our newest member of the fleet MV Osprey, we located several pods of humpback whales just off Fingal Lighthouse with a few pods amidst heat runs. This gave our passengers and crew some light entertainment watching these magnificent creatures in action. While cruising past Cabbage Tree Island on the way back into Nelson Bay, we spotted some Australian Fur seals lazing on the rocks also enjoying the warmth of the sun. With the next few days looking brilliant from a weather and cruise conditions perspective, and with some good numbers of whales beginning to come through, it’s a great time to get out amongst the action!

18th June

Catch phrase of the day from our Cruise Director, Michele on MV Osprey “Damn Amazing Whales Today” even our crew become star stuck with the experience of viewing the mighty Humpback Whale. Every day is different, but for today we have been blessed with wonderful sea conditions, lots of sun shine and light sea breezes.

Our morning cruises has found the first whales of the day before reaching Fingal Island, and our sign that they were not far ahead was a breaching whale! 

Moving closer we can see two pods of Humpback Whales with the pods mingling with the other pod, and then separating again. They were quite social with one another making interesting viewing for all onboard.

This afternoon was absolutely perfect for a Humpback Whale watching cruise – calm waters and beautiful weather. We were surrounded by so many pods of Humpback whales! While most of them weren’t super active, just having them all around our boat was amazing. At one point, we even got to see some breaching – it was incredible! Definitely no shortage of whales out there.

Saturday 7th June

Well, the Humpback Highway appeared to have it's own long weekend traffic, with morning head lunges and close passes and afternoon breaches. I'm excited to get out on the water today and see what's in store for us!

Friday 6th June

In the lead-up to the long weekend, there were definitely more whales making their way up the highway today, with whales migrating in the morning and a pod of three in the afternoon who looked to be chasing down a couple of breachers off in the distance.  The long weekend is looking good!!

Monday, 2 June

Thanks to the determination and dedication of our skipper and crew this afternoon, we spotted three humpbacks heading north at Boat Harbour.  They disappeared at one point, surprising everyone by coming up right alongside and spraying a delicate waft of "eau de whale-snot parfum" as they surfaced . Who knows what today's cruises will bring!!  Also, some super cute fur seals basking on their favourite comfy rocks.

31st May

What appeared at first glance to be the rare "stick dolphin", on editing  I discovered we had sighted a "petrified whale" in the Bay yesterday afternoon

27th May

Challenging conditions out on the water this morning, with the wind making it difficult to spot blows. But our skipper, Mat, spotted a mother and calf as they hurtled north.  They were quite easy to track as they left continuous footprints, staying close to the surface and coming in close a few times to check us out.

14th May 2025

Our first Minke for the season

It was a magnificent day on the water today - with a variety of wildlife spotted and beautiful conditions.