Sarah Gower Photography

07/06/2026

Something a bit different for this Sunday evening post... whale song! 🎶

I recorded this last October (2025 season) right here in Platypus Bay (the huge bay between K'gari and the mainland). We'd come across a mother and calf and suspected there was a male singing in the area.

So we popped the hydrophone in the water and this dude was LOUD! Loud AND clear, so he must have been reasonably close to the boat.

It's a longer clip but if you listen through the whole thing, you can hear the repeating pattern of his song. 💙

Fun facts about whale song:
🐋 Only the males actually sing
🐋 All the whales in a population (e.g the humpbacks of the east coast of Australia) will sing the same or similar song, but it changes over time - so the song we heard last season will be different this season
🐋 Humpbacks don't have vocal cords like us - they push air to flow between their lungs and laryngeal sac, causing vibrations which creates sounds.

And if you read through all that, here's a cookie! 🍪

34 days until the HB whale watching period starts!

🛥️ Onboard
🎥 Shot with iPhone 16 Pro + Mobile

06/06/2026

Textbook spyhop! 😜 One of the better spyhops I've seen in a while 😍

And with our beautiful K'gari in the background. K'gari (pronounced gah-ree, silent 'k') is the name the Traditional Owners, the Butchulla People, have for the world's largest sand island. In the Butchulla language it means 'paradise'... and it is certainly that! 💚💙

35 days (5 WEEKS!!!!) until the HB whale watching season starts!

⛵️ Onboard
🎥 Shot on iPhone + Mobile

05/06/2026

(Whale) Class is in session! 😍

Some energetic tail slapping from the calf while the mum shows off some beautiful pec fin slapping... even getting both fins up in the air! 🤩🐋

36 days until the HB whale watching season starts!

⛵️ Onboard Blue Dolphin Marine Tours
🎥 Shot in iPhone 16 Pro + Osmo_Global Mobile

(No sound as the wind noise was LOUD 😬)

04/06/2026

🔊 SOUND ON to hear those blows! 🐋🐋

Last season we had a pod with mum, calf and es**rt (male) that was interrupted by the arrival of another two males. It started off a bit of a competition between the dudes.

Those powerful blows as they surface are SO COOL to hear in person!! Hoping to get a few more comp pods this season! 🤞🤞

37 days until the HB whale watching season starts!

🛥️ Onboard
🎥 Shot on iPhone 16 Pro + Mobile

03/06/2026

BIG splash! 😍 (said with the same tone to puppers and kitties who do a big stretch 😂)

This little one pulled off a slightly clumsy peduncle roll leading into a pseudo tail slap. One of my FAVOURITE things is watching the babies learning 'how to whale'! The mothers spend time teaching their calfs all these moves - breaches, tail slaps, pec fin slaps, etc - to help them build up muscle before they continue back down to Antarctica for summer.

If you look closely, you can also see the shadow and white belly of the mum gliding below the calf - gives a really good size comparison!

38 days until the HB whale watching season starts!

🛥️ Onboard Tasman Venture Hervey Bay
🎥 Shot on iPhone 16 Pro + Mobile

02/06/2026

Whales with a foot fe**sh? 🤔😂

This super curious humpback was one of two whales that stuck close to the boat for literal HOURS. 😍 (I think it was over 2 hours? I can't remember the exact amount - just that it was quite a while!)

When someone would sit or crouch on the bottom step and put their feet in the water, it would come in CLOSE to the boat... so obviously we figured it had a thing for feet. 🤪

Still one of my Top 10 favourite encounters from over 15 years of whale watching! 🥰

39 days until the HB whale watching season starts!

⛵️ Onboard
🎥 Shot on iPhone + Mobile

01/06/2026

Annual whale census day on 28 June!

COME OUT FOR THE COUNT! 🐋

ORRCA’s 27th Annual Whale Census Day is happening on Sunday 28th June, and we need whale watchers right along Australia’s east coast to help us create a real-time snapshot of one of the world’s greatest wildlife migrations.

Whether you’re joining us at one of our official Census sites or counting whales from your favourite coastal lookout, every sighting contributes valuable data that supports whale research, conservation and rescue efforts.

Last year, together we recorded a record-breaking 5,995 whale sightings across 159 coastal locations. Let’s see what we can achieve in 2026!

📍 Check the map to find your nearest official Census site
📝 Register your location at www.orrca.org.au/census

Together, let’s make every whale count.

01/06/2026

🐋🐋 Another beautiful mum and bub moment. (This is a longer clip than the one I'm sharing to IG)

As annoying as the wind noise is, I wanted to keep the audio as our skipper Peter is sharing some interesting info (if you turn the volume up, you should be able to hear it).

This mother voluntarily directed her calf back toward the boat. She was, in fact, using the boat as a distraction as there was a persistent male hanging around. In such cases, it's been observed that mothers may use boats either as a distraction or for some safety for the calf (keeping the calf between herself and the boat, away from the male).

There was also that gorgeous moment where the calf is actually on its mother's head before rolling over to her inside (nearest the boat).

It's incredibly humbling to be shown so much trust. 💙🐋

40 days until the HB whale watching season starts!

⛵️ Onboard Blue Dolphin Marine Tours
🎥 Shot on iPhone + Osmo_Global Mobile

31/05/2026

This is a really special one - a mother humpback feeding her calf. 🥰🐋🐋

There's a subset of whales known in both Australian and Hawaiian waters as "tail up feeders". Instead of floating horizontally in the water when feeding their calves, they hang vertically with their tail up in the air.

A few tail up feeders have been identified visiting Hervey Bay but this was my first experience. ID currently unknown - I submitted the fluke to Happywhale but there was no match (yet).

Important note: In Australian waters, you shouldn't approach mothers and calves closer than 300m and absolutely do NOT disrupt them while the calves are feeding. This video was zoomed in quite a bit and then also cropped - we kept our distance as we didn't want to interfere but our skipper, Peter, stopped to show us this beautiful moment between mum and bub.

41 days until the HB whale watching season starts!

⛵️ Onboard Blue Dolphin Marine Tours
🎥 Shot on iPhone + Osmo_Global Mobile

30/05/2026

Playing and rolling over at our FEET! 😍😍😍

And so relaxed! We are incredibly BLESSED they come this close to socialise with us. 🥰🐋

42 days until the Hervey Bay whale watching season starts!

⛵️ Onboard
🎥 Shot on iPhone + Mobile