Whale Sightings

Another super day out on our Whale Watch cruises with both our morning and afternoon cruises seeing plenty of whales who are pretty hell bent of getting to warmer waters.  Passengers were treated to a good breach close to the boat just when everyone had put their cameras away.  A pod of Common Dolphins were…

Winter days in Port Stephens don’t get much better than the conditions we have experience over the last couple of days, with warm sunny days, light breezes and good sea conditions. The Hinchinbrook Explorer has departed the dock at 10am with our passengers primed for a fantastic morning searching for Humpback Whales off shore. Cruising…

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!!! The whales are now aplenty off Port Stephens with lots of action on the Humpback Highway, as the locals fondly call it. Today’s cruise didn’t disappoint with plenty of whale sightings close to Fingal Island with a number of behaviours being sighted including breaches, pec fin slaps, tail lobs, tail slaps…

The Port Stephens Whale Highway is becoming quite congested with so many pods of whales being sighted each day, we appear to be heading into the peak of the northern migration of Humpback Whales making their way north bound towards Queensland. Again we have picked up a pod of two Humpback Whales close to the…

It has been a misty and showery start to the day at Nelson Bay, by the time we have departed the dock for the first whale watch cruise of the day the cloud has lifted a bit and the showers eased off. The skipper of the Hinchinbrook Explorer has lined up along side a pod…

The Oceanic Dolphins have stolen the show today with their brilliant acrobatic skills on display, at one point a huge pod of Dolphins appeared taking a lot of interest in the Hinchinbrook Explorer. Dolphins love nothing more than swimming along at speed on the bow of the boat riding the pressure wave, with the most…

The word has gotten out amongst the seal population, Port Stephens is the place to be for winter! We counted up to 15 seals lazing about on Cabbage Tree Island today. The seals will reside on the island during the cooler months before heading off once the spring air starts to warm up. We have…

This morning’s whale watching cruise aboard the Hinchinbrook Explorer were delighted to see multiple pods of whales with great surface time whilst on their journey offshore near the Fingal Lighthouse.  Once on location, a juvenile whale breached several times near the vessel allowing the passengers to have a good look. On the afternoon tour, the vessel cruised alongside a pod of five Humpback Whales with fantastic surface time and lots of flukes in the air.  A whale’s tale is made of two lobes, each of which are called a fluke.  There is a v-shaped indentation where the flukes of a whale’s tail meet.  Flukes move up and down to propel the whale through the water. There were multiple pods scattered around during the cruise and the Common Dolphins joined the Hinchinbrook Explorer whilst they made their way to view the…

What a magical day to be on the water in the beautiful Port Stephens.  Seas were calm and the sun is shining.  Our passengers today were treated with lots of acrobatic displays from about 30 whales who are migrating north.  We saw plenty of breaches, tail lobs and pectoral fin slaps.  Passengers and crew were…

We have whaley missed being off shore cruising the waterways of Port Stephens! The crew are desperate to head out through the headland at Mt Tomaree again this morning in search of Humpback Whales migration along the coastline. The Captain of the Hinchinbrook Explorer has located several pods of Humpback Whales just out from the…

Due to unfavourable sea conditions, whale watch cruises have been cancelled for today.

You could be forgiven for thinking that there is snow falling in Port Stephens today! The air is super chilly, with what feels like winds blowing directly from the Snowy Mountains and making the accessories of a warm beanie and scarf a necessity while out whale watching this morning to keep warm. The Hinchinbrook Explorer…