Hervey Bay - Say hi to the whales

Whale-watch cruises from Urangan Boat Harbour give fascinating insights into the lives of these giants of the sea. Some 20 operators run Hervey Bay whale-watch cruises, with whales sometimes coming so close to the boats that you can hear the great blast of air rushing from their blowholes as they breach. It's an awesome experience and one that moves everyone aboard.

Below the surface, mother whales may well be chatting to each other and to their calves. Humpback whales belong to the group of whales known as rorquals, which includes the blue whale, fin whale, Bryde's whale, sei whale, and minke whale.

Research on minke whale populations off the Queensland coast show they have a complex language with a rich vocabulary. Little is understood about it and one diver has described the language as "a sort of rolling noise - like being in the middle of a mob of pigs".

Who knows what they discuss? Possibly they say things like "eaten any good krill lately?" referring to the small shrimp-like marine crustaceans upon which they feed.

Each year, during winter, humpback whales migrate from Antarctic waters to the warm waters of the tropics for calving. Many of the giant mammals turn up at Hervey Bay from late July and remain until November, when they set off on the long migration to the cold southern ocean far south of Australia.