song of the sea

gaze upon humpback whales in all their natural glory off the coast of queensland at cape moreton.

Words by TIEN CHEW

The feeling is almost indescribable the first time you see a pod of humpback whales surface from the depths of the shimmering blue. If you’re lucky, you may spot a mother and her calf dive, spout or blow, or deliver a playful tail slap. From June until October, whale watching season descends upon Queensland as these large creatures migrate from the Antarctic to warmer Australian waters in search of plankton, krill and small schooling fish.

Redcliffe Jetty, about 45 minutes away from the Brisbane Marriott Hotel in the city centre, is your gateway to Cape Moreton, where around 18,000 humpback whales swim through annually. The best way to see these majestic mammals is on the cruiser named Eye Spy – a custom-designed low-noise catamaran purposefully built for whale watching. To ensure greater viewing success, a small Cessna 172 plane, also whimsically named Sky Spy, is used to pinpoint the whales’ locations.

With keen eyesight, or a sturdy pair of binoculars and lots of perseverance, you can identify individual whales by their unique markings, battle scars or the black-and-white colouration on the underside of their tails. It is said that observing individual humpbacks over a period of time rather than a larger number of whales may produce a greater watching experience. This form of observation lets you learn a whale’s personality, movement patterns and interactions with its kin. Should you want to hear whale song, the ship comes equipped with state-of-the-art underwater microphones.

Humpbacks may be the main draw to Cape Moreton’s waters, but a supporting cast of bottlenose dolphins, hammerhead sharks, dugongs, manta rays, turtles and other marine life keeps this aquatic theatre exciting. The presence of such diverse wildlife indicates that Moreton Bay Marine Park may rival the Great Barrier Reef itself.

For more information please visit brisbanemarriott.com