What Are We Currently Seeing

What we are currently seeing

Every day is hump day aboard Naturaliste Charters whale watching experiences!  From May to November, humpback whales visit the south west of Western Australia as they undertake their annual migration, an incredible journey from the feeding grounds of Antarctica to the warm waters of Australia’s north west and beyond to breed and calve.  Our locations span the scenic south west, and as a result we have the longest whale migration season anywhere in the world.

From May, humpback whales arrive at the scenic seaside town of Augusta. Competitive, curious and acrobatic, this is whale watching at it’s most dramatic and spectacular.  Rare blue, minke and fin whales are also sighted on occasion as they too make the epic trek north. From July, endangered southern right whales also arrive, giving birth to their calves in the protected waters of Flinders Bay.

As spring arrives, the whales retrace their steps south. The southern migration is special.  In the protective care of their mothers, calves leave their birthplace in the tropical north and make the epic trek to Antarctic waters for the first time, an incredible journey for a baby just months old. The calm, protected waters of Geographe Bay offer a welcome respite to the weary wanderers, an opportunity to rest before crossing an entire ocean for the first time. The humpbacks arrive first, followed by regular sightings of blue whales from October through to early December.

Encounter an astonishing aggregation of marine wildlife on an unforgettable oceanic expedition. From January to April, our full day expeditions visit one of the least explored places on earth, and the only place in Australia you can reliably encounter killer whales (orca), the ocean’s undisputed apex predator.

Your expedition may see pods of long-finned pilot whales, sperm whales, a rare beaked whale and the largest animal to ever have lived, the blue whale. You can also admire the acrobatics of large pods of bottlenose, striped, and common dolphins, and encounter shark species that include great whites, whaler sharks, and the beautiful oceanic blue, a species  never seen from shore. Enormous oceanic sunfish surface, disc shaped bodies sometimes 2 meters across. The remains of giant squid sometimes float on the surface, a predator of the deep reduced to scraps, squabbled over by an astonishing array of pelagic seabirds including albatross, shearwater and petrel species. Rare species are sighted each season, including the Barau’s and Black-Bellied Storm Petrel. The Bremer Canyon is a place like no other on the planet. Your experience like no other in your life…