Come with us on your next Whale Watching Adventure! We will take you to see these amazing creatures in their natural habitat. This cruise is fun for everyone and provides you with all the delights of spotting the Whales and maybe even dolphins whilst enjoying a delicious Buffet Lunch and Afternoon Tea on board.
 | Vessel | Activities available on this boat | Ports | Choose from these sailing dates: | |||||||||||
| MV Whalesong |  Sunning  Whale Watching  Sightseeing | Departs: Hervey Bay Returns: Hervey Bay Click on locations for more info |
|
| Rate per 1+ Child | Rate per 1+ Senior | Rate per 1+ Adult | Rate per 1+ Family | |
 | AUD $60.00 | AUD $105.00 | AUD $115.00 | AUD $310.00 |
Come with us on your next Whale Watching Adventure! We will take you to see these amazing creatures in their natural habitat. This cruise is fun for everyone and provides you with all the delights of spotting the Whales and maybe even dolphins whilst enjoying a delicious Buffet Lunch and Afternoon Tea on board.
Our vessel is purpose built for Whale and Dolphin Watching. The decks put you right where the action is!
This package provides you with:
Guaranteed Whale sightings.
Our vessel can accomodate up to 78 pax but we limit it to 60 for whale watching. So you get to enjoy an intimate cruise.
Advanced Eco Tourism Accreditation.
Enjoy the calm, protected waters.
Includes Buffet Lunch and Morning Tea.
Experienced, friendly crew.
Cruise Includes:
- Complimentary pot tea & coffee on all our cruises.
- Vegetarians & Special Dietary requirements catered for on request.
- Fully licensed bar.
- Snacks and Souvenirs available for purchase.
- Kids activity sheets and toddler toys.
- Wheelchair access which means our wide stable decks supply excellent viewing & seating for all guests.
- Free Whale & Dolphin DVD with each booking!
- Courtesy Bus Pick Up Available in Hervey Bay.
Buffet Lunch Includes:
- Ham
- Chicken
- Cold Meats
- Quiche Lorraine and Vegetarian
- Fresh Salads
- Bread
Afternoon Tea Includes:
- Antipasto
- Cheese Board
*Please let us know if you have any special dietary requirements when you make you booking enquiry and we will endeavour to meet your needs.
Departing
1pm
Buffet Lunch On Board
Whale Watching
AfternoonTea
Returning
5pm
| Vessel: MV Whalesong | Type: Motor |
| Length: 49ft | Crew: Supplied |
| Hull type: Catamaran | Beam: 21.00ft |
| Draft: 4.60ft | Engine: 2 x Caterpillar 3176b 365kw ea |
MV Whalesong is a fast, stable, luxury catamaran designed and built for whale and dolphin watching.
Displacement 35 tonnes
Auxiliary 17kva 3 cylinder Volvo
Survey 25pax - offshore & 78pax - whale and dolphin watching
Some of our many features include
* 360 degree viewing on both decks .
* Wheelchair ramp onto boat with access to main saloon and most of lower deck. Fully accessible toilet on lower deck.
* Large clean, domestic toilets on both decks.
* Kids corner with toys and activities.
* Totally open or enclosed viewing decks on both levels.
* Large foredeck (front deck) and bulbous bows for optimum whale and dolphin viewing.
* Very comfortable seating in wheel house and main saloon.
* Saloon and wheelhouse seating also back up beds on charters.
* Large wheelhouse open to the public.
* Surround sound for microphone and music, 2 LCD Tv’s.
* DVD , video recorder, am/fm stereo and CD player.
* Well equipped galley with 240v appliances.
* 2 commercial fridges and one freezer.
* BBQ, snorkelling equipment, kayaks, dinghy and davits.
* Underwater camera (when weather and animals permit)
Welcome to Whalesong
Let Whalesong Cruises take you to the area where you will get the closest encounters with whales that you will get anywhere in Australia.
Because we operate all year round, our crew is intimate with the pristine waterways, and its numerous inhabitants. (Types of wildlife we can observe includes up to 4 species of Dolphin, Turtles, Fish & Bird Life, the shy endangered Dugong or Sea Cow & in one year we saw 5 different species of Whale)
Jason & Virginia Brigden have over 20 year experience in the tourism and charter boat industry and strive to provide personal service and quality products.
About Whalesong Cruises Hervey Bay
Jason & Virginia have been here since the beginning & are now the proud owners of Whalesong Cruises.
Jason has always been involved with boats & started working on charter boats from a young age. Virginia was soon tempted to also work on charter boats soon after meeting Jason, which is over 22 years ago now.
Jason has worked as chef, cruise director, engineer & skipper for some of Australia’s largest companies on Sydney harbour as well as the Whitsunday Islands.
Virginia was originally a food technologist, but found working with processed foods was not really who she was. After meeting Jason they realized among other things that they both had an affinity with the water, fishing and good food & music. Virginia started with boats also on Sydney harbour as a steward but was soon promoted to cruise director. Both Jason & Virginia were responsible for the smooth running of a variety of functions & were both know for being fastidious for details.
After a 6 month back packing trip over seas they knew that they could not just stay in Sydney going around & around on the beautiful harbour. They lived aboard an old steel ketch that was their home for 4 years. Sailing away to find a new future, they didn’t make it far, falling in love with Hervey Bay in 1994 after arriving during a Whale Watch Season.
They both found work that year on one of the boats & immediately felt that the area had a future & they wanted to be part of it. It was also a wonderful place to bring up a family with two children joining them by the end of 1996.
In 1997 Whalesong Cruises was born with the help of Tim Lloyd who had been the founder of Matilda Cruises on Sydney Harbour. Jason & Virginia were initially the General Managers but worked towards & became the owners.
Over the years Whalesong has had some amazing crew who have been part of the reason it has had such a great reputation.
Crew were purposely picked not only for boat skills but their passion for wildlife, the environment & caring about the experience that was offered to our guests. People like Haley who was with Whalesong for 7 years. Vikki who has been part of the team for 8 years & is now in the office as one of the happy voices you will talk to on the phone. There were also numerous boys/men who have now progressed to either become skippers them selves or moved into other areas.
Current crew include Sabrina & Carolina, who have been with Whalesong for 5 years now. It is a privileged that they come back each year to provide guests with excellent people & boat skills, as well as their passion & knowledge of the whales. Sabrina is an excellent deckhand, being fast, efficient & great with the people. But she also happily gets involved with the engines & maintenance of the boat.
Carolina is also a terrific deckhand who is wonderful with the people & also does not mind getting dirty. The fact she can speak 5 different languages is also a great bonus.
Jason is extremely passionate & it is often state he is addicted to the wildlife.
He not only shows excitement in seeing the whales each day, taking hundreds of photo graphs, (99% of the images on this site are taken by Jason) but is also on the look out for other wildlife, becoming very excited by seeing, something a little different from our usual inhabitants in the waters of the Bay, as well as always looking out for other varieties of whales, dolphins & bird life.
Jason & Virginia first came in contact with Mark Farrell in 1994, where as a kid he picked up work cleaning the windows on the boat they first worked on. At the age of 14 he had a terrible accident which left him as a quadriplegic. But his spirit was not broken & his positive attitude is an inspiration to us all. His parents owned the Marina Photo graphics shop. So Mark was set up with a camera that attached to his chair & he came out with Whalesong when ever he could. We like to think of him as a close friend and part of our crew. He is world renowned for his Whale & Dolphin photography & produces a calendar of his images each year. Mark has the patience & experience to know exactly when the action is about to start & is always ready for that perfect shot.
It is easy to be good at your job when it is something you are passionate about.
And Whalesong is privileged each year to be able to provide a crew who are loyal & enthusiastic about what they do. They all go out of their way to ensure that your experience is the best we can offer.
Sunning
Whale Watching
Sightseeing
Take Photos
Whale Watching
Whale watching
From late July through to early November Hervey Bay is a buzz with people venturing out to see the mighty humpback whales.The whales purposely venture into the bay to rest and relax before again heading south on their return voyage to their summer feeding grounds in Antarctica. Fraser Island not only provides a lovely backdrop, but for whale-watchers and whales alike, a welcome break from the ocean swells encountered elsewhere on Australia's East Coast.
Late July - September sees the "sub-adults" (young whales) at play. If you really want to see these wonderful animals up close, come at this time, as it is rare not to get a close encounter with these whales. At times we are "shut down" for hours while these youngsters check us out. We often wonder at this time of the year as to just ‘who is watching whom’?
September - November we see mainly mothers and calves as well as the big bull escorts. This gives us a glimpse of the maternal side of the mums as well as the playfulness of the calves. One moment mum and calf can be observed quietly suckling, only to erupt into action when the calf has decided its time to play. A mother and calf air-born is something you will find hard to forget.
Towards the end of our Whale Watch season (October - November) we can observe males fighting for a females attention. While not being life threatening, this fighting is spectacular with males pursuing each other at phenomenal speeds both above and below the surface. Tail and pectoral fin slapping, breaching and head lunging are just some of the spectacular antics.
Hervey Bay has the reputation as the best place in the world in which to observe humpback whales as well as the closest encounters, so come and see for yourself, you will be amazed.
Minke Wahles
Minke whales that are seen in Hervey bay, Fraser island and the Great Sandy Straits are believed to be Pigmy Minke or Dwarf minke whales, a sub species that is believed to live in subtropical waters most their life growing up to 10m in length.
Minkes observed in the bay are usually shy and flighty, especially if your underway. They will at times come into the boats(most often at anchor or when engines are shut down) and have even spy hopped next to our boat.
Minke whale colouring varies widely, some are rather plain in colour others have swirls and saddle patterns down their flanks, most seem to be from 3-6 metres in length.
Minkes are occasionally seen in pairs but are mainly solitary, due to their small size and streamlined physique they often go unnoticed by the untrained eye.
Southern Right Whales
In 2000 we saw the first southern right whale in the bay, this was a mother and calf that stopped and rested for a couple of days, this was further north than they had been sighted previously. Three years later we had a visit from a sub-adult southern right whale thought to be about 3 years old. This whale stayed for many days and put on a great show for us coming into the vessel and mugging us(going round and round the boat checking us out).
There was much talk that this was the calf of the original mother and calf Southern right Whale seen in 2000.
2006 saw another mother and calf sighting in the bay.
False killer Whales
We have only observed False Killer whales in the bay every few years, when they do come however we generally get a good look at them as they tend to be in quite large pods (50-100 animals).
False killers are a tooth whale and hunt feed and behave very similar to dolphins, in fact they are a large dolphin. The pods observed in the bay usually have many young, the adult catching fish and then brining them over to calves to play with and eventually eat.
False Killer whales seem to feed as they move about, they seem to have healthy appetites and would out fish certain areas if they were permanent residents.
Brydes Whales
Brydes whales are a fast, sleek solitary whale that grows to 16metres.Brydes whales appear to be a larger Minke whale at fist glance. Colourings and streamlined features are similar to that of a Minke. The main difference is the dorsal fin which is much rounder and not as hooked as a Minke’s. There are other distinctive features that tell them apart but we get such fleeting glimpses of these whales its of no use.
Mainly seen by themselves but I did photograph a mum and calf in 2007.
Brydes whales are seen in the winter months when the bait is thick, they are seen around the top of Fraser Island as well as around the banks of the Straits.
Melonhead Whales
A small toothed whale by definition but really only the size of dolphins. Melonheads look very similar to a false Killer whale but only growing to about 3 m in length.
Rarely seen in the bay, they may be more common than we know as they are generally up in the northern or western parts of the bay and being small would appear to be dolphins at first glance. Melon heads are usually observed in large fast moving pods.
Killer Whales
Killer whales are the humpback whales greatest foe. Many of the whales that come into the bay bare scars from doing battle with the Orcas. Killer whales actively target mums and calves the less experienced calf being the target. Killers will take down an adult humpback and have even been known to bring down the largest whale of all the blue whale. The most prized aspect of a humpback is the large tongue, the killer whales favourite. Killer whales have been observed herding and hunting humpback whales on the western side(ocean side) of Fraser island but never in the bay. These photos taken in new Zealand.
Sperm Whales
Sperm whales require very deep water to hunt for their favourite food the giant squid. On the seaward (western side )of Fraser Island the continental shelf drops off sharply and sperm whales live in these waters. The bay is much to shallow but we know of their existence by the odd dead whale being washed ashore. These photos taken in New Zealand.
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