Sunshine Coast Whales

The location

Sunshine Coast Whales arrive at the start of June and Sunreef humpback whale swimming and watching tours run out of The Wharf Mooloolaba, which lies in the heart of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. It takes about 15 minutes from the Sunreef dock to get out on the beautiful waters off the Coast, which are at their best during the winter months when the whales migrate. Water temperatures during this time range from 19 to 23 degrees Celcius and visibility can sometimes be up to 30 metres.

Surface behaviours we may see

They may show surface activities such as breaching, tail slapping and spy hopping – humpback whales are a species of whale that shows some of the most surface activity out of any whales.

You may see the humpbacks displaying logging behaviour, where they just sit still at the surface, resting or feeding their young. We may see them swim right under or beside our vessels, and sometimes they may just swim away from us.

No matter what happens, whale watching creates memories you and your loved ones will never forget.

The humpback whale migration

The Sunshine Coast’s Whale Watching season runs from early June, and tours with Whale One will be running until very early November. Our Swim with Whales season runs from July to Mid October.

We have typically found that June through July is usually the time of the year where the whales are heading north, in August through September we see many whales going both north and south in what we call the “crossover period”. From September to the end of October, most whales will be finishing their journey south to Antarctica for the summer.

The humpback whales come up to this area to breed, give birth, and stay until their newborn calves have grown and gained enough blubber to face the Antarctic waters when they head back south for the summer season.