Hervey Bay claims to be the best place in the world to watch Humpback Whales Megaptera novaeangliae. I’m even prepared to believe it. This lot migrate up here from the Antarctic to breed – typically travelling 25 000km each year. A big adult will weigh up to 36 tonnes (ie. a bit more than Vulcan Spirit) and measure 16m. Their name means New England big wing, from their huge pectoral fins which are used to slap the water surface during displays:

 

 

The photo above is of a mother and calf (on the right).

They have a range of courtship and display behaviours; the one below is called nose bopping where the head is lifted right out of the water vertically:

 

 

 

You can clearly see the mouth (these are baleen whales, that sieve plankton from the water), and the tubercles which are characteristic of the species (they are actually hair follicles).

Individual whales can be identified from their tail fluke patterns as they slap the surface:

 

 

The most spectacular display is breaching, where the whale comes right out of the water, twists in mid-air and crashes back with a huge loud splash. They do it constantly but never, it seems, when I have my finger on the shutter.