North Stradbroke Island is the closest place to Brisbane where you can enjoy land based whale watching. No need to go on a tour, no need to go on a cruise, no sea-sickness!! Just grab a pair of binoculars and look out to sea. Whales can be seen anytime between late May and early November each year.
Humpback whales feed only in summer, in the polar waters of Antarctica, and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters of Fiji and Australia to breed and give birth in the winter. This results in thousands of humpback whales swimming past Australia’s east coast between late May and early November each year.
In the later months of their migration, it is not unusual to see a mother whale travelling south with her calf, which is a sight you won’t forget in a hurry.