September 2025 Update

What can we say to do justice to September? Without a doubt, it’s been the most exciting month of the season so far. The action seemed to come out of nowhere! Just weeks earlier, our crew had been chatting about how the whales felt more subdued compared to the same time last year. Then, in true whale-watching unpredictability, it suddenly felt like every whale along the coast decided it was party time!

The last week of September was something special. Breaches everywhere, calves showing off their moves, and more lively behaviour than we could have hoped for. Watching the young ones practice their manoeuvres has been a real highlight—they’re playful, energetic, and absolutely breathtaking to watch.

One of the best things about whale watching is the anticipation. You never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes it’s calm whales cruising along, flukes lifting gracefully before they dive deep—and that’s beautiful in its own right. But sometimes, the ocean delivers a show that even the most seasoned whale watchers struggle to put into words.

This month, we had two cruises that deserve to go down in the history books. The first took place not far from the entrance to Sydney Harbour, after one of our vessels radioed through about a calf putting on a performance. And what a performance it was! This little one seemed determined to break the record for most breaches in an hour—rumour has it the count was close to 100! Breach after breach, right alongside mum, just metres from the boat. Guests and crew alike could hardly believe what they were witnessing. Then, just when we thought the show couldn’t get any better, mum launched herself out of the water. The sheer size of her splash was like an explosion—utterly unforgettable.

If that trip wasn’t enough, a quiet midweek discovery cruise may have given us the show of the season. We were tracking a pod heading south along the coast, with the wind whipping up and grey skies settling in over the late afternoon light. Off in the distance, we spotted splashes—and when we arrived, the scene left us gobsmacked. Potentially up to 20 separate whales were breaching, right off Bondi!

What followed was nothing short of extraordinary. A rare double breach. Then a triple. And then—almost mythical—a quadruple breach. Yes, you read that correctly: four fully grown Humpbacks launched skyward in perfect synchronicity. Three erupted close to the boat, with a fourth breaching beside the cliffs. The spectacle went on for almost an hour, leaving everyone speechless.

Now, as we head into October, the southern migration continues, and the calves are still stealing the spotlight. After September’s fireworks, things have settled a little, but the breaches remain spectacular, and conditions out on the water are stunning. With only a couple of months left in the season, there’s no better time to join us. Who knows what the whales have in store next?