Swimming with Humpback Whales in Hervey Bay: A Multi-Day Catamaran Adventure
Digital Imaging Ambassador
Living in Queenstown, I’m used to chasing photographs. That usually means early alarms, hiking into the mountains before sunrise, keeping one eye on the weather forecast and hoping everything lines up for a few fleeting minutes of good light. If I want a landscape photograph, chances are I’ve had to work pretty hard for it.
Hervey Bay completely flipped that idea on its head.
The first thing you notice isn’t the whale—it’s the breath. A white cloud hangs above the ocean for just a moment before disappearing into the cool winter air. Then a dark back slowly rises through the surface, almost effortlessly. Conversation stops, cameras are lifted, and everyone onboard is suddenly looking in the same direction. The whales were coming to us.
That simple thought stayed with me throughout the trip. For once, I wasn’t chasing the photograph. My job was simply to be present, stay ready, and let the wildlife decide when the moment would happen.
After landing in Hervey Bay, I barely had time to see the town itself before heading straight to the marina. Over the next few days, the catamaran became home as we explored the sheltered waters surrounding K’gari. It didn’t take long to settle into a rhythm.
Every morning started with coffee on deck, watching the horizon slowly glow as the sun rose over perfectly calm water. Before long, someone would spot the first telltale puff of whale breath in the distance and the excitement would begin all over again. There was never any rush, just the quiet anticipation that something incredible could happen at any moment.
By evening, the pace slowed right down. We’d pull fresh crabs from the pots, enjoy incredible seafood together, relive the day’s encounters and eventually settle in for a movie projected onto the front of the boat beneath a sky overflowing with stars. It struck the perfect balance between adventure and comfort, and after a couple of days it became surprisingly easy to slip into that slower pace of life.
It was also my first time sleeping on a boat. I’d expected it to feel strange, but it couldn’t have been more relaxing. The gentle movement of the water, complete silence and waking to another glowing sunrise quickly became one of my favourite parts of the trip. Somewhere along the way, the boat stopped feeling like transport and started feeling like home.
Although the whales were the reason we were there, exploring around K’gari was every bit as memorable. We were hosted aboard a multi-day catamaran experience with Fraser Island Boat Charters, which gave us the freedom to move through some of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in Australia at our own pace. The beaches really are as white as people say, stretching for kilometres with barely another footprint in sight. We took the tender ashore one afternoon and almost immediately spotted fresh dingo tracks winding their way along the sand. It was one of those subtle reminders that this island is still wonderfully wild.
Ironically, our visit didn’t last long. Someone called out that a whale was close to the boat, and within moments everyone was scrambling back into the tender with cameras in hand. When humpback whales decide to make an appearance, everything else can wait.
I’d previously spent time swimming with humpback whales in Tonga, so I had some idea of what to expect. Even so, every encounter feels completely different.
Standing on the swim platform waiting for the signal to enter the water is a strange mix of calm and excitement. You want to slip in quietly and respectfully, causing as little disturbance as possible, but inside your heart is racing.
The moment you see a humpback underwater is difficult to describe because photographs simply don’t prepare you for their size. They’re enormous—not just big, but genuinely breathtaking. The sort of size that makes you stop thinking about cameras for a moment and simply appreciate what’s in front of you.
On several occasions the whales swam towards us, seemingly just as curious about us as we were about them. Every movement was slow and graceful, each sweep of the tail effortlessly moving an animal weighing tens of tonnes. The visibility wasn’t crystal clear, but I actually enjoyed that. Rather than seeing everything at once, the whales slowly emerged from the blue, revealing themselves piece by piece before their full scale became obvious.
One unexpected highlight came while we floated quietly in the water. Somewhere beneath us, dolphins were chatting away. We never actually saw them, but hearing their clicks and whistles echo through the ocean was one of those moments that sticks with you long after you’ve dried off.
Photographing whales couldn’t be more different from photographing landscapes. Normally, I spend hours planning a photograph before I even leave home. I’ll study maps, watch weather forecasts and walk to a location with a composition already in mind.
Out here, the ocean had other ideas.
A camera was never far away, and I was constantly swapping between my standard photography kit and an underwater housing depending on what was unfolding around us. One minute I’d be preparing to jump in the water, the next I’d be reaching for another body because someone had spotted a breach in the distance. Just when I thought I’d chosen the perfect lens, the whales would surface somewhere completely unexpected.
It certainly keeps you on your toes. There was even one moment where I became so focused on photographing a whale beside the boat that I nearly lost my balance on the gently rolling deck. Thankfully I stayed upright, although it was a good reminder that wildlife photography rarely happens from the perfect position. Sometimes the best seat in the house is also the least stable.
As much as the wildlife was the headline act, the people you share an adventure with often become just as memorable. One of the best parts of travelling is the friendships you make along the way, and over the course of the trip I met Bella and Mitch from the Gold Coast, fellow ocean lovers with a passion for freediving. Like everyone onboard, it didn’t take much for conversations to stop mid-sentence whenever someone spotted a whale nearby.
There’s something about spending several days on a boat that strips life back to the basics. Good food, good company, spectacular wildlife and nowhere else you need to be. It was a pretty good recipe.
Before this trip, I’d heard plenty about K’gari but not nearly as much about Hervey Bay itself. Now I understand why people return year after year.
Of course, the whales are extraordinary, but it was the experience of living on the water that really stayed with me. While larger boats headed out each day before returning to the marina, we were able to wake with the sunrise, move with the conditions and simply enjoy whatever the ocean decided to offer.
As photographers, we’re often guilty of believing the next location holds the better image. We keep moving, chasing another composition or another weather window. Hervey Bay reminded me that sometimes the best photographs don’t need chasing at all. Sometimes all you need to do is slow down, keep your camera close and wait.
Eventually, a white puff of whale breath appears on the horizon. The cameras come up. Everyone smiles. And the story begins all over again.
If you ever get the opportunity to spend a few days living aboard a catamaran in Hervey Bay during whale season, take it. Come for the humpback whales, stay for the lifestyle, and don’t be surprised if you leave already planning your return.
I know I am.
A huge thanks to Fraser Island Boat Charters for hosting the expedition and giving us the freedom to experience K’gari and Hervey Bay in such an immersive way.
