The Margaret River Region plays host to an estimated 35,000 whales migrating from the Antarctic to our warmer waters between June – December every year. Witness these astounding animals from the shore, the top of a lighthouse or on a whale watching tour.
Witnessing the enormity and grace of a whale is an experience that’s hard to beat. To encounter these creatures in considerable numbers, interacting with each other or nursing their young, is an experience like no other.
With a 6-month season, from June to early December, the Margaret River Region is one of the best places to whale watch in Australia.
Humpback, Southern Right, Minke and Blue Whales all make the epic journey. Their first port of call is Flinders Bay in Augusta, where the best time to see them is June to August. Augusta is one of the few places where you’ll see the Southern Right and Humpback whales interact. Humpbacks, renowned for their agility, gather in groups of males and engage in breaching, spy-hopping, lob-tailing and tail-slapping. Acrobatics play out during courtship. Southern Right whales will often calve in the bay and sometimes can be seen doing so in the shallows.
The Humpback whales then head directly up north, where the pregnant females who mated last year have their calves (babies). They then return to Geographe Bay near Busselton and Dunsborough where they rest and nurse their young from September to early December.
You can watch the action unfold on the horizon from the shore, along the Cape to Cape Track or from the top of a lighthouse, or get up close on a whale watching cruise departing from Augusta, Dunsborough and Busselton throughout the season.
