Did you know you could go whale watching on Stradbroke Island? And the reason I say on is because you don’t even need to leave the island to do it!
As North Stradbroke island is one of the best places in the world to do some whale watching from land.
Since getting a drone, I had always dreamed of taking these kind of shots.. So when I was heading to Straddie in the middle of the humpback whale migration, oh man was I excited!!
Check out our drone video from our Stradbroke Island whale watching 👇☺️🐋
When is the the best time to go whale watching at Stradboke Island?
Right now!!! Haha but to be more specific, the humpback whale migration here in south east Queensland, is between June and November. They migrate north up along the whale highway before starting to return south around September.
Where is the best place to whale watch on Straddie?
Whale watching at Stradbroke Island primarily takes place from the shore, particularly along the North Gorge Walk at Point Lookout.
This means you can enjoy the spectacle of these magnificent creatures from the cliffs, providing a unique and picturesque viewpoint.
We headed to Point Lookout for a walk around the cliffs, then made our way to North Gorge where we set up on the rocks at the mouth of the gorge.
Whales were breaching out of the water about 5km out, which was too far to send the drone. But I did find some other sea animals, while I waited in hope that a whale would come in closer.
First off, I found a pod of dolphins playing in the water. It was so cool to see this many dolphins together!
A solo Mantaray was cruising past the cliffs. These guys are way bigger than you’d expect!
The view from the drone definitely gives everything a cool, new perspective.
Then I noticed something swimming super fast through the water, so I tried to chase it.
But when the drone camera is face down over water it gets very disorienting.
Plus the phone screen gets alot of glare from the sun. So I ended up putting the phone and controller under my shirt to block out the sun. This worked so much better!
Turns out the illusive creature was a shark. I’m not sure which kind of shark, but it did look hungry, as it was swimming around super fast looking for its next meal.
Next, I sent the drone up to get some nice landscape shots of North Gorge and the surrounding cliffs.
This place sure is beautiful, and a nice spot to call home for a variety of sea birds, and a mob of kangaroo’s.
A green sea turtle popped up and looked like he was eating a jellyfish which was really cool to see!
Then out of nowhere, a mist spray erupted from the water and the back of a whale could be seen!
This whale was about 15m from the cliff! So I raced the drone back to get the shot I have always wanted….
WOW!! To my surprise it was a mother and calf that were just cruising along the waters edge.
Stradbroke Island provides an opportunity to witness the nurturing behavior of mother whales with their calves.
The protected waters around the island create a safe environment for mother whales to teach their young ones essential skills before continuing their journey.
With a closer inspection it looks like the calf could be a rare white humpback calf!
But newborn calves are a pale grey when they’re first born, then darken up after a few days. So hard to know for sure as I’m not a marine biologist haha.
However, I had heard about this rare white humpback whale calf in the news only a week ago. And the location does check out..
So I would like to think I was super lucky to witness them in the wild!
Either that or I witnessed a brand new calf that was only a few days old, which is equally as cool.
So I’d better book another trip to Stradbroke to hopefully see these guys on their return trip home 🐳🐋
For more Stradbroke Island blogs, check these out 👇😁
Stradbroke Island, Brisbane’s best kept secret