Travelogue: Trip to Perth Part 2 - Whale Watching in Augusta

Imagine being within feet of some of the most graceful, rare mammals in the world. We had the chance to do some whale watching while we were in Perth. From early June to September you can see humpback and southern right whales cavorting in Flinders Bay Augusta as they head for warm waters to mate and breed. Augusta is 320km south of Perth, and takes under 4 hours drive. The drive is scenic as you pass through Margaret River. We were based in Bunbury which is midway to Augusta from Perth.

The company we went with was called Naturaliste Charter. The whale watching trip runs every June to September, departing from Whale Memorial, Davies Road in Augusta at 10:00 am daily. The cost is $80 for adult and $50 for children ages 4 to 17 years old. They use a 55 ft purpose built whale watching vessel. A word of warning: it can get quite bumpy out in the water. I took some ginger pills, followed by Phenergen for motion sickness and was still got seasick and was throwing up almost 3/4 of the time we were out on the water.

Credit: Naturaliste Charters

Despite being seasick, I was still able to catch glimpses of around 3 humpback whales. We didn't need to go far, after around 15 minutes out in open water, we spotted our first humpback whales. Bear with me as at that time, we only had a simple digital camera that did not do the trip any justice. While I was being seasick, it was the husband who was taking all the photos. We were very lucky as the three whales were very curious of us, and kept coming back and breaching to see us. They put up a spectacular show that lasted at least an hour. I would definitely do another whale watching trip, but maybe in a bigger vessel, as the previous time I went out on one, was in Boston and the vessel was much larger and I didn't get seasick at all. The next whale watching trip will be on our Alaska Cruise/Canadian Rockies trip in June. Can't wait.

Warning: Lots of photos of humpback whales. Enjoy them :)

The first humpback whale breaching

Whole boat of people watching for the whales

2 humpbacks breaching together

The huge splash that followed