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

Travelogue: Trip to Perth Part 1

The husband and the parents have never been to Australia. When we were living in the UK, to travel to Australia is a huge undertaking as it requires over 20 hours of flying time. That is just too painful to go through. Hence we never felt the need to explore that part of the world. I was lucky as in my younger days, I went to Perth & Fremantle on a school trip and again with a university mate to Gold Coast & Brisbane. So when I spotted some bargain air tickets on Jetstar, my travel planning gloves were put on and off we went to Perth.

One of the beaches we stopped along our way to the Pinnacles