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| Sea World Whale Watch |
It's whale watching season again!
Whale Watching in Gold Coast is back. From June to November, the waters of Gold Coast transform to become the Humpback Highway. Since we were there during the June holidays, we decided that this will be our de facto highlight of the trip.
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| Whale Watch time |
The first time when I had a close encounter with a whale was about 9 years back at Gold Coast. Although it was great to catch the whales up close , I do remember the sea sickness felt during the trip. Since our travelling group has kids as young as 4 and adults as old as 82, I decided to book
Sea World Cruise. Compared to other operators, the watching vessel sits 130 people with 3 levels of viewing decks and comes with indoor air conditioned cabins with seats. With its size, it would be relatively stable in the choppy seas.
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| Sea World Cruise |
We took the morning cruise and set sail at 10am.
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| Gold Coast Shores |
There are at least 5 whale watching companies in Gold Coast. The Seaworld Whale watch is the only one that has a 100% Whale Sighting guarantee.
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Setting sail |
If you are looking for a cozier experience, you might like to consider operators like Whales in paradise that takes in fewer passengers in a smaller vessel.
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| Whales in Paradise |
Along the way, we pass by the set for the nex
t Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Men tell no tales that is currently filming in Gold Coast.
Don't miss the Gold Coast skyline as you head towards the open sea. The ride to the open sea is a short 20 minutes away.
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| Gold Coast Skyline |
It took the ship a little while before a distinctive spout was spotted out in the open seas. Before that we were scanning the ocean for about 20 minutes just staring at the deep blue sea waiting for the 'moment' to appear.
These 20 minutes can seem like an eternity if you have impatient young kids asking you for the umpteen times... 'Where is the whale?'
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| Whale Spout |
As we got closer, we spotted the unmistakeable tail of the Humpback Whale. Looks like Sea World Cruise claim of 100% sightings lived up to its billing.That also mean we cannot ask for a refund now.
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| Humpback tale |
A tip to see if whales are around. Look for patches of water that resembles oil slick. These are made when the whales resurface for air.
The humpback whale we saw decided to 'mug' us. It saw around the ship chasing us from left to right every now and then.
Most of the time , you would probably just see the image below.
The best part of whale watching would be the opportunity to watch a whale breech. It is a spectacular sight... if you can catch it in action. However most of the time, you would not know where the whale was at the water and when it would breech. This sneaky Humpback decided to breech twice in different directions.In the end , I only manged to capture the splash it made!
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| Splash! |
If you want to see a whale breach, this is the best photo I had taken.... 9 years ago. Honestly, whale watching is a matter of luck. There are moments you can catch pods of whales that would delight you with their antics or you might catch a lone ranger who will bring you in circles. Either way, each experience will be different from the next.
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| Whale Breach |
To add value to your whale watch experience. Add on a
combo ticket where you can enter SeaWorld for an additional $11 per person. We did not do it as we had the VIP magic passes that allow us unlimited entries to Seaworld, Movie World and Wet and Wild for a certain period of time. For the record, non of us got seasick after the trip. For that and the 100% whale watch guarantee, I think Sea World Whale Watch is worth the buck it charges.
The Little Details
130 Seaworld Dr, Main Beach QLD 4215, Australia
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