Whale Watching Byron Bay

For the last few days we have encountered humpback whales still heading north past Byron Bay while at the same time the first of those heading south after already been north.  This is not unusual as the population grows there are are more late comers (heading north) as well as more eager to return to the humpback feeding grounds in the southern ocean.

We have also encountered quite a few new mums that have caved on prior to reaching Byron Bay (most calves are born well north of here).  This is also a result of the increase in population size.

There is a lot of competitive behavior amongst male humpback whales for females with lots of breaching and fin slapping to entertain whale watchers off Cape Byron.

We were also lucky enough to encounter a New Zealand fur seal spending some time at Julian Rocks.  This seal is rarely seen this far north and may have been escaping the wild weather that hit Sydney and surrounds last week.