Whale watching season starts off strong at Snug Cove, Eden

Cat Balou Cruises operator Lana Wills said the larger than normal turnout at the beginning of the whale watching season this year was a good indicator for upcoming months.

"It does vary from day to day but in the last couple of days, I would say that on average, we've been seeing upwards of 15 whales," she said.

Ms Wills said it's now known this stretch of coast is one of only a few places whales feed on their migration path each year.

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"Eden does provide pretty much the last safe harbor for the whales to come in and get some rest and protection before they make that final push down to Antarctica," she said.

Ms Wills said it was a particularly important place for mother whales to stop with their young calves, as it gave them the time to rest and keep their babies safe.

"What we find as the whales come in is mothers schooling their calves and making sure that the babies can breach, tail slap and do all the things they need to, for the last bit of the journey," she said.

Ms Wills said they often saw the calves showing off their moves and modelling their mother's behaviour in a "very studious" manner.

"It's wonderful when you can see the mums big tail and then the baby's little one right beside and sometimes when the babies are older you can see them practising by themselves," she said.

"The mum is obviously communicating in its own way with the calf and saying 'okay, now I need to see you do this and practice that technique', just like us with our kids, getting them to do their homework and practice."

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Ms Wills said Snug Cove was a naturally deep harbour that was ideal an ideal place for the whales to swim in.

"It's also such a stunning location to see them at and they often come very, very close to the shoreline," she said.

"So if you're doing some land based whale watching from any of the lookouts around the bay, you should easily be able to spot them."

Ms Wills said the whale season would see the adults and juveniles coming past in the early part of the season from August to early September.

Then in mid to late September the mothers and their calves would start to come part and continue to do so until late October.

Ms Wills said it was important for people to remain mindful while out on the water while the whales were migrating and to "really just keep an eye out on the water".

"Whether you're in a boat or kayak or any type of watercraft, just be aware that there are whales around and keep your eyes open for them, because, you know, they can seemingly pop up out of nowhere," she said.

"So just make sure you're being sensible out there and aware that the whales are passing by."

Ms Wills said they're enthusiastic for the rest of the whale watching season after having started the season off with great success.

"If you haven't been whale watching before, I would say do it. It's something you need to do at least once in your life as far as I'm concerned," she said.

Bookings can be made via the Cat Balou Cruises website.

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