A Whale of a Time

This year between 12,000 and 15,000 humpback whales will migrate north from Antarctic waters to the warmer waters of the Great Barrier Reef for their annual mating season.

And you’d be silly to not get out there on the water and take in some of the action unfolding.

There is one in particular whale that peaks the interest of dedicated whale lovers.

Going by the name of Migaloo, he is one of now only two albino humpback whales that roam the planet’s oceans.

Known by the Aboriginal word Migaloo, or “white fella”, the acrobatic animal is believed to have spawned at least one all-white offspring after a white humpback calf was photographed in the Whitsundays in 2011.

Migaloo, the world-famous white humpback whale, has reportedly slipped past the Gold Coast on his annual migration to the Great Barrier Reef.

Migaloo usually spends several weeks in the inner reef lagoon between Cairns and Port Douglas and was last year captured on video treating a boatload of tourists to an aerial spectacle off Green Island.

Migaloo was first sighted near Cairns in 1991, believed to be three to five years old at the time, and was confirmed as a male using sloughed skin samples in 2004.

So now it’s time to get out on the ocean and check out these beautiful animals as they make their way up the coast to the Australian tropics.

We here at QT Gold Coast get a little excited about the whales passing through and have a luxury catamaran waiting t take you out and see the phenomenon.

You’ll take in all the tail slaps, fin waves and the breaching that you can handle.

Team it up with a stay in stunning QT Mountain View Room, breakfast for two in Bazaar and return transfer to the Marina Mirage.

words by ben stephens