Whale Watch Augusta @ Margaret River

The highlight of our trip to Margaret River was the Whale Watching Tour we did in Augusta. We are no strangers to Whale Watch, having been to one in Gold Coast Australia.

Whale Watch Western Australia

Initially this trip was not on our itinerary as we did NOT expect to be whale watching on our trip to Perth. However on our research for things to do in Margaret River, we stumbled on whale watching in Augusta and hey since we are in town, why not?

There are a couple of charters at Augusta with similar itineraries. We decided to take Whale Watch Western Australia . The reason... it was the biggest whale watching ship in Augusta.

We could not wait till the ship set sail and we decided to take a peek over the wave breakers. It looks like a promising trip ahead as we spotted a whale just beyond the shores.

Can you spot the whale?

It's time to sail

Unlike our previous whale watching trips, it did not take us long to spot the whales. Just 5 minutes from shore, we spotted the first pod.

Rather, we think they spotted us. During this trip, we had seen at least 20 whales swimming all around us.  This is the most whales we had encountered in one trip!

You can read about the trip at Whale Watch website

If you have not been to a whale watching trip, you probably have different expectations of whale watching. To set the record straight, it is not every time you would see so many whales in one spot. There are times when you probably just catch one or two in one location.

Whales at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse

Most of the time, you would just see the back of the whales swimming around . If you are lucky , you might spot a tail slap by whales.

Our tour is 2 hours long, for most parts, the above pictures are what we seen. It was almost towards the end of the tour that we spotted a whale breaching in a distance.

There are many reasons why a whale breach. Some say it is to 'talk' to other whales, others claim it is how whales impress their mates. We think the one we spotted is such a show off.

Whale Breach

He decided to put on a show and breach at least 8 times! 

We are glad he did it, else we probably would not be able to capture these amazing pictures. 

One thing to note, we noticed the smaller ships tend to get alot closer compared to us.

5 tips for  whale watching

Bring your photo / video gear : Source Whale Watch Western Australia

What do you prepare for a whale watching

This essential list may help you get ready for a memorable trip

1 Bring the right camera  / video gear
Long lens is a must as you may not get close to capture a decent shot

2 Bring along a bottle of water

Most trips are more than an hour long, so be prepared

3 Take seasick pills or eat light

The sea can be choppy, so beware. Morning trips are less rough compared to afternoon trips. 

4 Bring a sweater or wind breaker

It will be cold, we promised

5 Set your expectations low

Be prepared to see only one whale for the whole trip. If you do that, we reckon you would most likely be wowed if you encounter more than one.

Before you know it, our 2 hours was up. 

Three words sum up our tour

Best. Whalewatch. Ever.

The breaching whale seemed to know our intention and gave us a whale at the end of the trip.

Goodbye wave

If you are heading towards Augusta, we recommend you to spend a night at Margaret River. Augusta is a 30 minutes drive from Margaret River. 

While you are there, you might like to make a stop at Cape Leewin Lighthouse which is about 5 minutes away. 

Enjoy your whale watching!