One of the whales playing in the shores off Kiama.
Coast proves popular whale watching spot
July 01, 2009
Section: News
EMMA SPILLETT
espillett@kiamaindependent.com.au
KIAMA’S coastline is proving to be a popular spot for whale sightings as several whales came out to play last Saturday afternoon.
From the deck of Captain Ross O’Brien’s boat MV Signa, whales were spotted about 2.40pm, heading north.
By 4.30pm, a pod was spotted and was soon entertaining whale-watchers with tail slaps, dives and spins into the ocean.
The whales travelled north for much of the afternoon, heading towards the Farm at Shellharbour before returning south along the coast of Minnamurra and Bombo.
Captain Roscoe said winter was the best time of year for whale watching.
“They’re usually around between June, July and August before they leave in September and we don’t usually see them for a couple of months,” he said.
The Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) completed its annual whale census last Sunday, which calculates the number and species of whales in oceans nationally.
An ORRCA spokesperson said sightings were up by an estimated 10 per cent, although collated figures would not be available until the end of the week.
