Join us as we marvel at the gentle giants of the southern ocean
Join the crew on board Too Up to enjoy an intimate whale watching four hour cruise for a maximum of eight guests.
The opportunity of viewing several species of whales as they continue their annual migration to warmer waters to calf is not to be missed.
There is every chance during the main whale watching season of witnessing in their own environment Minke, Southern Right, Humpback and possibly even Blue whales as they make their way North and then South over a five-month period.
These cruises are not only educational they are also exhilarating and make lifetime long memories.
Don’t forget your camera.
We are providing two charters both for a maximum of 8 guests, both 4 hours in duration with one pick-up and one drop-off to suit the party from the wharfs we service.
Option 1: Day time cruise which includes a light lunch and beverages, Skipper and Hostess, all life jackets and required safety equipment provided, Cruises commence from 10.00 am and will allow at least 2 ½ hours outside of the heads whale watching and the cruise duration will be 4 hours long, cost $2400
Option 2: An afternoon/sunset cruise, Pick-up from 3 pm at least 2 ½ hour outside of the heads whale watching followed by a late afternoon sunset cruise as we return to the harbour, cruise includes canapes and champagne, cruise duration 4 hours, cost $2800.
If no whales are sighted a $400 refund is provided.
We can encounter a sea swell outside of the heads and all guests are advised to take seasick medication prior to boarding to make the event a pleasurable experience.
What guests are likely to encounter
Minke whales are the smallest species of fin whales but can grow to a length of between 6.5 and 7.5 meters, these small agile cetaceans can swim at a speed of between 5 km per hour and 25 km per hour, they live solitary lives and live up to the age of 40 / 60 years. Minke whales are often seen feeding in areas with lots of sea birds and catch small fish and krill in their baleen.
Southern Right Whale species numbers were decimated by hunting and experts believe that their population reduced from over 70,000 in the 18th century to fewer than 300 by the 20th century.
Since the end of commercial whaling their numbers have slowly increased and the population is now nearer 10,000.
They are slow moving and did not sink when they had been harpooned so whalers thought them to the be ‘right’ whale to hunt hence their name, there was a thriving whaling industry in and around Mosman and Chowder Bays in the mid 1800’s up until about 1840, in fact Mosman Bay is named after Archibald Mosman who together with John Bell were given grants to develop a whaling processing station in what is now Mosman Bay.
Southern Right Whales can grow to a length of 18 meters and can attain a mass of 80 / 90 tonnes and swim at only 5 km per hour on average, their life span is about 70 years, they are a baleen whale, sieving krill from the water through their large baleen plates.
They do breach but usually only ¾ of their bodies out of the water, unlike the more energetic Humpback whales.
Humpback Whales another baleen whale that is known to migrate in groups with dramatic full-body breaching, tail and fluke slapping making them the real ‘show off’ of the whale kingdom.
Females can grow up to 16 meters in length and weight as much as 40 tonnes. They can live to an age of 90.
As well as their spectacular behaviour they are easily identified by their pectoral fin and knobbly head, they are the most vocal of all whales with songs that can last for over 30 minutes.
Their numbers have steadily grown since commercial whaling was stopped and worldwide there are predicted to be in excess of 80,000.
Blue Whale the largest animal ever to have lived on earth! three were sighted in 2020 swimming along the East coast of Australia.
The Blue Whale length 29 meters, weight 199 tonnes, life span 80 / 90 years, population estimate worldwide 25,000 (endangered)