Whale of a day set to mark nautical showpiece

Nature lovers should mark Sunday week down in their diaries for a whale of a double date.

This year, the City’s Whale Tales lecture at Bar Beach falls on the same day as an annual tally of humpback whales.

The Whale Tales talks by Marine Naturalist Jeannie Lawson celebrate the gentle giants by canvassing their song, lifecycle and migration.

“On the day there are four sessions to choose from,” the City’s Program Development Coordinator - Environment Karenne Jurd said.

“At each session you will have the opportunity to ask Jeannie your best whale questions and hold part of a whale skeleton while watching the passing humpback parade.”

An estimated 30,000 humpback whales will swim north to Queensland breeding grounds this season in a nautical migration that’s been growing every year; so much so the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) needs help counting the whales.

Participants at last year's Whale Tale Lecture at Bar Beach

Newcastle's Bathers Way coastal pathway offers great vantage point for ORRCA's 19th one-day census, which last year saw 2,065 whales spotted, up from 233 in 2002.

For more information about Whale Tales please call Angus Weingott on 4974 2622 or email aweingott@ncc.nsw.gov.au.

For more information about Humpback Whale Census Day visit http://www.orrca.org.au/

Whale Tales
Sunday 30^th June – 10:00am, 11:00am, 12:00pm, 1:00pm
Bar Beach Lookout
Cost: Free