There are so many whales making their way up and down the coast of NSW that some have suggested renaming the state New South Whales. Humpback whale mothers and their calves rest in Jervis Bay during the southern migration. A two-hour whale eco cruise with Jervis Bay Wild will take you close to all the action. To find whales elsewhere in NSW, Wild About Whales has a free app for download to follow the latest sightings, and details family-friendly places to stay near whale-watching vantage points. Image: Destination NSW

If you’ve never seen the wild and rugged coastline along the Great Ocean Road, the Whale Trail in winter is the time to do it. Drive along the whale corridor from the Twelve Apostles to Logans Beach in Warrnambool, which serves as a southern right whale nursery, before making your way on to Cape Nelson to see rare blue whales as they make their way from Antarctica north to warmer waters.

Queensland’s whale hot spot in July and August is Hervey Bay, and there’s even a street parade and festival to celebrate their arrival. A known stop-off point on the Humpback Highway, Hervey Bay has a range of whale-watching cruises offering up-close views of whales breaching, leaping and playing in the water.

Flinders Bay in Augusta is where it’s at for sightings of humpback and southern right whales in June, but if you’re planning a trip at the tail end of whale watching season, head for Dunsborough’s Geographe Bay where blue whales and bottlenose dolphins are known to frequent. Further south in Albany, visit the interactive Historic Whaling Station to learn about the last whaling station to close down in Australia.

Great Oyster Bay and Frederick Henry Bay on the east coast offer the best vantage points to spot southern right and humpback whales as they swim north to warmer waters to breed and give birth before returning to their sub-Antarctic feeding grounds between September and November. A cruise with Wild Ocean Tasmania can make them easier to find.