If you are picking one week of the year to be in Jervis Bay, the July school holidays are a very good choice. This is the middle of whale season. Humpbacks are tracking north past the bay in numbers, the water is clear, the beaches are empty, and the town is yours.
Here is what to book, what to bring, and how to get the most out of it with kids in tow.
The whale cruise is the main event
July sits right in the busiest stretch of the northern migration. Thousands of humpbacks are moving up the coast to warmer breeding waters, and Jervis Bay sits directly on their route. The continental shelf runs close to shore here, which brings the whales in close to the cliffs rather than keeping them far offshore.
Our Whale Cruise runs two hours and heads out towards the towering sea cliffs and ancient sea caves where the whales pass. It departs 10am and 1pm daily through the school holidays, including public holidays.
What you are watching for:
- The blow. A misty spout on the surface. It is usually the first sign, and kids love being the one to spot it.
- The tail. A fluke lifting as a whale arches over into a deep dive.
- The breach. The whole animal launching clear of the water. There is nothing else like it.
Our crew are on this water every day of the season. They know where the whales have been tracking and where to point the boat, so your time is spent watching whales rather than hunting for them.
The dolphins are here every single day
Jervis Bay has a resident pod of more than 100 bottlenose dolphins, and they do not migrate anywhere. They live here.
Our Dolphin Cruise runs all year, every day. It is the gentler cruise, it is brilliant with younger children, and the dolphins genuinely come to play, surfing the bow and racing alongside the boat. If you have got a five year old who will not last two hours, this is the one.
Plenty of families do both across a couple of days. Whales one morning, dolphins the next.
Whale watching with kids, done well
A cruise with children is easy when you come prepared.
- Dress them warmer than you think. It is cooler out on the water than it is on shore. Jackets, jumpers and beanies. You can always peel a layer off.
- Sunglasses and sunscreen. Winter glare comes off the water and catches people who did not expect it.
- Give them a job. Kids told to spot the blow stay glued to the horizon. It turns them from passengers into crew.
- Take the 10am if you can. Mornings are often glassy, which makes everything easier and more comfortable.
- Bring a camera with a bit of zoom. Phones work, but the reach helps.
If anyone in the family is prone to seasickness, take something before you leave home rather than at the wharf. It needs a little time to work.
Two and a half hours from Sydney or Canberra
Huskisson is about two and a half hours from both cities, which makes this one of the easiest school holiday trips going. No flights, no long haul, no hours of complaints from the back seat.
Coming for the day? Take the 10am cruise, have lunch in town afterwards, walk the beach and drive home in the light. Staying a night or two? Spread it out and do both cruises.
We depart from the terminal inside Fishermens Wharf, 15 Field Street, Huskisson. Check in 30 minutes before your cruise time.
The rest of the day in Huskisson
Huskisson in winter is quiet, walkable and completely uncrowded. Everything sits close to the water, so once you have parked, you can leave the car where it is.
Worth doing:
- Walk Collingwood Beach, which runs straight off the edge of town
- Take the White Sands Walk from Greenfield Beach through to Hyams
- Eat somewhere warm afterwards. The food here is good and in July you will walk straight in
- Keep watching the water from the shore. Whales are often spotted from the headlands too
Easy parking, empty sand, and a bay that looks every bit as good in July as it does in January. You just want a jacket.
Planning summer instead?
Our warm-water cruises come back from November, when the bay turns on its other side. Summer boom netting in the ocean spa, Sandy Stops out to remote beaches you cannot drive to, and the Jervis Bay Passage past Point Perpendicular and Hyams Beach. Worth putting in the diary.
Book your July school holidays cruise
School holiday mornings are our busiest departures, and the whales are at their peak right now. Lock your day in.
