Terms & Conditions Whale watch cruises re-commence mid May 2009  2008 Whale Watching Diary Monday 20th October Our last whale watch cruise for the 2008 season will take place this Saturday the 25th of October. Sightings have been excellent over the past few weeks with up to 6 whales commonly being seen on each cruise. We have been fortunate enough to witness a constant stream of Mother's and Calves making their way South within 4 nautical miles off the Newcastle coastline. After some strong winds during the week Saturday is shaping up to be a calm pleasant day with pleanty of whales. Sunday 5th October Great photo opportunities today with a Mother Humpback teaching her half to breach off Newcastle Beach. The little fella soon got the idea and put on a great performance. Whale watching guidelines prevent us from approaching mothers and calves within 300 metres. Fortunately these guys were inquisitive and came over to inspect the boat and our guests within 10 metres at times. When the whales moved outside the 300 metre zone we could see they were joined by another fully grown adult humpback. During the afternoon our spotters noticed a constant stream of Humpbacks making their way South meaning over the next few weeks sightings should be high! Wednesday 1st October Another fantastic day out on Lake Tasman. Flat seas, Sunshine and plenty of whales. We had to head out wide today past the ships where we found a juvenile humpback making his way home. He spent a bit of time sky hopping and having a good look at our vessel before swimming underneath and doing the same on the other side. Another humpback this time a Mother and what appears to be last years calf were having a bit of fun breaching around the ships at anchor. A pod of 5 oceanic dolphins also came over to check us out. Saturday 27th September What a glorious way to start the Southern Migration cruises. 30 degree day, blue skies and an abundance of sunshine. Speaking of abundance while the whales were quiet today we had at least 600 oceanic dolphins surround the boat. Even our skipper who has sailed ships around the world for many years had not witnessed such an event. Monday 22nd September Good news from one of our crew over the weekend who while wetting a few lines had two fully grown Mother humpbacks and their calves breaching no less than 20 times around the vessel. There is a strong Southern current developing with many Humpbacks starting to join the stream and head home for a feed of Krill. Now is the perfect time to plan your whale watch cruise with so many whales making their way South it will be hard not to see them. NOVA Cruises has weekend cruises and extra cruises running on Wed/Fri during the School Holidays. Phone now to book on 0400 381 787, book online, or visit the information centre in Newcastle or Maitland to reserve your place onboard.  Sunday 24th August Today was to be our last whale watch cruise for the Northern Migration. Unfortunately 13 metre seas outside the harbour prevented us from venturing out. Fortunately the whale migration pattern has changed slightly this year and it is looking very positive for the Southern Migration with the odd Mother and Calf already making their way South. We are waiting for whale numbers to increase and have scheduled Whale Watch cruises to begin on the 27th September and run until late October. Stay tuned for sightings updates! Saturday 16th August Another great sighting today with a Humpback whale making his way North off the coast of Newcastle. He was joined by numerous oceanic dolphins which played in our wake. Several fluke up dives and some great tail shots were seen by all.  Saturday 9th August Whales were being a little elusive today and had us covering quite a large area before we spotted 2 out near the ships off Merewether Beach. Another pair was also spotted in the waters off King Edward Park. There was a lot of wildlife out today with guests also spotting a large sea turtle, Newcastle's resident fur seal and a wide array of sea birds. Sunday 3rd August WOW! What a weekend!!! Saturday we were fortunate enough to see 3 fully grown humpbacks. There were several fluke up dives as they continued on their northern migration. Sunday was a rare treat for all onboard with several humpback tail slaps and pectoral waves. The highlight however was seeing a Southern Right Whale mother and calf swimming in the shallow waters off Nobby's beach. This is more than likely to be the mother and calf which was spotted swimming with surfers only a few days ago off Sydney. The mother was easily 17 metres in length and could weigh between 70 - 80 tonnes. Monday 28th July Fortunately the weather cleared for the weekend and conditions out to sea were quite reasonable. More importantly all cruises sighted whales this weekend. The migration pattern has changed a little over the past 5 - 6 weeks with the whales tending to travel a little further offshore. Early in the season the whales were commonly seen from the beach. Now they are travelling about 4km offshore and inline with the ships at anchor off Newcastle. So unless you have a big telescope the best way to get up close with the mammoth Humpback's is to jump onboard NOVA Cruises and we will whisk you out to sea to witness the marvel of the whale migration. Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th July Another great weekend on Lake Tasman with sea conditions the flattest we have seen. Two pods spotted on Saturday with 3 humpback whales in each. Sunday was a little quieter with 1 fully grown humpback male making his way along the whale highway. Dolphins were back again on both days along with Newcastle's newest resident a Sub-Antarctic Fur Seal who has been making appearances around the harbour entrance, Merewether beach and the ocean baths. Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th July Excellent see conditions over the weekend which made it easy to find the whales. Saturday morning guests were treated to a pod of 5 very large adult whales heading North past the Sygna wreck off Stockton beach. There were a few tail slaps and some pectoral waves. Sunday mornings whales were a little elusive but we found them hiding South past Redhead. Wednesday 9th July A windy Wednesday with winds coming from the west. Fortunately sea conditions were excellent and after a cruise South along the coastline we were able to pick up a pod of 4 or 5 whales playing off the coast of Redhead. We travelled with 2 of these adult Humpbacks on our way back to Newcastle. Guests onboard were treated to a bit of tail slapping action, a few tail flicks, and numerous fluke up dives (sounding dives).  Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th July A perfect weekend out at sea. Excellent sea conditions, brilliant sunshine, dolphins, sea birds and of course plenty of Humpback Whales! At least 7 whales spotted on each of our cruises this weekend along with 20 or more oceanic dolphins on Saturdays cruise. One curious whale on Sunday came within 15 metres of the boat. Don't miss your chance to view this years whale migration which experts are saying is the best in 10 years. Book online or give us a ring to confirm your places. Tickets can also be purchased in person through the friendly staff at the Visitor Information Centres in both Newcastle and Maitland. Sunday 22nd June Another weekend of full on whale action. Guests on Saturday were treated to at least a dozen whales playing in Newcastle's backyard. Today we were also lucky enough to see 4 whales including 1 juvenile who was keen to perform for all onboard. There were numerous full breaches, tail slaps and a pectoral wave. Saturday 31st May & Sunday 1st June - WHALES WHALES EVERYWHERE!!! A very exciting weekend with fantastic humpback sightings on both days. Guests on Saturday were treated to 2 pods and a total of 5 Whales whose performance included some full breaches. On Sunday we saw a total of 3 whales and between 50 to 80 dolphins. The whale highway is approaching peak hour proportions with an estimated 8000 whales making their way past Newcastle. Don't miss your opportunity to see these gentle giants of the sea. Phone now or book online to secure you place onboard! Tuesday 13th May Its official, The Humpbacks are on their way. Some very welcome news this week with our first reported Humpback sightings off the coast of Newcastle. One of our spotters saw the pod of Whales on Monday just off the coastline of Nobby's Headland. We have also received reports from an abalone diver based at Mallacoota (just below the NSW border) who saw a few large male Humpbacks on their Northern Migration. All going to plan we should be able to see these guys and hopefully some of their friends this weekend when we launch our first whale watch cruises of the season. Tuesday 26th February After a busy Summer cruising Newcastle Harbour and the Hunter River, the team at NOVA Cruises are excited to get out to sea and visit the gentle giants of the ocean once again. Newcastle Whale Watch Cruises will begin on Saturday the 17th of May and continue to late October 2008. Cruises will run every Saturday and *Sunday departing at 10am from Lee Wharf pontoon Newcastle. *(Cruises run every Saturday and Sunday excepting the last Sunday of each month when Hunter River Discovery Tours take place)  2007 Whale Watching Diary Sunday 3rd June: Wow what a start to the season. Three Humpback sightings off the coast of Redhead Beach, complemented by three full breaches. Northern currents are predicted to increase during the week bringing with it plenty of Humpbacks and possibly the odd Southern Right Whale. We are excited to get out and spot some more whales this Sunday and hope you will join us. To confirm your seat we take payment over the phone or you can turn up on Sunday at Lee Wharf in Time for boarding at 9:45am on a first come first first served basis. Bookings are strong so don't miss the boat! Monday 4th June: To celebrate the Queen's Birthday long weekend we are offering an extra cruise on Monday the 11th of June. Sundays cruise will operate as normal. Monday 10th June Long Weekend Birthday Blowout! Unfortunately due to the wild weather on the weekend and the 17 metre waves recorded off Nobby’s all whale watch cruises had to be cancelled. Don’t panic however the season has only just begun and there will be plenty of opportunity to get out and see these magnificent creatures. Tuesday 11th June Thanks to your positive feedback and requests we are pleased to be offering a new scheduled whale watch cruise on Thursdays departing at 10am from Lee Wharf. The Thursday departure will commence on the 21st of June. Sunday 17th June Another wet and windy weekend. 5 metre waves at the harbour entrance and a gale force wind warning meant we had to cancel todays ocean going cruises. The weather is predicted to remain unstable until later in the week, so with a bit of luck we might be in for a good weekend. Sunday 24th June We had some lumpy conditions this weekend but it was soon offset by a fully grown humpback breaching no less than 6 times. This was truly a spectacular sight which we thought could not be beaten. However a few minutes later we were greeted by a dozen humpback whales some which approached us only a short distance away. It is peak hour traffic for whales at present and we are keen to get you out to sea and experience the whale migration. Monday 2nd July Quite good conditions out at sea this weekend. The whales were playing hard to get but we were fortunate enough to spend some time with a Humpback off the coast of Redhead. There was pleanty to see apart from the whales with salvage work being undertaken on the grounded ship Pasha Bulker. Thursday 5th July 6 whales today and 1 hammer head shark. Good conditions today with very minor seas. A bit of wind blowing from the West which flattened out the swell and seas. We are due for a couple of windy days but Sunday is looking good. Book on now as our whale watch season will end on the 5th of August. Tuesday 10th July A fantastic whale watch on Sunday. Whales were being a little elusive but thanks to our network of spotters we were able to locate 7 whales playing amongst the ships. There were plenty of photo opportunities with several fluke up dives, tail slaps, and a pectoral wave as we were leaving for our quick trip home. NOVA Cruises is fortunate enough to operate one of the fastest whale watching vessels in the Hunter. This allows us to spend more time se