A pod of humpback whales have put on a spectacular display as they breached through the water in Sydney Harbour to the delight of nearby fishermen.
The pod of whales was passing through the harbour during the species’ annual migration on Sunday.
The incredible images, taken by photographer John Goodridge, showed the mammals as they smashed their tails through the water’s surface in front of Sydney’s early morning sunrise.
A pod of humpback whales were seen flipping and breaching in the water in Sydney Harbour over the weekend
The friendly whales, who have not seen humans in months due to lockdown restrictions, appeared delighted to see the fisherman and tourists
Humpback whales are migrating north for the winter with up to 30,000 expected to pass through Australia’s shores during the season
The magical moments were captured while the 54-year-old photographer was on board a tour run by Go Whale Watching.
It was the first glorious display of whale breaching this year and Mr Goodridge said he was overjoyed to capture the images.
Whale watching tours were shut down earlier this year due to lockdown restrictions but they have been allowed to start up again with a limited number of tourists on board.
Humpback whales are migrating north for the winter with up to 30,000 expected to pass through Australia’s shores during the season.
Whales were seen shooting out of the water and smashing their tails on the surface against a beautiful sunrise setting over the waters surrounding Sydney’s CBD
Whale watching tours were shut down earlier this year due to lockdown restrictions but they have been allowed to start up again with a limited number of tourists on board
Whale migration stretches around 10,000 kms and it attracts a large amount of tourism for Australia in coastal towns such as Byron Bay and Hervey Bay
The glorious animals head to Australian waters after spending the summer eating krill in Antarctic before returning between September and November.
Whale migration stretches around 10,000 kms and it attracts a large amount of tourism for Australia in coastal towns such as Byron Bay and Hervey Bay.
Later on Sunday two fisherman in a kayak had a very close encounter with a whale in Sydney Harbour when it breached right in front of them after they initially saw it emerge nearby.
‘It be surprised if it didn’t pop up in front of us,’ one of the men could be heard saying before it emerged.
One of the fishermen tapped his paddle on the side of the kayak so the whale ‘knew where they were’ before it breached within touching distance.
The whale was so close it became ensnared in some of their fishing lines but the force of the whale snapped off the tackle from the lines in a second.
‘That was pretty scary I’m not going to lie, that whale is lost in here and he’s just stolen two of our rigs,’ said one of the fishermen.
Last month a whale calf made headlines when it was caught in a shark net off the coast of the Gold Coast last month.
A Gold Coast diver (pictured left) who rescued a whale calf trapped in shark nets off the Australian coast has donated more than $16,000 raised for his possible fines to charity
The trapped mammal was saved by a diver known as Django dove in and released the calf from the nets after he could see it was suffering.
Django was threatened with up to $26,900 for interfering with shark control nets but the fines were dropped after significant public backlash and he was given two formal warnings.
A Go Fund Me page was set up to help him cover the costs of a fine and it raised $16,776 which the diver said would be donated to Sea Shepherd Australia, according to the Brisbane Times.
