THE SUN was out at Port Stephens on Friday and the sea creatures were bubbling with excitement.
Baby humpbacks were having a whale of a time, splashing around and building their strength close to the shore, while dolphins put on a show cruising through turquoise waters.
Veteran skipper and director of Imagine Cruises Port Stephens, Frank Future, estimated 3000 pairs of humpback mothers and calves would swim down the east coast towards cooler waters this season.
"This is my favourite month, October," he said.
"It's just stunning at this time of year ... it's been absolutely fantastic."
The whales were chilling out in the calm water on Friday, splashing their tails and breaching occasionally, but are usually very active during the southern migration.
"Their mothers are encouraging them to do that, because it takes at least four sweeps of their tail to get them out of the water, and that builds muscle," Mr Future said.
"The babies are going to need muscle on their bodies when they hit the Southern Ocean.
"They're going to be dealing with 20-metre seas, freezing temperatures, 50-knot winds, it's a different, nasty piece of sea down there and mum knows it, but the baby doesn't."
It turns the so-called 'humpback highway' off Port Stephens into more of a playground.
The big babies of the ocean - already about two tonnes at birth - guzzle about 300 litres of milk each day to turn into muscle.
"By the time we see them, they are already three months old and have already doubled in size, but they are cute in comparison with their mothers," Mr Future said.
Most adult whales hitch a ride south on the East Australian Current, which flows further offshore from Port Stephens, but mothers and calves choose to crawl along the coastline.
Mr Future said this was so the little tackers could learn the migration route and where to find shelter if needed, like at Nelson Bay.
A mother and calf were seen inside the heads at Port Stephens on Friday morning.
In a rare sight, against the backdrop of Tomaree headland and the Shoal Bay skyline, the baby whale breached, waved its pectoral fins and put on a show as its mum followed calmly alongside.
Groups of whales moved together further offshore, coming up for breath in unison then performing 'sound dives' for minutes at a time.
Mr Future said mother-and-calf pairs often moved with a nurse or escort, or in small packs, for company and safety.
Mr Future is passionate about conservation and said the bumper humpback season showed how the tide had changed since he began whale watching cruises almost 30 years ago, with numbers increasing year on year.
"I think it's fantastic, there are not that many good news stories around the environment," he said.
The humpback whales are migrating south for the summer before making the 2500 nautical mile journey north for the winter.
While whales captivated the attention of tourists and locals alike, the common dolphins refused to go unnoticed on Friday.
The much smaller cousins of the humpback whale weaved in and out of boat wakes in the clear, shimmering waters off of Port Stephens.
