The dirt road into the small South Australian hamlet of Fowlers Bay, on the state's west coast, hugs a looming mountain of sand that leads down to crystal-clear water where some of nature's largest creatures play.
Southern right whales return to the bay each winter, but over recent years humpback whales and giant sunfish have visited simultaneously – a rare event.
This year a pod of six humpback whales has joined southern rights, at times even cruising together, and giant sunfish have also been spotted.
Eyre Peninsula Cruises owner-operator Rod Keogh says he has never seen so many humpback whales share the water with sunfish.
It has been a stark difference from the 1800s when whales were hunted and carcasses were pushed ashore at Fowlers Bay.
Mr Keogh sees an array of marine mammals and fish each day when he edges away from the jetty and ventures into the ocean.
Sunfish are a "unique" addition, known as one of the heaviest and most bony fish in the world, measuring, on average, 2.5 metres from fin to fin.
Mr Keogh said southern right whale numbers were down due to warmer waters in 2020.
"We had lots of jellyfish and sunfish, which meant the numbers weren't as good," he said.
The warmer temperatures brought in big schools of jellyfish, which in turn attracted sunfish keen to snack on them.
"There were low [southern right] whale numbers, we had six pairs in the year, but we would see sunfish every single day we went out, which was really unique," Mr Keogh said.
Warms waters bring big surprises
The water temperatures Mr Keogh has recorded of 18 degrees Celsius in the past week may also be attracting humpback whales, he says.
"The bay was littered with jellyfish as we were driving down the beach to see the whales, and low and behold our sunfish turned up again — exactly the same as 2020," Mr Keogh said.
"These were big boys, and they put on a real performance for our passengers."
Mr Keogh said he'd never seen humpback whales share the waters with sunfish.
He hopes the warmer water temperatures will also mean a humpback calf will soon be swimming around.
"We're heading out with the southern right whales, heading out into the centre of the bay and listening to the humpbacks in the distance."
