I am starting to love winter. The humidity drops from seven zillion per cent. Days, though short, are mostly sunny. What’s not to love? 

I am guilty of taking one thing for granted though, and that is the winter wildlife spotting right here on our doorstep. I can guarantee that most Gold Coasters are the same. 

If you have lived here for a while, it is easy to forget to stop for a minute and enjoy the incredible show that rolls up and down the East Coast from June to November. 

You guessed it, I am talking about the whale migration. Each year it is estimated 20,000 whales travel past our very beaches. If, like me, you are too busy changing the song on your Spotify or chatting with your pals as you walk down the beach, you probably don’t remember to look out to sea and see what they are up to either. Even from the beach, they can be seen slapping their fins, shooting water from their blow holes, and jumping clean out of the water. 

There are many whale viewing options along the Gold Coast and Tweed Coast: Burleigh Heads or Fingal Head by foot, Point Danger Lookout or Hastings Point Headland by car, or boat trips of all shapes and sizes. 

Coolangatta Whale Watch has been running whale-watching tours from Tweed Heads for about 15 years, and Stephen Hewitt has been the company's owner for the last seven years. 

Their three-hour boat trip should be top of your to-do list this winter because as well as guaranteeing you will see a whale (or giving you a free ticket for another day) they also guarantee their knowledgeable guides will be able to teach you some new whale facts. 

“Probably the most surprising thing about whale watching is the whale behaviour,” Stephen tells me. 

“The way they react to the boat, how playful they are. They have travelling days where they are just swimming and not playing, and more relaxed days where they react to the people chatting on the boat and want to join the party.”

Whale watching along the Coolangatta/Tweed coast is great because the boat doesn't have to travel far to see them. 

Leaving from the Ivory Marina, the Coolangatta Whale Watch tours take you down the Tweed River, across the Tweed Bar and then out into the open water. 

“The whales travel close to the shore along the Gold Coast and always put on a great show,” Stephen explains. 

“On the way up the males are breeching as part of their mating rituals and on the way back down the mothers can be seen showing their calves how to fin slap.”

For a whale of a time, visit coolangattawhalewatch.com.au.