For I long time, I hoped to see Killer Whales (Orcas) in the wild. With this in mind, we once booked a sea kayaking trip in the San Juan islands, billed as one of the best places to see Killer Whales in the USA, however, sadly the whales did not show up for us on that occasion. So, when researching our road trip from Perth to the South West region of Western Australia, I was intrigued to learn of Killer Whale ‘hot spot’ near Bremer Bay, and decided to book on a tour. But would we be lucky this time?
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Where is Bremer Bay, WA?
Bremer Bay is a coastal hamlet in the South West region of Western Australia. It is 2 hours east of Albany, 4 hours west of Esperance and 5 hours from Perth. Bremer Bay sits at the mouth of the Bremer River and on the edge of the Fitzgerald River National Park which is an UNESCO recognised international biosphere with wildflowers and walking trails.
Why go to Bremer Bay, WA?
Bremer Bay has become a hub for whale watching trips, more specifically Killer Whale expeditions to find ‘Orchinus Orca’ in the special area of the Bremer Canyon.
The Killer Whale expeditions are now the main pull for Bremer Bay, although the area also offers plenty of beautiful beaches and access to the Fitzgerald River National Park. However, there’s not much going on in the hamlet of Bremer Bay itself.
Note – if you are in the region during the winter, then you might be interested to visit Point Ann in the Fitzgerald River National Park, where Southern Right Whales arrive during July to calve, until November. It is not unusual to see tens of whales at any one time during calving season which must also be very special.
Choose a day trip with Naturaliste Charters Whale Watching
We booked a Killer Whale Expedition via Get Your Guide with the company Naturalise Charters Whale Watching, a family owned and locally run operation. There are currently only two companies offering Killer Whale Expeditions out of Bremer Bay as it is still a relatively new area for orca spotting and research.
Naturalise Charters have only been running the expeditions for about 10 years, which is how long the scientists have known that there is something special going on with the Orcas in the Bremer Bay area. The scientists are still learning about the habits of the Orcas in this area, and don’t know where they go when they seasonally move aware from the area.
We booked a Killer Whale Expedition via Get Your Guide with the company Naturalise Charters Whale Watching, a family owned and locally run operation.
There are currently only two companies offering Killer Whale Expeditions out of Bremer Bay as it is still a relatively new area for orca spotting and research.
Naturalise Charters have only been running the expeditions for about 10 years, which is how long the scientists have known that there is something special going on with the Orcas in the Bremer Bay area. The scientists are still learning about the habits of the Orcas in this area, and don’t know where they go when they seasonally move aware from the area.
What to expect on a Killer Whale Tour with Naturaliste Charters
Be prepared for a full day on the ocean
Firstly, all the expeditions from Bremer Bay with Naturalise Charters are full day expeditions due to the distance that the boat needs to travel to get to Bremer Canyon and locate the Killer Whales. This meant being at Bremer Bay Harbour for 7.45am, ready for departure at 8.30am. We were out on the water for around 7.5-8 hours in total, arriving back at the harbour around 4.00pm.
During our day on the boat, the crew of the boat brought round fresh fruit and good quality sandwiches and wraps for lunch, encouraging us to help ourselves if we wanted more. There was also a constant supply of water, soft drinks, tea, coffee, and biscuits throughout the day.
Talk to the Marine Biologists on board
Naturalise Charters Whale Watching have marine biologists on board each Killer Whale Expedition conducting research, monitoring whale activity and compiling surveys. The marine biologists were also on hand to answer our questions all day and they came out on deck to talk to us about the wildlife sightings along the way.
There was an informative presentation about Killer Whales running on the screens in the main cabin of the boat throughout the trip and, at the end of the day, the marine biologists completed a blog of the sightings that day, which was emailed to us after the trip, and was gratefully received.
Bremer Canyon – a hot spot for Killer Whales
Our boat, the 23-foot Alison Maree, headed out to the Killer Whale hot spot of Bremer Canyon, which is a special deep-water eco-system 3 nautical miles wide. Bremer Canyon sits 24 nautical miles offshore, and so it takes the boat around 1.5 hours to reach the Killer Whale hot spot.
Bremer Canyon sits where the continental plate ends and the water is filled with nutrients by a current from the Antarctic, attracting all sort of marine life, Orcas, and their predators. It is this location which makes Bremer Bay the jumping off point for one of the best places to see Killer Whales.
We experienced quite a bit of swell on our way to the Bremer Canyon hot spot but apparently the conditions that day were “relatively calm”, so I was glad not to have been on the boat on a rougher day.
Sea sickness – At least 7 people were seasick on our “relatively calm” trip and so make sure that you do take good sea sickness tables before travelling. We used Sturgeon which prevented any sea sickness amongst our group, and I also took ginger biscuits and pulse point bracelets just in case!
I felt that we were well looked after by the staff of Naturaliste Charters who were very helpful with those who felt, or were, seasick. We were sitting inside the cabin but spent a lot of time out on deck watching the water. Those feeling seasick were advised to sit outside for the full journey in the fresh air.
What we saw – it’s not just about the Orcas
On our way to the Bremer Canyon killer whale hot spot, we were joined by a pod of Common Dolphins who playfully ‘rode the bow and wake of the boat’, which was magical.
For bird spotters, we were joined by juvenile gannets, and an albatross letting us know that an Orca pod was close.
We also enjoyed seeing a long-nosed fur seal soaking up the sun and seemingly waving his flipper at us, or at least that’s what it looked like.
Killer Whale sightings at Bremer Canyon
Strangely, once we reached Bremer Canyon, the waters suddenly became much calmer, almost like we were in the eye of the storm. The boat was then allowed to float around whilst we kept our eyes peeled for Killer Whale activity…
Killer Whales are reliably seen here every day between January and mid-April, but of course there is room for error and the expedition on the previous day did not see any, so those passengers were invited back for a second try.
At the point of our trip in the first week of April (so towards the end of the Killer Whale spotting window), there had only been 4 days in the season when Orcas weren’t seen, which seems like a great success rate.
Eventually we were delighted to see the very tall dorsal fin of an Orca called Nibbles. Each Orca is unique and identified by its eyepatch (left and right are different), its saddle patch and the scarring on the dorsal fin which comes from the teeth of other Orcas assisting with a live birth (they come out dorsal fin first).
We also spotted Razor and Blade, a mother and daughter combo who stuck closely together. Killer Whales have a matriarchal society where Mum and Grandma rule!
The marine biologists explained that the Killer Whales we were watching appeared to be in stealth mode, foraging for prey such as beaked whales (which have no teeth), fish or squid. Different family pods will come together to hunt and increase their chances of success.
Later, in our visit to Bremer Canyon, the Killer Whales appeared to switch into playful mode, swimming belly up around and underneath the hull of our boat – we could see the white shine of their bellies under the water.
You can tell when Orcas are going to take a deep dive for 15 minutes or so, as they slap their tail find on the water so hard that they leave a footprint behind which looks like a flat circle of water on the surface. Then you just need to be patient and wait for the whale to resurface, hopefully somewhere near the boat.
It’s amazing how obsessed you can get with spotting the whales and watching for shoots of water from their blow holes.
Although we were out on the water for nearly 8 hours, I wasn’t bored as there was always something to see, for example, on our way back to the mainland, we passed Glasse Island and saw some Australian sea lions resting on a rock outside the harbour.
In total, we spotted between 6 and 8 different Orcas on our expedition to Bremer Canyon, identified by name by the boat’s Skipper and the marine biologists. This seemed like a good hit rate for a destination with the potential to be one of the best places to see Killer Whales. It certainly made up for our no-shows in the San Juan Islands.
Where to eat in Bremer Bay?
Back on solid ground, all that sea air had made us very hungry and so we headed for dinner at the Bremer Bay Brewery, which was doing brisk business both inside and outside on the patio.
The best meal we had in Bremer Bay however was breakfast at The Telegraph on Bremer, an old telegraph station now turned into a restaurant and serving great breakfast and brunch options. It was lovely to sit outside on the veranda in the morning sun with our cups of coffee.
Where to stay in Bremer Bay?
We booked an AirBnB on Short Beach, which was a five-minute drive away from the township of Bremer Bay. Actually, it was more of a ‘boutique shack’ with access to a beach and no light pollution at night so millions of stars very revealed. It was perfect for our purposes, until my husband stepped on a scorpion on the bedroom floor in the middle of the night. Ouch!
Two of our kids stayed in the Bremer Bay Resort but it was more ‘motel than hotel’. The restaurant had Roo kebabs on the specials board.
There looked to be some decent Bed and Breakfast options around Bremer Bay, or campsites if you’re in a motorhome, which might be preferable if you are booking in good time.
Final thoughts...
It was such a privilege to have had such a close and sustained encounter with the Orcas, a memory which I will treasure forever. We were out all day on the boat, but I loved every minute of it and would thoroughly recommend this trip. The Killer Whale sightings made the long drive to get to Bremer Bay more than worth it.
So, is Bremer Bay, WA, one of the best places to see Killer Whales? Yes, it would appear that it is!
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