Sample oysters at Eden.
PERCHED on the edge of the Tasman Sea on the beautiful NSW Sapphire Coast, the town of Eden is set to celebrate its biggest whale festival yet.
The festival, from October 30-November 1, coincides with the arrival of thousands of whales on their annual migration south. After calving in the warm waters off Australia's east coast, the whales stop to feast and replenish in Eden's krill and pilchard-rich waters.
The Eden Whale Festival combines whale watching from the shore and sea, with live shows, family fun, street theatre, film, music, seafood and local produce.
Things to do:
- Take a trip with whale watching operator Cat Balou. There's a 3.5-hour whale watching cruise and a 2.5-hour family whale watching cruise.
- For for a different type of water-based whale watching tour, book on Freedom Charters' intimate tour for just 12 people or Pelican Expeditions' 62-foot sailing catamaran.
- Discover Eden with locals. For a gold coin donation you can jump aboard the shuttle bus and be transported to some of Eden's best lookouts and historical sites. You'll be met by an expert at each drop-off point, hear the story behind the location and enjoy land-based whale watching.
- Explore the Killer Whale Trail. Easily the best way to spot whales from shore, the trail is an interactive map telling the history of Eden's whaling past as well as the top lookout points around the bay and along the coastline in stunning Ben Boyd National Park.
- Join a Sea to Plate tour. Each year Southland Fish Supplies delivers 1900 tonnes of fish from the boat to the consumer. You can watch the seafood as it comes off the boat and into the warehouse to be expertly filleted. This behind-the-scenes tour showcases why Eden produces some of Australia's best seafood.
- Take an adventurous snorkel tour. Australia's Coastal Wilderness Adventure will run twice-daily snorkel tours of the crystal clear waters of the Sapphire Coast. Don a wetsuit, snorkel, mask and fins to explore this underwater paradise where you may hear the whale song and encounter dozens of species of fish and marine life.
- Enjoy a wilderness kayak tour. Exclusive to the Eden Whale Festival, you can kayak the sandy Towamba River estuary.
- See Australia's only orca skeleton. Eden's Killer Whale Museum is home to the skeleton of Old Tom, the only complete orca skeleton in the southern hemisphere.
