Sally Hinton, Gentle Giant (Single Shot 2019)

Hervey Bay is a resting point for Humpback Whales during their annual migration - a 10,000km round trip from the southern ocean to the tropics and back. They can spend up to 10 days relaxing in the Hervey Bay waters before continuing south. They are inquisitive about the boats and come up very close to check them out. There are few life-changing experiences more profound than being "mugged" by one of the largest mammals on earth, eyeballing you from a metre's distance.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.