Each winter, southern right whales gather below the Bunda Cliffs to calve. The Head of Bight is one of the great wildlife theatres of the planet, and you watch it from dry land.
To the edge of the country
The drive west from Ceduna is long and the land grows steadily emptier until you reach the Head of Bight, where the Nullarbor Plain meets the Great Australian Bight in a sheer wall of rock. The Bunda Cliffs march away to the horizon, and below them, through the colder months, the sea fills with whales.
A nursery beneath the cliffs
From roughly May to October, southern right whales come to these sheltered waters to calve and nurse. From the cliff-top boardwalks you look almost straight down on them: mothers and their pale calves, sometimes dozens at once, rolling and breaching and slapping the water. On a still day you can hear them breathe, a sound that carries up the cliff and stops every conversation.
A species brought back
Southern rights were hunted to the edge of oblivion in the whaling era, prized because they floated when killed, the 'right' whale to take. That they return here in growing numbers each winter is a quiet triumph of recovery, and watching them is a reminder of what was nearly lost.
Visiting well
The Head of Bight sits on Yalata Aboriginal land, and the entry fee supports the community that cares for it. Bring binoculars, warm layers against the wind, and patience. This is not a quick stop but a long pilgrimage, and the whales reward those who give them time.
