The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has said a road trip to see whales at the Head of the Bight was the ideal way to celebrate Eyre and Far West national parks, which were the Service’s Parks of the Month for July.
Marine Coordinator for the NPWS, Shelley Paull, who has worked on Eyre Peninsula for the past 14 years, said July was a great time to visit parks in the region to coincide with the migration of southern right whales and cuttlefish.
Dr Paull said winter was the peak time for the annual whale migration and it was common to see more than 100 mammals from the cliffs of Nullarbor National Park to the Far West Coast Marine Park.
The Marine Coordinator said July was also the peak breeding season for giant Australian cuttlefish which congregate in the waters of Upper Spencer Gulf Marine Park, near Whyalla.
“Each year, thousands of cuttlefish come together for an incredible underwater display, changing and pulsating with bright colours and textures to attract mates for breeding,” Dr Paull said.
She said the Gawler Ranges National Park was also famous for its magnificent Organ Pipes rock formation which was formed more than 1,500 million years ago as a result of volcanic eruptions.
The NPWS said the Parks of the Month events program across northern Eyre Peninsula included discounted cuttlefish snorkelling tours with community organisation Experiencing Marine Sanctuaries; ranger-guided bushwalks in Whyalla Conservation Park; working on Country ranger-guided walks in Gawler Ranges National Park; saltmarsh discovery tours in Upper Spencer Gulf Marine Park; and A Plastic Ocean film screenings at the Whyalla Middleback Arts Centre.
More information about the events can be accessed at this PS News link.
