Sunday was the best day to go whale-spotting along the 'special' Illawarra coastline, according to sea-life researchers.
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On Saturday alone, more than 170 whales were spotted off Bass Point in Shellharbour by a research team from the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA).
This week was historically the peak of the northern migration period, ORRCA secretary Jessica Fox said, with the coastline geography perfect to catch a glimpse anywhere.
![Picture by Brett Lowbein Picture by Brett Lowbein](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/UPAcJLQNVGftX3BUDy544C/3c53f002-122b-41b5-a97a-843a7204ee3d.jpeg/r0_109_2048_1260_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"The whole Illawarra coastline follows the humpback highway," she said.
"It's not like that along all of NSW, the Illawarra is very special in that the majority of headlands you will be able to see whales."
Spectators were mostly able to see humpbacks swimming north, but may have also seen the dwarf minke whales and the endangered southern white whales.
If anyone saw the latter, Ms Fox has asked they call the ORRCA hotline on 02 9415 3333 to report the sighting of the rare species.
If anyone sees whales in distress or entangled, alert ORRCA so volunteers can help.
![Ocean spectators at Flagstaff Hill in Wollongong on Sunday. Picture by Adam McLean. Ocean spectators at Flagstaff Hill in Wollongong on Sunday. Picture by Adam McLean.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/UPAcJLQNVGftX3BUDy544C/ea3bd80d-53eb-43bd-99d0-6d8d891165c2.jpg/r0_0_5480_3653_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"It's a get day for families to go and discover whats out there," she said.
Sunday June 25 is also ORRCA's census day nation wide, where whale watchers can log their location and what they saw by emailing orrcacensusday@gmail.com.
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