If you're on a long road trip, buddying up seems sensible - maybe it's the same for humpbacks as they head south down the whale highway.
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Former Brit and drone operator extraordinaire Ashley Sykes captured magical footage from Wollongong's lighthouse as two humpbacks and their calves frolicked in front of a glorious evening backdrop.
"They are going back down south after giving birth in Queensland, so these whales will be a few months old right now," Ashley, who now calls Cordeeux Heights home, told the Mercury.
"They were playing close to shore, breaching, chin slapping and generally having a blast," the 35-year-old said.
"The water closer to shore is not deep enough for adults to breach, but these calves were loving it.
"And with the sunset in the background, so lucky," he said.
"I'm a huge whale fan, and particularly like photographing and filming whales with the drone as it's a very non-disturbing way of photographing them."
For the drone conscious, Ms Sykes uses a a DJI Mavic 3 drone. In his words, it's "very awesome".
Whales galore have been on the Illawarra's radar over the past few days - with Bass Point and Kiama enjoying their share of the action.
The whale migration season continues down the coast until late November.
Ms Sykes posts as @ausmashmash on Instagram. See more of his work here.
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