Visitors spot incredible sight in tiny Aussie bay: 'Very special'
It's a tiny bay off the coast of Shellharbour, popular with swimmers and snorkellers for its protected, clear waters. But on Monday, visitors at Bushrangers Bay, south of Sydney, were treated to the arrival of some special guests — a pod of humpback whales who could even be heard singing from the shore to the delight of onlookers.
Alex Ross, a former local, was back in town visiting his children and grandchildren when he and his wife, Jenny, decided to stop by Bass Point to see if they could see any whales.
'We probably saw 10 or 15 pods down there this morning, but quite a few of them were off shore and then this pod came around just as we got there and went right into Bushrangers Bay,' he told Yahoo News.
The couple watched on in awe as the pod of at least three whales swam close to shore, in and out of the bay twice.
'Bushrangers Bay is a tiny, little marine reserve. It's about the size of maybe three Olympic swimming pools,' Alex said. 'It's quite narrow… but it's deep in there.
'They just came in and hardly had enough room to turn around in there really. So that's why I was quite surprised they went in there twice!'
Incredibly, there were several people swimming in the bay when the whales arrived, with one man saying he could hear them singing.
'It was the most amazing thing to hear their sounds underwater,' he wrote to Alex on Facebook.
The animals were so close to shore even those on land could hear the faint songs.
The rare sighting combined with their grandson's birthday on the same day made it a 'very special' experience for Alex and Jenny before they head home to New Zealand next month.
Whale season kicked off just a few weeks ago, with the peak time for whale spotting usually around the end of June and throughout July.
As part of their annual migration from Antarctica to the South Pacific to breed, the whales travel right along the Australian coastline — though you'd have to be lucky to see them this close.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Major warning over $50,000 act during popular Aussie travel period: 'Risky'
Australian travellers are being urged to rethink getting personal loans to pay for their winter travel plans. Nipping over to Europe or the US to escape the cold is a well-trodden path that thousands take every year. But some aren't spending months to save for the holiday and are instead taking out loans to ensure they can live life to the fullest. Tax expert Kiki told Yahoo Finance this can have huge ramifications down the line if you want to buy a home. "It's a bit risky taking out a loan, especially in this environment where the banks are quite strict with borrowing capacity, and taking out a personal loan of $50,000 will definitely impact your borrowing capacity," she said. Outrage as young Aussie spends $50,000 'house deposit' on Europe trip Centrelink age pension changes coming into effect from July 1 $1,000 ATO school fees tax deduction that Aussies don't realise they can claim "If they're going on a holiday just to have a break and take some pictures, and it's not for a family reunion or anything of that sort, then I think it's a bit silly." Fifty grand might sound like a ridiculous amount to spend on a jaunt to Europe, but this number was cited by some on social media. Brooklyn posted a TikTok asking how people managed to afford to go away every single it just sneaky savings hacks? Racking up credit card debt? Staying in the cheapest, nastiest hostel and eating bread every day? Everyone had their personal trick, but one person said, "I know a lot of girls take out $50,000 personal loans just to go." Another added: "I know of people who took out $50,000 to go on trips, absolutely astounding." The answer absolutely floored Brooklyn, especially considering she had budgeted just $16,000 for two people to spend 10 weeks in Europe. "Is this genuinely something people are doing? Like, I save diligently, I don't really drink, I don't really go out and do any of those things, and I can't afford to go on these massive holidays every year," she said. Data from Finder revealed Aussies have slowly been taking out more in personal loans for their holidays and travel plans. In January 2020, Aussies were approved for $35 million worth of personal loans for getaways alone. While that's a lot, it's nothing compared to the $1.1 billion taken out for car loans in the same month. Personal loans for travel obviously took a massive dip during the pandemic, but ever since July 2021, the total amount taken out has been steadily increasing. The latest data showed $59 million was approved just in July, 2024. Kiki said people are too often trying to 'keep up with the Joneses' and con themselves into these huge holidays just because others are jet-setting at the same time. Finder actually discovered more than 2.14 million people would go into debt to pay for their holidays. A further 5 per cent of Aussies, more than one million people, said they felt pressured to organise travel plans they couldn't afford. Personal finance expert Sarah Megginson told Yahoo Finance you need to be very careful going down this route as it can be a slippery slope. "A growing number of Aussies are drowning in debt to be able to travel," she said. 'While it's tempting to splurge on a holiday, taking out credit to do so can cause long-term financial consequences and keep you stuck paying off debt for months or even years." When Brooklyn uploaded her video, some Aussies weren't too fazed by the $50,000 admission. "I'm happy for them. As long as they pay it back who cares? Life is for living," wrote one person. "When it's that or waiting 5 years to save — take the loan! See the world! Life is too short," added another. But Kiki said this laissez-faire attitude towards loans isn't the best outlook. "People just don't realise the impact it has on them when they come back from the holiday, which is the concerning part," she told Yahoo Finance. "If you want to go on a holiday, then save for it, and then you won't have to stress about the aftermath of coming back and having to deal with this loan that is probably anywhere between two to five years of repayments." Having debt hanging over your head for that length of time can take a huge toll on your finances and mental health. Kiki said you can keep costs down by booking flights well in advance, checking the same accomodation on multiple sites for the lowest price, finding free walking tours, or going just before or after peak season. Also putting any savings into a high interest account can boost your money as much as possible. That was another point many raised on TikTok. They're both credit and yet it's personal loans that seem to be demonised, some said. However, Kiki explained that if you're putting all your travel expenses on a credit card, you're at least getting the frequent flyer points. You could rack up enough points that flights for your next holiday are a fraction of if you bought them outright. You can also get certain travel insurance when booking with a credit card, and some cards have interest-free periods if you pay off your debt in full each month, which is not usually available with personal loans. Credit cards and personal loans can carry incredibly high interest repayment rates, with some north of 20 per cent, however, there are some in the 5-10 per cent range, depending on a few factors. But Kiki said optics can play a role if you want to get a mortgage a few years after that big Europe holiday. "The bank might ask why was this loan taken out, and if the answer is, 'For a holiday', then they might perceive that behaviour as not someone that is financially stable," she said. The same can and will happen if you have loads of credit card debt. But the difference is you will have a credit card debt at the end of your holiday based on exactly what you've spent, compared to potentially overestimating how much you'll need for the in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
WIRED
14 hours ago
- WIRED
How to Beat Jet Lag
Jun 21, 2025 5:00 AM As ultra-long-haul routes take flight, plane-lighting hacks and meal planning could help passengers recover faster. Illustration: GREGORI SAAVEDRA We've all been there after a long trip—staring blankly at emails, counting the hours until bed. Yet when 2 am hits, you're still wide awake, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, trapped in the grip of jet lag. That's the price for crossing time zones too fast. Our internal clock, or circadian rhythm, governs everything from sleep to digestion to hormones and uses light to maintain its natural 24-hour cycle. But when we land in a new time zone, and day suddenly turns to night, this rhythm is thrown off balance. Most travelers adjust within a few days, perhaps with the help of a melatonin pill. But in the meantime, jet lag affects sleep, mood, and metabolism. A complete cure for jet lag is unlikely, but scientists have found ways to help our bodies keep up. 'Even reducing jet lag by a day improves the productivity and well-being of so many people,' says Svetlana Postnova, a professor of neurophysics at the University of Sydney, speaking from over 10,000 miles and 10 time zones away. Since 2015, Postnova has worked with Australian airline Qantas, which is set to launch the world's longest flights in 2027, connecting Sydney to both London and New York, nonstop. These 19- to 22-hour journeys will offer passengers an unusual experience: two sunrises on a single trip. Or at least that's what it should look like inside the cabin. This is where Postnova's expertise comes in. 'The timing of lights is key,' she says. On long-haul flights, airlines typically serve meals shortly after take-off and before landing, keeping the cabin dark in between to give passengers a chance to rest. But ultra-long-haul travel presents new challenges. Sitting in darkness for most of a 22-hour flight wouldn't just be dull, it would make adjusting to a new time zone even harder, Postnova explains. Before Qantas launched its 17-hour Perth-to-London route in 2018, Postnova's team helped fine-tune lighting and meal schedules to help passengers align their body clocks. For the upcoming flights, they're going further—experimenting not just with timing but with different light colors. 'If it were up to scientists like me who want to minimize jet lag, we'd flood the cabin with bright white light,' says Postnova. 'But that would upset a lot of people.' Instead, they've created 12 lighting scenes, including a sunrise simulation that moves gradually from the front to the back of the cabin. One key setting is the 'awake' mode, a blue-enriched light designed to help passengers stay awake at the right times. 'Blue light has a much stronger effect on our circadian clocks than, say, green or red,' says Postnova. Hence the common advice to avoid screens before bed. The best strategy? Tricking yourself into a new rhythm, even in the days before travel. There are apps to help with this, of course. Timeshifter, developed by a neuroscientist and his team, suggests a personalized schedule for light exposure and sleep based on flight itineraries. For my recent trip from Mexico to Switzerland, the app advised wearing sunglasses at the airport before departure, sleeping through dinner on the flight, and going straight to bed upon arrival. If only I had known before takeoff. But jet lag isn't just about light exposure and sleep. While the brain is our master clock, other tissues like the liver and muscles have their own clocks that regulate metabolism, the body's process of turning food into energy. A 2024 experiment from the University of Surrey and the University of Aberdeen found that metabolism recovers from jet lag faster than the brain. The researchers simulated a transatlantic flight by delaying participants' bedtimes by five hours while controlling their food intake in a lab. 'We wanted to see if meal timing could prepare the body for jet lag or shift work, in the same way that people use light and melatonin,' says lead author Jonathan Johnston, a professor of chronobiology and integrative physiology at the University of Surrey. Over five days, blood tests showed that while participants felt groggy, their metabolism bounced back much quicker than their levels of melatonin, the hormone associated with sleep. This suggests meal timing and composition could also be key to reducing jet lag, Johnston explains. 'It would be fantastic if we could come up with a single strategy to help synchronize all of people's clocks.' Translating such lab experiments to the real world comes with logistical and ethical challenges. 'You can't just take a plane full of people or recruit people and put them on a strict schedule,' says Johnston. And even if meals were set, there's no guarantee passengers won't sneak in a late snack. To test the effectiveness of light interventions, Postnova and her team have found a pragmatic approach. Select Qantas passengers, in exchange for frequent flyer points, wear wristbands that monitor their movements, light exposure, skin temperature, and glucose levels. They also provide feedback on their sleep patterns and overall well-being through questionnaires for 10 days following the flight. 'We can design scenarios in the lab or models based on desired effects,' says Postnova. 'But in reality, there are lots of things that come into play, and people have different rhythms.' So, while we don't yet have a way to comprehensively avoid jet lag, at least researchers and airlines aren't asleep on the job in their hunt for a cure.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Aussies left unable to drive as cold icy weather takes over: 'Snow by the sea'
Australians are being warned as a powerful polar air mass prepares to sweep across southern and eastern parts of the country this weekend, unleashing snow, hail, damaging winds, and a sharp plunge in temperatures. Conditions in recent weeks have quite literally iced drivers out of their cars, with frosty scenes emerging all over social media. Australians have shared photos and videos of frozen windscreens from Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, and even parts of Queensland — a rare occurrence in the Sunshine State. Recently, a photo showing a "Welcome to the NSW South Coast" sign went viral online after it was shown surrounded by nearby snow. "Snow by the sea", the caption read, prompting thousands of responses. And while the picture was taken about 50 kilometres inland, it shows just how far the frosty conditions have spread. The wintry blast has sparked a rush of interest in how best to deal with sudden frost, especially for early-morning commuters facing thick ice on their car glass. As Australians find themselves scraping frozen glass or staring through tiny defrosted peepholes, chemistry expert Dr Nathan Kilah, senior chemistry lecturer at the University of Tasmania, has urged caution, especially against one very common mistake. "If you pour hot or boiling water on a cold windscreen, the rapid change in temperature can cause something called thermal shock and can actually crack the glass," he told Yahoo News Australia. "Because the glass on a windscreen is laminated safety glass, you can actually end up splintering it." Instead, Dr Kilah recommends using room-temperature tap water or gently scraping the frost away with a plastic card or dedicated scraper. "You can use a credit card — the plastic is soft enough that it won't scratch the glass," he said. Quiet town beating Australia in big national race: 'Saving $6000' Incredible discovery at beloved national park after tragedy Aussie council's $220k move after chaotic beach scenes anger locals Running the car's internal heater before or while de-icing can also help prevent the frost from re-forming, especially on very cold mornings. "The main thing I always mention is to make sure you remove it all — you don't want to be driving down the street like you're driving a tank, looking through a small, narrow gap," he said. As for prevention, Kilah said the only reliable method is covering the windscreen overnight. "People have used towels, blankets, or bits of cardboard," he said. "But if it's windy, those can easily blow away." Across the country, residents are being urged to prepare for the incoming frost throughout the weekend and into next week. Here are the areas set to be impacted. A powerful front will hit southwestern WA on Friday and into Saturday. Expect blustery winds and widespread showers, with 20–50 mm of rain forecast along the coastal strip, including Perth. Rainfall will also spread inland to the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions. The front will sweep across SA from late weekend through early next week. Adelaide could see a sharp drop in temperatures—from around 22 °C on Sunday to 15 °C by Tuesday—while strong winds and isolated thunderstorms may trigger severe weather warnings. Southern and southeastern Victoria are in line for widespread rain, gusty winds, and possible hail and snow in elevated areas behind the fronts. Alpine resorts like Mount Buller and Falls Creek have already recorded early-season falls (37–78 cm), and more snow is expected mid-week. Cold, wet, and windy conditions will spread across NSW and the ACT from Sunday to mid-week. Sydney's highs are expected to fall from the low mid-20s to around 18C, Canberra to about OC overnight and 12C by day, while the Snowy Mountains may see snow. Frost and sub-zero conditions are likely in elevated inland areas. Northern Tasmania has already been soaked by heavy rain—Launceston saw 24 mm, its wettest day since January—with flood warnings now in place for rivers like the North Esk. The high country near Ben Lomond also received 14 cm of fresh snow, and more snow with strong winds is expected next week. The advice comes as new data released this week by the NRMA revealed a sharp rise in wild weather-related damage this year, with more than 32,000 claims lodged between January and May, already surpassing the total for all of 2024. According to the insurer's latest Wild Weather Tracker, one in four Australians have been affected by severe weather this year, from cyclones and floods to damaging winds and storms. Autumn alone saw over 15,800 claims, largely due to Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred — the first cyclone in five decades to threaten South East Queensland and northern NSW. The system impacted around four million people, and more than half of those surveyed in the region said it was their first time experiencing a cyclone. The data also revealed growing public concern, with 69 per cent of Australians saying this year's extreme events have made them more aware of weather risks. Over a third said they're now more likely to take steps to protect their property, but fewer than half feel confident they're prepared for a major event. "In the second half of winter, wetter-than-usual conditions are forecast to take hold - especially across the east," Kathryn Turner, NRMA Insurance Meteorologist and Senior Weather Risk Analyst, told Yahoo News. "In spring, we traditionally see temperatures begin to rise and humidity increase, with storm season typically beginning in late September in Queensland and October in New South Wales. "With thunderstorms an increased risk in spring, Australians should get prepared by making sure their roof is secure, clearing gutters, downpipes and drains and keeping their car undercover where possible." Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
