We left from Redcliffe, the site where Europeans first settled in Queensland though later abandoned. The coastal area had a country feel, but we weren’t there for Redcliffe’s relaxed atmosphere; we were about to search for whales.

Sun glittered over Moreton Bay while we sped over azure waters. We motored past Cape Moreton at the northern tip of Moreton Island and into the Coral Sea. But where were the baleen whales we’d hoped to spot?