A POD of up to four whales, believed to be humpback whales, drew an estimated crowd of 100 to the Beachport jetty on Monday afternoon.
Word spread quickly at 3pm and the huge mammals drew visitors and tourists alike to witness their antics.
The pod was making physical contact with the eastern side of the heritage-listed jetty at its mid-point near the former trawler berth.
Among the delighted onlookers were Southern Ocean Tourist Park manager Dan Prouse and his nine-year-old daughter Tilly.
According to Mr Prouse, word of the presence of the whales was spread quickly via social media and phone calls.
“When they bumped the jetty, you could feel it move,” Mr Prouse said.
“You would not have had a better view of the whales if you had been on a charter boat.
“We only saw two whales.
“Judging by the size of them, I believe they were a mother and her older calf.
“This is the first time we have seen whales about Beachport this year.”
“In 2019, there were two seen out in Rivoli Bay and one off the back beach.”
Mr Prouse said guests at the caravan park occasionally referred to the presence of whales.
Callers to the Beachport Visitor Information Centre reported there were as many as four whales near the jetty.
There were around 20 telephone inquiries made about the whales to the centre on Tuesday but they had left the area by then.
Footage of the frolicking whales had featured in capital city television news bulletins.
The only other whale sightings in the Limestone Coast so far in 2020 have been dead whales which had washed up at beaches near Port MacDonnell and Nora Creina in recent weeks.
There were enough whales in Rivoli Bay in colonial times that a whaling station was established in the 1830s at the site of the modern-day Beachport.
Whaling relics from this era can viewed in the Beachport National Trust Museum.
