Skip to content

Great Barrier Reef

Humpback whales approaching the Great Barrier Reef

Humpback whales have been sighted near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef weeks earlier than the huge mammals typically arrive there. The whales make an annual trip to the Great Barrier Reef, which is one of the 28 Finalists in the New7Wonders of Nature, to breed and recover from the harshness of the frozen Antarctic waters, where they spend much of the year. Last week, a tourist boat spotted a pod of humpbacks about 40 kilometres off the coast of Queensland, the Cairns Post reported.

Humpback whales travel widely across the Earth’s oceans — they even spend time near New York City. Although they were nearly wiped out by whaling in the early 20th century, the species has made a comeback and numbers appear to be growing.

“It’s a bit over a 10 percent increase each year, which means we’ll possibly have close to another 1,500 whales born this year,” Peter Harrison, director of the Southern Cross University Whale Research Center, told the Cairns Post.

The Great Barrier Reef’s most famous Cetacean visitor, an unusual white humpback named Migaloo, hasn’t been so far, however.

Latest News

New7Wonders continues, find out how in our News Room

Bernard Weber & New 7 Wonders featured in Switzerland’s number one magazine

Zürich, 10 October 2023 The number one magazine in Switzerland publishes a cover article honouring the New 7 Wonders movement Founder-President, Bernard Weber. Coop magazine, with a readership of 3 million in a nation of 9 million inhabitants, also tells the story about how the world’s first ever global voting campaign for the New 7 … Continued

New7Wonders Wonder Marker at the Great Wall celebrated across Chinese News Media

Beijing and Zurich, 10 July 2023 The official unveiling of the New7Wonders Wonder Marker on 7 Wonders Day 2023 at the Great Wall has been widely reported across mainstream and social mobile media throughout China, recognising and celebrating the importance of this historic moment. Video news reports, distributed through the main mobile news portals that … Continued

Great Wall of China Unveils New7Wonders of the World “Wonder Marker”

Beijing and Zurich, 7 July 2023 Today marked the unveiling of the Wonder Marker, the 3 metre high signpost that celebrates the Great Wall of China as one of the official New 7 Wonders of the World (N7W) as chosen by a global public vote.  The ceremony took place at Huangyaguan Great Wall, Tianjin Province, … Continued

Great Wall of China to Unveil New7Wonders of the World “Wonder Marker”

Beijing and Zurich, 5 July 2023 On Friday, July 7, the Great Wall of China will unveil the “Wonder Marker,” the official symbol created by the New7Wonders Foundation (N7W) to honour the seven most remarkable historic sites on earth.    The unveiling will take place at Huangyaguan Great Wall, Tianjin Province, one of the most … Continued

The New 7 Wonders of the World celebrate 15 years

The New 7 Wonders of the World celebrate their 15th anniversary on 7 July 2022, as this is the date when the Wonders were announced at the official declaration ceremony that took place in Lisbon, Portugal in 2007. On a historic night on an equally historic date, 7/7/7 – the 7th of July 2007 – … Continued