The only sound is waves lapping against the side of the vessel.

Some patrons risk a quick selfie, but most eagerly line the rails, waiting shoulder to shoulder.

Everyone is facing outward, scanning the sea for any glimmer of movement.

Without warning a massive black torpedo launches out of the ocean, rising high in the air.

It seems to hang in the air for a brief second before smashing face first into the rolling waves.

The whale's performance is met by the cooing and applause of stunned tourists, awestruck by the sheer size and strength of even a juvenile humpback whale off Port Macquarie's Oxley Beach.

It's not hard to see why the whale-watching tours are almost fully booked for the start of the official season from June 1 until November.

The animals are migrating north in huge numbers off the east coast of New South Wales. Around 33,000 humpbacks were estimated to have made the trip last year.

They travel up the coast past Port Macquarie before hitting an invisible marker and veering off toward the next destination.

Tamworth residents Jess Davis and Adam Zivkovic said they were just happy to have a day at sea.

"It's awesome.We're just glad to be out on the water," laughs Mr Zivkovic on a whale watching tour.

Port Jet Cruise Adventures director, skipper Anthony Heeney said whales never cease to amaze along the Port Macquarie coast.

"It's an experience. If people haven't done it before they'll be blown away by the majestic nature of the beast and how gentle they are," he said.

"The size and just to get so close to something like that, it's just unreal.

"The boat ride is a good experience as well. It's very different to being in a river or a lake or a dam.

"Just experiencing being out in the ocean along our beautiful coastline is enough in itself.

"I think that Port Macquarie is one of, or the best place in Australia, to look at whales.

"Purely because we don't have to go very far to find them. We're very lucky."

Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia conducts a whale census each year on the last weekend of June.

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, SIGN UP HERE.