Portland - Anderson Point Lookout
Anderson Point Lookout is a clifftop stop on Wade Street with views across Portland Harbour and along the coast towards Dutton Way. The Wade Street viewing platform is also one of Portland’s recommended places to watch for whales, particularly during the May to September migration season. Sightings are never guaranteed.
The lookout is beside the World War II Memorial Lookout tower. The outdoor viewing area is free and open at all times; the tower is a separate attraction with its own opening hours and admission arrangements.
Facilities:
- Clifftop viewing area
- Car parking at Anderson Point
- World War II Memorial Lookout tower nearby
- Information panels
Current Access:
Access the lookout from Wade Street. As at September 2026, Anderson Steps and the coastal path connecting the point with Nuns Beach are closed because of cliff instability and erosion. Follow closure signs and keep away from the cliff edge.
Information Panels:
Australian Fur Seals
(Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus)
The Australian Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) is the largest of all the fur seals, weighing around 200 - 300kg.
They have a broad head, pointed snout and long backward sweeping facial vibrissae (whiskers).
The body is robust and covered in thick brown layered hair except on the front and back flippers.
The males are larger than the females and when mature carry a dark mane of coarse hair. They have a set of carnivore-like teeth.
The best time to spot them is between January and March when the weather is fine and calm, however seals can be seen all year round no matter what the weather conditions and at any time of the day.
Australian Fur Seals are known to dive to over 200m and live for about 20 years.
The Australian Fur Seal’s diet consists of squids, octopus, crustaceans, rock lobsters and small fish. They usually hunt schools of fish made up of pilchards or mackerel.
Hunted to the brink of extinction last century, their population recovery has been slow. The current Australian population is thought to be around 60 to 80,000. Fur seals are now protected by state and national legislation.
Seal Point at Cape Bridgewater is the largest mainland group of seals in Australia, which is home to a cohabitation of Australian Fur Seals and New Zealand Fur Seals.
Australasian Gannets
(Morus serrator)
Australasian Gannets (Morus serrator) are found on coastal waters looking for small fish such as pilchards, plunge-diving into the water at great speeds, reaching depths of up to 15-20m.
They spend most of their lives at sea, returning to land with their life partner to breed at a colony, typically where they were born.
Colonies are located at Point Danger and Lawrence Rocks near Portland, Port Phillip Bay, and on islands off Tasmania’s southern coast.
Annual breeding takes place from September to February with each pair raising only one chick.
The male and female Australasian Gannet are about 84 to 95 cm high. Most of the body is white, with dark tips on the major wing feathers and the inner tail feathers.
The head is buff-yellow and the bill pale blue-grey with striking black borders to the bill sheaths.
In immature birds, the head and upper parts are mostly brown with scattered amounts of white spotting.
Bottlenose Dolphins
(Tursiops truncatus)
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are members of the Delphinidae family, oceanic dolphin inhabiting warm and temperate seas and therefore can often be seen in the ocean waters around Portland.
Bottlenose dolphins live in groups of typically 10 to 30 but also up to 1000, called pods.
Their diets consist mainly of forage fish, often working as a team to harvest fish schools.
Dolphins search for prey primarily using echolocation, similar to sonar, emitting clicking sounds and determining the location and shape of nearby items by the echo.
Bottlenose dolphins have the largest brain to body mass ratio of any mammal on Earth.
For communication dolphins also use squeaks and whistles emitted from the blowholes and through body language, such as leaping from the water and slapping their tails on the water surface.
Blue Whales
(Balaenoptera musculus)
Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) are marine mammals and the largest creature ever known to have existed on earth.
They can grow up to 30 metres long and can weigh about 150 tonnes.
Blue Whales live to around 80 years old and are critically endangered.
The blue whale is thought to feed almost exclusively on small, shrimp-like creatures called euphausiids or krill.
During the summer feeding season the blue whale consumes 4 tonnes each day!
Between November to May, Portland becomes one of a dozen feeding sites in the world where you can see the Blue Whale surface and feed.
This is due to a phenomenon known as the Bonney Upwelling. A change in spring wind drives a change in ocean currents powering a seven month feeding frenzy of tuna, crayfish, giant crabs, squid, fish, seabirds, seals, krill and blue whales.
Southern Right Whales
(Eubalaena australis)
Southern Right Whales (Eubalaena australis) are the most common whales to visit Portland. In the nineteenth century these whales were regarded as the “right” whales to hunt as they were rich in oil and an easy catch being slow swimmers. They average 15 metres in length and 60 tonnes weight. A calf is 5 to 6 metres long at birth.
From May to October Southern Right Whales can be spotted close to shore. It is not uncommon for the whales to come within metres of the Lee Breakwater or even into the Portland harbour.
Living in the Antarctic during summer where the water is cool, they move up to the southern parts of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand in winter. It is in the warmer waters that they start to breed in protected shallow bays.
Features of a Southern Right Whale are:
- Dark skin, with irregular white patches on the throat and belly.
- A round body which tapers to a relatively narrow tail stock.
- A broad tail, with flukes which form a wide triangle with a notch in the middle.
- Large, broad pectoral fins, which have a rectangular shape.
- A large, narrow head with a highly arched mouth.
- A series of natural growths called callosities on the front of the rostrum, chin, on the sides of the head, on the lower lips, above the eyes, and near the blowholes.
Location
3 Wade Street, Portland 3305 View Map
