Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in Tropical North Queensland is the only place in the world where can you swim with friendly dwarf minke whales.

There’s only one spot on the planet where you can swim with dwarf minke whales – and only a few lucky people get the chance to do so each year. These six-tonne (6.6-ton) creatures are renowned for their fascination with humans – they’re so curious they have been known to spend hours swimming back and forth around divers, making eye contact and even bringing their calves for a look.

However, they only congregate on Great Barrier Reef for a brief period each winter, the high season for swimming with Dwarf Minke whales generally runs from mid June to mid July.

Swimming with dwarf minke whales is a fiercely guarded privilege – only a handful of operators are licensed to offer the experience.

The dwarf minkes are a winter highlight on the northern stretches of the Great Barrier Reef – the season generally runs from June till August, with “high” season taking place between mid-June and mid-July – but the Graet Barrier Reef itself is a year-round wonderland. With 1500 species of fish, 300 species of hard corals, 4000 mollusc species and 400 sponge species, you’ll need to pack a few extra memory cards for your underwater camera.