The Atlas Almanac

July

What is in season across Australia this month — produce, wildlife, landscape and the working year. Every window below is a recurring annual one, taken from the body that manages or measures it, and reviewed before it appeared here.

Wildlife

Humpback whale migration

North to calve and south again with the calves alongside, close enough to the coast to watch from the headland.

April–November

Byron BayNSW
- Blue Bay Whale WatchingBrunswick Heads
- Byron Bay Whale WatchingByron Bay
Coffs CoastNSW
- Whale Watch ExperienceCoffs Harbour
East Coast TasmaniaTAS
- Freycinet ResortColes BayConfirmed
Fraser CoastQLD
- Hervey Bay Whale WatchHervey Bay
Sapphire CoastNSW
- Bermagui Broadbill Fishing & Whale Watching ChartersBermagui
South Coast NSWNSW
- Provisions Deli & GroceryBraidwoodConfirmed
Sunshine CoastQLD
- Epic Ocean AdventuresNoosa HeadsConfirmed

Also in season in Gold Coast, Great Ocean Road, Margaret River and Port Macquarie & Hastings. No Atlas listing there answers this one yet.

Whale sharks

The largest fish in the ocean, in to feed, and near enough to swim beside.

March–July

Australia's Coral CoastWA
- Sols Place Boutique Pool VillasKalbarriConfirmed
- Exmouth Dive & Whalesharks NingalooExmouth
- Ningaloo Reef Dive & Whale SharksExmouth
- Three Islands Whale Shark DiveExmouth

Landscape

Wildflowers

Ground that reads as scrub for most of the year turns over to colour, then goes back.

June–November

Australia's Coral CoastWA
- Sols Place Boutique Pool VillasKalbarriConfirmed
Australia's Golden OutbackWA
- Pirates Gold Prospecting ToursLeonoraConfirmed
Great SouthernWA
- The Floating ForestDenmarkConfirmed
PerthWA
- Wildflower Society of WA NurseryMadeley

Also in season in Fremantle & Swan Valley, Margaret River and Southern Forests. No Atlas listing there answers this one yet.

Snow season

The months the alps are white, and the months the chains have to be in the boot.

June–August

Snowy MountainsNSW
- Snowy Hydro Discovery CentreCooma
- Snowy Accommodation Log CabinsCabramurra
- Snowy Monaro Fly FishingCooma
- Snowy Mountains HelicoptersJindabyne

The Dry

Tracks reopen, the air loses its weight, and everything that was cut off becomes reachable again.

April–October

In season in Alice Springs & Red Centre, Broome & Kimberley, Darwin & Top End and Katherine & Surrounds. No Atlas listing there answers this one yet.

Seasons move. A window here is the ordinary year for a region, not a forecast, and a cold spring or a wet autumn will shift it by weeks. Check with the place before you drive. Place counts are the Atlas listings whose location resolves to that region.