But with a combined weight of more than 100 tonnes, this was no ordinary family.

The humpback whales are among the first of 10,000 leviathans expected to make their annual migration over the next few months from Antarctica to the Sunshine State, and tour operators have begun the seasonal whale watch in earnest.

Whale watching has become a multimillion-dollar industry for Queensland and theme park Sea World has joined a growing number of tourist boats working the tourist strip.

Passengers aboard the company's Spirit of Migaloo at the weekend were treated to a majestic and graceful display from several pods of whales headed north to the waters near Hervey Bay. Sea World's director of marine sciences Trevor Long said he hoped Japanese tourists would learn to appreciate the benefits of conserving the marine giants and pressure their government to abandon its controversial scientific whaling program.