Evocative performances from Gumaraa Aboriginal Experience depicting their relationship with country and ocean, and the joy on the faces of the locals who paddled out in the rain at Horseshoe Beach to welcome the whales spoke volumes of our enduring connection with these awe-inspiring creatures.

Locals who joined the 1pm community whale watching cruise were rewarded with performances from a couple of humpback whales.

The day was a real community effort, with Camel Rock Surf School leading the community paddle-out, the Bermagui Surf Club opening its doors to hold the opening ceremony indoors, sheltered from the rain, and Sapphire Coastal Adventures leading the two community whale watching cruises.

The paddle-out was followed by a series of Whale Tales presentations.

One of the presenters was Jess Millar, who runs Sapphire Coastal Adventures.

Jess and her husband Simon have owned and operated the Merimbula Marina since 2008 and this was the second year they have run whale-watching cruises out of Bermagui.

For a while they ran a swimming with whales centre in Tonga.

She said whales were very social, very community-minded and well known for being very inquisitive.

Ms Millar said there were about 16 different whale immigration trails in the world and they all lead to Antarctica.

They tend to migrate along the Continental Shelf.

Bermagui was one of the closest ports to the edge of the shelf, making it a prime whale watching destination, Ms Millar said.

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Ms Millar said female whales migrate on the same trails they were born along, while males move around. This aided genetic diversity amid national and global conservation efforts to restore whale numbers.

Some of the familiar whale behaviours seen during their migration to Antarctica range in purpose from communication, dominance and self-cleaning to alerting other whales of the presence of boats.

Whales' pectoral fins can grow up to five metres in length and their tail is the strongest muscle in the animal kingdom.

The organisers of the launch event, Sapphire Coast Destination Marketing, received funding for tourism development from the National Recovery and Resilience Agency.

Residents of Tathra, Merimbula and Eden will have the opportunity to enjoy the rich cultural experiences as part of the Whale Trail program of events later this month.