Humpback whales spotted swimming close to shore at Bondi

A pod of humpback whales have been spotted frolicking through the waves "very, very close" to Bondi beach as they make their annual migration north to warmer waters.

The animals were captured on camera by photographer Oli Gallagher, who said they were less than 250 metres from shore.

"No matter how many times I see them they just amaze me," Mr Gallagher said.

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"I literally was just on my lunch break when I saw them. The ones in the video were only 250 metres from the cliff, which is very, very close.

"These gentle giants are just embarking on one of the largest migrations known."

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Between May and November some 40,000 humpback whales commute up the Australian east coast.

The whales travel from their feeding grounds in Antarctica to Queensland's Great Barrier Reef.

Here the warmer water is more suitable for pregnant whales to birth calves.

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Photographers and surfers often spot the whales, which travel in pods of between two and 15 individuals.

Once the calves are born, their mothers will stay with them for about a year.

They make a second migration back to Antarctica between September and November.

Whales can be more difficult to see then as they often won't hug the coast as much while travelling with young.