Batemans Bay alert as whale washes ashore at North Head

An eight-metre dead whale has washed onto rocks on the northern shore of Batemans Bay.

ACT visitor David Haberlah saw the whale on Saturday, mid-afternoon, just minutes before waves dumped it at North Head beach, near Yellow Rock.

With his four-year-old daughter Siwa, the geologist hurried to the scene on October 25 .

"I was sitting at the far end and I saw something white floating," Mr Haberlah told the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner on Sunday.

"I thought, 'wow!'; this looks like a massive balloon'.

"I had a closer look and saw one of the fins come up and realised it was a whale.

"I went running back and Siwa and I went straight to look.

"It was belly up. It was already dead."

On Monday, October 27, a scientific voyage leaves Sydney on a five-day trip to Eden, counting whales on their return to Antarctica.

This dead whale is a casualty of that southern migration, after the breeding season in warmer northern waters.

Mr Haberlah said the whale was partly submerged as it washed in, but he did note any injuries.

However, within minutes of striking the rocks, the carcass was gashed.

"It did not look like it had any injuries before, but now it is breaking apart," he said.

"You could see within the first 10-to-15 minutes that a lot of fresh wounds were opening up as the whale was being washed against the rocks."

Mr Haberlah said conditions were calm at the time.

"There was no wind," he said.

"We were not sure how old it was, but it measured about eight metres," he said.

By Sunday, the whale's carcass had bloated considerably and was floating much more clearly above the water line.

Mr Haberlah said thought he saw a small shark approaching "very fast" at one point, but did not sight it again to confirm his impression.

baypost.com.au