Every year, mother and calf humpback whales use Jervis Bay as a rest-stop on their journey between breeding grounds in the north, and Antarctica where they spend the summer feeding. [Photo provided to China Daily]

However, instead of celebrating the milestone, the business has been struggling to keep fuel in the tank and its boats on the water.

"For 30 years we ran everyday, and then COVID-19 happened. For a town that relies on tourism it's been a very, very difficult year," manager at Dolphin Watch Cruises Jet Jones told Xinhua.

Without the government's JobKeeper stimulus payments, Jones explained the business would already be underwater.

"The good thing is we've done it for 30 years, so we've seen almost everything a few times-but we really need a good summer to keep paying the bills," Jones said.

"And then hopefully we can get our international tourists back because that was a big part of our operation down here."

Only in the past few years has word spread around the world of Jervis Bay's unique charm, drawing more and more visitors, a large portion of which were from China.

"It's sort of a new destination, even though we've always been here, it's been a bit of a secret how good it was," Jones said.

"And all of our people on board the boats know how to say at least a few things in Chinese because we would get so many new Chinese friends every day."