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]

A standing monument to Jervis Bay's popularity with Chinese visitors is the House of Guangzhou restaurant, which overlooks the cruise-boat wharf.

Guests would walk straight from the docks having witnessed whales in their natural habitat, to enjoy a familiar Chinese meal in a spectacular setting-all of which gave the local economy an equally spectacular boost.

However, with no visitors from China since travel bans were introduced back in February, House of Guangzhou has been forced to temporarily close its doors and join forces with smaller partner restaurant, James Kitchen.

Offering hope to the region has been the heartwarming support of locals, who flooded back to grab a takeaway or sit down meal at James Kitchen when it reopened-as well as renewed interest from domestic tourists.

"We're seeing a lot of people who have never got around to do something like a whale cruise saying that this is the time, and it's a pretty fun way to support a community,"Jones said.

There is cautious hope in Jervis Bay that businesses will weather the storm and return to normal soon. Buoying spirits is talk of reopening domestic borders or even the possibility of international travel bubbles between countries that have successfully contained the virus.

With the promise of visitors returning sometime in the near future, Jones is confident his company will be on the water for at least another 30 years, and welcoming new friends from China for just as long.

"Being so close to Sydney, you can go from China, to a plane, to on a boat with me looking at dolphins all in one day," Jones said.

"It's amazing, it feels like another world, so hopefully that starts to happen again soon."