Curious humpback whale greets boat full of tourists in close encounter

A curious humpback whale greeted a cruise ship off the Queensland coast, an amazing video has shown.

Sea World Cruises, which host whale watching cruises for tourists, captured the incredible moment the giant animal surfaced just metres away from the boat on the Gold Coast.

The whale appears out of the depths of the ocean before swimming vertically and poking their head out of the water.

After appearing to catch a glimpse of the tourists, the whale begins to swim away.

Sea World Cruises said: "The curious pod peeked their heads out of the water in a behaviour called 'spy hopping'."