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CAPE WHALE COAST
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  Cape Whale Coast, South Africa: The coming of the
whales to the Cape Overberg coastline, also known as the Cape Whale Coast, every
year between June and November, not only creates a stir, but brings to our shores a large,
intelligent and remarkable giant of the sea and the only mammal to have adapted to life in
the open oceans. Whales, including the Southern Right Whale and less commonly the
Bryde’s (pronounced ‘broodess’) and the Humpback Whale, are frequently
sited along the Cape Overberg Coast from Stony Point near Betty’s
Bay, along the cliff paths of Kleinmond, Onrus,
Walker Bay, the De Hoop Nature Reserve and Witsand.
These gentle giants spend summer feeding around Antarctica and then migrate thousands of
miles to our waters where the sheltered bays of the South African coast provide perfect refuge to mate and calve. |
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Did you know?
The Southern Right Whale is called such because it was the ‘right’ whale to hunt
as it floats when dead; is rich in oil and baleen, and is relatively slow moving. |
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The Overberg coastline is the
meeting place of two oceans - the Indian and Atlantic. Two major ocean currents - the cold
Benguela wells up in the west and the warm Agulhas Current in the east - create a number
of conditions, which, combined with South Africa’s proximity to the southern ocean,
result in a rich marine life including as many as 37 species of whales and dolphins to
South Africa’s coastline. By comparison, the whole north Atlantic attracts only 28
species.
The Southern Right Whale can weigh up to 60 tonnes, averages 14 metres in length, lives to
about 100 years and has the most highly-evolved mammalian brain on earth. They are huge -
rounder and heavier than the Humpback or Bryde’s whale - and only smaller than the
blue whale. They are characterised by their gentle slowness, lack of dorsal fin and rough
patches of skin called callosities on their heads. These are covered with whale lice and,
as each whale has a unique callosity pattern, are often used to identify individual
whales.
The Southern Right Whale population was virtually decimated during the whaling years - an
estimated 20 000 of these beautiful mammals are said to have been slaughtered. There has
been active protection in South African waters since 1935 and the population is slowly
restoring itself. There are now close to 4 000 of these languid beasts - a large
proportion of which grace our shores every year.
They swim within 200 metres of the shore-line between June and November (as opposed to the
Humpback which prefer deeper waters) and sightings of mother and calf are especially
common. In Walker Bay, in places like De Kelders, they come as close as 20-30 metres from
the shore and never fail to fill hearts and minds with wonder at their magnificence. |
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Did you know?
Female Southern Right Whales calve every three years - one year of gestation, one year to
raise the calf and one year of rest! |
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 Catching a glimpse of the whales: The entire Cape Overberg
coastline offers generous sightings of the whales and the Walker Bay area, between Gansbaai and Hermanus,
is a whale sanctuary. Hermanus arguably offers the best land-based whale
watching in the world. For this position it competes only with Plettenberg Bay,
further along the coast. Not only does Hermanus boast the world’s only ‘whale
crier’, but there is a 14 km cliff path that offers a bird’s eye view of the 100
or so Southern Right Whales that visit Walker Bay every year and often come within five to
ten metres of the coast. Hermanus celebrates the arrival of the whales with an
event-filled annual Whale
Festival in late September.
The ‘big two’ town of Gansbaai offers both Great White Shark and Southern Right
Whale viewing, east and west of the Danger Point peninsula respectively and De Kelders,
a suburb of Gansbaai, offers a hiking trail along its cliffs which allows fantastic views
of the protected coves in which the whales wallow and approach very close to the shore. Cape
Agulhas is equally rewarding as the bay attracts a number of pairs of mother and calf
at a time and Pearly Beach has a
protective, shallow bay offering the whales a sanctuary in which to mate and calve.
Witsand,
in St Sebastian Bay, has earned the reputation of the most important whale nursery on the
African Coast and one of the greatest concentrations of Southern Right Whales comes here
to calve every year. Boat access in this area, and the breeding grounds of the De Hoop
Nature Reserve, is obviously severely restricted. Watching the whales from a boat is
another experience entirely. The Southern Right Whale tends towards natural curiosity and
venturing close to the boats is not uncommon. Failing this, you’re bound to evidence
a playful display of raised heads, tails and flippers as the whales acknowledge your
presence. Characteristic behaviour is resting head down in the water with tails in the
air, called ‘sailing’ or ‘headstanding’. |
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Did you know?
South Africa doesn’t allow boats any closer than 300 metres from a whale without a
permit and 50 metres with a permit - although this doesn’t stop the whales from
coming close to the boats themselves, which they often do! Approaching whales is done
quietly, without motors and at ‘no wake speed’. We are also the only country in
the world, so far, with an established environmental court (in Hermanus) where poachers of
protected marine species are tried for their offences. |
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The number of legal boat-based
permits is limited. South Africa’s coast is divided into sections, for whale
watching, and each section has only one permit holder for boat cruises. Boats are also not
allowed anywhere near cow-calf pairs. If this does happen accidentally, guides know to
leave the area straight away at a constant slow ‘no wake speed’ so that as
little intrusion as possible occurs.
Southern Right Whales tend to leave our waters by late October, although some stay through
November, and sightings are still made even as late as December. Just as they leave our
waters, the Humpback whales and their calves arrive and stay until the end of December or
early January. But the Humpback does not mate in our waters and are thus less easy to see.
The Overberg coastline is without doubt one of the most exciting parts of the
country to view whales and few visitors leave disappointed or untouched by the experience. |
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| “Whales are different. They live in families, they play
in the moonlight, they talk to one another and they care for one another in distress. They
are awesome and mysterious. In their cold, wet, and forbidding world they are complete and
successful. They deserve to be saved, not as potential meatballs but as a source of
encouragement to mankind.” Victor B. Scheffer -
former chairman of US Marine Mammal Commission |
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 There are many
activities on offer in Hermanus besides the obvious attraction of whale-watching including
the Old Harbour complex which offers the visitor an insight into Hermanus' past as a
Fisherman's village, the Hermanus Whale Crier and … why not browse through the day
tours on offer and ... Hermanus Tours
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 Hermanus Whale Crier: Hermanus on the Cape Whale Coast has its
very own whale crier, and, what’s more, Hermanus lays claim to the only whale crier
in the world. The popular town of Hermanus, connected directly to the Mother City by the
R43 and N2, is famous for whale watching, and the whale festival ... Hermanus Whale
Crier
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Spyhop - raising its head
to look around |
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Breach - jumping out of the
water to land with an almighty splash |
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Lobtail - striking the
water with its tail |
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Sailing - raising its tail
(flukes) for several minutes |
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luxury. For the best deals we recommend you book your car before travelling. |
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About 150 whales visit
Hermanus between July & December every year and come to within 10 m of the shore. |
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An adult whale can be up to
15.5 meters long and weigh up to 60 tons. |
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Whale Watching Hotline:
Phone 028 3122 629 for up to the minute info on where to see the whales. |
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