Whale Season Along the Cape Coast

Every year, thousands of tourists make their way to the beautiful Cape Peninsula at the tip of South Africa in order to set their sights on the magnificent Southern Right Whales which can be seen in the Indian Ocean’s bays of Cape Town and along the Garden Route. Graceful and gentle, these whales migrate from the icy waters off Antarctica to the warmer Cape Coast every winter. Gansbaai and Hermanus offer the best whale watching opportunities, showcasing the beauty of these massive ocean mammals while enchanting you with their local seaside, small town, charm.

While the Southern Right Whales can be viewed in False Bay and from various look out points along the Cape Peninsula, Hermanus is the most popular whale watching town. This is where the annual whale festival takes place, the whale crier uses his horn to call out to the whales and draw in visitors, and where guests can embark along numerous cat walks along the cliffs of the bay to view the mammals as they give birth, sun bathe and breach in the warm waters. Depending on the whales’ migration, they can appear along the Cape coast anytime around June, staying put until late November.

 

Coming within two hundred meters of the shoreline and often sighted as close as twenty meters from the beachfront, the Southern Right Whales can be viewed in all their glory and grace from the small town of Gansbaai. This town is famous for offering shark cage diving experiences – the more adventurous whale watchers can even embark on a shark cage dive that includes whale watching cruise. The whales arrive in the bay during optimal shark cage diving conditions and often surprise guests while appearing during shark cage diving experiences.

Many tourists choose to stay in Gansbaai accommodation for a couple of nights, maximising their chances of good whale sightings and making the most of the laid back atmosphere in the seaside towns. With a day or two to spend with the whales, they can embark on a variety of activities in order to see them and learn more about them. Boat charters, trail walks to information and look out points, lunch spots with beautiful sea views and hikes in the Helderberg are some of the many ways that people can see the whales.

Whether you decide to take a day trip to Hermanus or stay a night or two in Gansbaai accommodation, the magnificent Southern Right Whales will give you a show to remember. It truly is a unique and remarkable experience to watch the whales give birth, breach out of the water and blow water and play; making the trip is an incredibly worthwhile adventure that will not only show you another stunning region of the Cape but will also be one that shows you a natural spectacle, rare mammal and one that will remind you of the simplicity of life.

Original Source: Holiday Bug