Whale Watching in South Africa

Wed, Jul 9th 2008, 00:00

Springtime on the southern tip of Africa sees great celebration for residents as it marks the start of “whale season” when hundreds of whales arrive at the coast of South Africa after their long journey from the the south pole.


Whales are migratory animal, travelling thousands of kilometres every year from their nutrient-rich feeding grounds in icy waters off Antarctica to calve in the warmer waters of Africa and South America. These giant mammals of the deep can travel unbelievable distances: the longest recorded journey is a 5,000 mile trip clocked up by a humpback whale that travelled from Antarctica to the shores of Central America.

There is an abundance of food for the whales in the oceans around Antarctica. Every day they consume up to 600 kilogrammes of plankton. They are generally filter feeders, swimming along with their mouths open, drawing in the plankton. Fine baleen hairs filter out very tiny prey including copepods, steropods, euphasiids and mysids (tiny crustaceans).

As the Antarctic temperatures begin to plummet and ice starts to cover the sea, many of the large whale species begin their long migration northward. They need warmer waters for calving and head for the sheltered coves of Africa, South America and Australia to give birth. They stay very close to shore which makes for ideal whale watching opportunities.

Hermanus, a former fishing village on the southern coast of South Africa, has become the whale watching capital of Africa. Whale season sees people arrive from all over the world to encounter these gentle giants of the deep.

Featured Businesses

Whale Watching in South Africa reviews

There are no reviews available. Be the first to submit a review!

Login to comment