Whales on the West Coast

The exciting and beautiful western coastal area of South Africa stretches along a rugged coastline.  So why is it that when whale watching in South Africa is mentioned, Hermanus is the town that seems to be the most featured?

Few people seem to realise that the West Coast of the Western Cape is an equally rich haven for whales and dolphins. In proof of this, the old whaling station at Donkergat, was only made redundant in the earlier part of the 20th century.

Unfortunately, the impact of whaling off the West Coast of Africa was particularly severe, with approximately 17,000 whales killed off the coasts of South Africa, Namibia, Gabon and Angola between 1909 and 1915.

Southern right whale populations were sadly already badly depleted well before this time.

Now at last, after more than 30 years of protection it appears that the whales of the West Coast are coming back again.

The Whale Unit of the Mammal Research Institute from the University of Pretoria has begun a research programme to assess the whale populations present in the SA west coast area, specifically looking at the seasonality of the migrations of both southern right and humpback whales.

Both land-based and a boat based research is being carried out, based at the SAS Saldanha military area, with whales being sighted from elevated shore lookouts with binoculars and thenidentified and tracked by means of a surveyor's theodolite enabling the researchers to calculate actual positions, ditances offshore, direction of movement and speed of passage.
Take time to meander through this area which is a mix of quaint fisherman's villages and small farming communities.

There are several reserves and national parks in this area, a beautiful lagoon and the Berg river where a great many different varieties of water birds can be seen in the reeds. The area is especially famous for its pelicans. The annual three-day Berg River Canoe Marathon, starting in Paarl, ends at Port Owen.    

This whole area is renowned for its seafood, with open air restaurants even set up on some of the beaches, serving fresh fish, mussels and crayfish in season. 

The hospitality of the area is well known and there are many establishments offering attractive and well-maintained accomodation. During the spring flower season the area is particularly busy, when people come from all over the globe to view the wild flowers en masse and to enjoy the lively and warm hospitality of the West Coast area.