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Marine Animals in South Africa |
THE MARINE ANIMALS
South Africa has got to be one of the most incredible destinations worldwide for watching for Marine Mammals. In early June, southern right whales leave their Antarctic feeding ground to frolic in the (relatively) warm waters of the Cape coast. Here they mate, calve and generally hang out, occasionally flopping a tail up, or sticking their heads out of the water to check out the humans. They are so easy to watch. In Cape Town, you can see them from the road, or even the train, anywhere along the False Bay coast, and they're distinctly visible on the western seaboard if you get high enough.
The town of Hermanus has proclaimed itself the whale capital of the world - and it's not far off. These huge beasts sometimes loll around mere metres from the shore, and they are clearly visible from the scenic and fragrant cliff-top walk. The nearby town of Gansbaai, on the other side of Walker Bay, offers equally good cliff-top viewing but with a bit less hype.
Another fantastic spot to see these huge beasts is at De hoop Nature Reserve where they can be seen from the shore. Further east, the town of Plettenberg Bay also lays claim to the title of whale capital - with equally good reason.
The southern rights are around for the whole season and the humpback whales arrive with their calves in August, and stay until the end of December or early January. Occasionally Brydes whales or orcas are seen, bottlenose and humpback dolphins are in residence all year, and common dolphins pop in occasionally. A breeding colony of Cape fur seals completes the assemblage of marine mammals. It is in Plett that the dolphin and whale-watching industry is most organized. As well as trips on big, dry, comfortable boats, which are easy to board, and can even accommodate people in wheelchairs, you could do a dolphin-watching kayak trip or one of a number of scenic flights from which you can check out the whales from the air. Further up the coast in KwaZulu-Natal, humpback and bottlenose dolphins are also often seen from boats.
And of course, we have an incredible variety of seabirds and, in the north-eastern part of the country, you can join a guided turtle-watching excursion to watch these lumbering reptiles as they come ashore to lay eggs or, depending on the time of year, watch the little ones hatching and waddling down to the sea.
And if you're a diver, you'll have great difficulty deciding which incredible section of the coast to dive first.
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