whales off the coast of South Africa

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Yay, I'm going down to Knysna during whale season! Last time I went during whale season a whale and her calf swam into Knysna lagoon. I could watch them from about 100 meters away! i also watched whales in Plettenburg Bay. (Plett is about hlf an hours drive from knysna)


Every year over 3000 Southern Right Whales migrate from Antarctica to South Africa to give birth and mate in the warm sheltered bays off SA. They spend the winter (June to October) in the quiet bays between the West Coast and Port Elizabeth. September seems to be the best time to see them. Every year the numbers increase since the southern right whale is still recovering from the large amount of whaling before it was banned in South Africa (in 1940). (The population increases by about 7% every year). Now they are used as a tourist attraction instead of being hunted. The most famous place to watch whales is in Hermanus where the sea cliffs right against the sea allows people to watch the whales from up close without disturbing them, (They even have an annual Whale Festival to welcome them) but they can be seen in most bays this time of year.

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Photos

View from the Knysna "heads"
view from Eastern head

western head, Knysna
knysna, Western Cape, South africa

Cave mouth (lol-certainly looks like it)
cave's in the Eastern head, knysna, South Africa