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In Cape Town there are three types of whales usually seen along the Cape Coast; Southern Right, Humpbacks and Bryde's. The Southern Rights are the most common and were so named because they were the 'right' whale to catch. Very large, curious and passive, they made easy targets for whale watching in Cape Town.
Southern Right Whales travel over 10,000 kilometres from feeding grounds in the Antarctic to arrive in Cape Town. Here they do without food while they concentrate on mating or giving birth. Sometimes a rare albino baby pops its head out of the water, and there is great celebration from adoring onlookers. Breaching, spyhopping, lobtailing and flipper slapping are also great crowd pullers that boost interest in whale watching.
World's Best Land-based Whale Watching
Hermanus was once a whaling station, and it is interesting how our consciousness has done a complete turnaround and we now shoot these animals with cameras instead of harpoons. Ever since this rustic fishing village achieved the accolade of being the "Best land-based whale watching in the world", it has been catapulted it into international limelight and seems to be revelling in it.
The annual visitation of Southern Right Whales, who come here from June to November to mate and calve, is celebrated in the arts and culture of Hermanus. Whale season activities culminate in September, with the Hermanus Whale Festival. Events, talks, films, exhibitions, flea markets, whale watching and hopefully some attendant whales, are the focus for five days of celebration.
For more details regarding whale watching in Cape Town or for a useful events calendar, also consider our travel guide book: Passport To The Best Of Cape Town, which you can order from our online travel shop.
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