Hermanus whale watching

vorman

vorman

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Hi there, require advice wrt whale watching at hermanus.

I plan on going this weekend, which is not the official whale watching festival weekend, that's the following weekend I think. Anyway, want to know where are the good spots and would I even get to see any without going on a boat trip.

Thanks
 
I lived there for a few years. You can actually see them from the old harbour, which is like the hub of Hermanus. Could imagine you'd be able to see quite a bit with binoculars. Sometimes they simply aren't around though.
 
vorman said:
Hi there, require advice wrt whale watching at hermanus.

I plan on going this weekend, which is not the official whale watching festival weekend, that's the following weekend I think. Anyway, want to know where are the good spots and would I even get to see any without going on a boat trip.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I normally just go to town center ,and walk around in area.

I thought it would be smart to book a weekend away 2 weeks ago as the prices on places to stay was decent, but saw no whales at all even drove all way to gansbaai!
 
vorman said:
Hi there, require advice wrt whale watching at hermanus.

I plan on going this weekend, which is not the official whale watching festival weekend, that's the following weekend I think. Anyway, want to know where are the good spots and would I even get to see any without going on a boat trip.

Thanks
Click to expand...

in 2007 July i went on a boat trip, we were about 500m away from the whales at 1st. Few mins later i nearly shat myself as they were under and around the boat. One of the best experiences ever. I could have touched the whales if we were in a smaller boat

in 2011 i think it was we went again in July, however the water was bad and the boat company wanted to make money. 99% of the boat ended up getting sick as the water was very rough

the boat trip is worth it as they get up close to the whales, but make sure weather is perfect before you go
 
You can definitely see whales without going on a boat. I am obviously not sure how many whales are in the bay or how active they are.

This site gives a good idea of sites to watch from. The whale crier is normally seen along Marine drive and should let you know where to look.

Take some binoculars, but if the whales are sailing or breaching, you can see easily them from far away. I have seen Southern Rights lying in the new harbour where people on the harbour wall could basically jump onto them.

There is also a kayak company which takes you whale-watching on kayak if that is your thing. Just don't do that when the water is rough.
 
Plenty of whales around at the moment.

dc147d8624b3105efb8cf7d4d494bca7.jpg


3x Southern Right Whale Pods just offshore here. You can hear them clearing their blowholes.

Hermanus Old Harbour & then the coast also walkway left and right of it are guaranteed to offer views.

Undoubtedly the best views though are to be had from the coastal area of De Kelders where this pic is taken.

Not much else to do though - unless you fancy going cage diving with Great White's.
 
We spotted a whale whilst having lunch at one of the restaurants at the harbour just over a month ago.
 
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