Whale population are on the increase, and the Cape is one of
the best places in the world to see the southern right whale in coastal waters.
No fewer than 29 species of toothed whale (Odontoceti),
including the killer whale, are found off the South African coast, along with
eight species of baleen whale (suborder Mysticeti). However, by far the most
commonly spotted are the southern right whales, pods of which seek out
sheltered bays along the Cape coastline every year for breeding. Between June
and December, there is a good chance of seeing them all the way round the
peninsula from Elands Bay on the west coast to Mossel Bay on the Garden Route.
On a good day, you might see them “Spy hopping” (standing on their tails with
their heads out of water), “lob tailing” (slapping their flukes on the water’s
surface) or “breaching”- leaping out of the sea like a trout.
