Whales Whales Whales
It started with some land based whale spotting around 9am in the morning at a special spot on Chapmans Peak Drive. Alex Vogel, citizen scientist and developer of the Seafari App, and Dani Abras, visiting Marine Biologist and Marine Site Guide from Brazil, had already been there for a while. They quickly directed me to what they had been observing. We saw quite a few splashes and what was definitely a humpback whale displaying behaviour called flipper slapping. Dani and I wasted no time heading back down to Hout Bay Harbour to get on the next Whale Watching Boat Trip at Captain Jacks Ocean Adventures. Our Eleven o’clock trip was unfortunately cancelled by the clients but we were so amped to find what we had seen from Chapmans Peak, we decided to go out anyway, and turn it into a whale watching educational trip for Captain Jacks staff.
We headed out of the bay towards Kommetjie and the approaching mist. We were not disappointed. Happy, one of our deckhands, quickly spotted a pair of humpback whales travelling South. They breached right in front of us and we positioned ourselves alongside. We at Captain Jacks operate the Whale and Dolphin watching permit for the area, so we were able to approach these giants of the sea up to 50m.
There was a heavy mist approaching the area so we decided to head back to Hout Bay Harbour. On the way, our Captain, James, spotted another splash! We excitedly headed in the direction of the splash and low and behold we came across another two very active humpbacks. They put on quite a magnificent display for us. They did what is termed Head Slapping – a series of jumps where they hoist half their bodies out of the water and slap their heads on the ocean creating a big splash. We now all understand the difference between head slapping and breaching.
Our whale watching trips happen daily, weather dependent. Call our booking office on 0748062525 to enquire about availability. Register for marine alerts on our website and we will let you know if any whales have been spotted in / near Hout Bay and Kommetjie. Our trips are limited to 10 persons per trip. Dress warmly and prepare for one of the best marine safari boat trips in Cape Town.
Fluke of one of the Humpback Whales we encountered. Pic Daniela Abras
