Whales of Delight
The KwaZulu-Natal coastline is whale territory par excellence. In season, breaching Humpbacks are abundant, and if luck smiles on you, Southern right, Brydes and Minke whales may also be seen.
It’s early morning in St Lucia and the sun has just risen over the ocean, dazzling the water’s surface with dancing stars of light. As we drive the 400 m of beach to meet our whale watching boat, excitement is building. Yes, we’ve seen whales countless times from land and boat, but this trip is going to be different. The difference starts with the surf launch through the St Lucia shore-break, which is something Cape boat-based whale watching operators don’t need to do. Before the adrenaline-pumping launch, though, there’s a serious safety briefing to ensure that everyone on board knows the rules of the sea. Boat captain and co-owner of Advantage Tours and Charters, Danie Bennett, does this personally. And then we’re off through the breakers and out into open ocean, for two hours in the territory of mighty Humpbacks.
All eyes on board are scanning the ocean for whales, but of course there are plenty of other marine mammals to see here too. Dolphins frequently swim alongside the whale watching boat and provide a literal “side show” on the trip. But the Humpback whales remain the main act and have travelled all the way from Antarctica to be here. It’s an epic journey and one of the longest migrations on Earth.
Every winter, Humpbacks leave their feeding grounds in Antarctica and head 10,000 km north to warmer water to mate and calve. Their calves wouldn’t survive being born in the icy Antarctic waters, but the warm Indian Ocean waters are hospitable, and the calves can feed and accumulate blubber as they make their way up to Madagascar and then journey back south to Antarctica again. The Humpbacks have it all timed perfectly, as those who mate off the KwaZulu-Natal coast this year will come back and have their calves here next year, since the gestation period for Humpbacks is a full 12 months.
As we cut through the ocean, Danie gives all this interesting information and more. He’s had countless close encounters with whales and has enchanting tales to tell. As a committed conservationist, he also explains the importance of whale watching with a registered operator, all of whom use experienced skippers with extensive knowledge of whales and marine life; collect data from every whale watching trip and log it with Marine and Coastal Management; and of course never encroach on the whales’ territory. It is, after all, their world and we are just the visitors here.
And then it happens. Not one, but two Humpbacks breach straight out of the ocean like jet propelled rockets. Aboard the boat a single gasp is heard as everyone holds their collective breath at the unusual and majestic sight. Yes, it is truly breathtaking and no, the experience is not easily translated into words at all.
Seeing over 40 tonnes of Humpback shoot from the ocean skywards is a marine wildlife experience that is truly wild. And as the two whales crash onto the surface of the sea sending white water in all directions, all aboard again give a collective gasp. Only when the Humpbacks are out of sight below the surface do we exhale. Everyone looks at each other in disbelief at what we have just seen.
Danie breaks the silence, chuckles and says: “That’s not exactly an everyday sighting. You were really lucky today.” While most people who go on whale watching trips may not see two Humpbacks breaching together, their chances of seeing Humpbacks during whale season – from the end of May to early December – is so high that there’s a 40 % money back guarantee if you don’t. Before we continue, Danie logs the sighting along with its GPS coordinates, weather conditions, description of the whales, and their behaviour. This information is ultimately correlated with other data received from along the coastline and so forms part of a bigger story of Humpback whale behaviour off the KwaZulu-Natal coast. And today we witnessed a small part of that story.
We still don’t really know why whales breach, lobtail or spy-hop, but we do know that humans and whales have an inexplicable connection and fascination with each other, and it’s about much more than simply both being mammals. Maybe one day we’ll understand more about these mysterious creatures that have us gasping in awe.
**Contact +27 35 590 1259/1180 or visit www.advantagetours.co.za for more information.**
<Sidebar> How to Identify Whales
- Humpback whales: Have a single-spouted blow.
- Southern right whales: Have a V-shaped blow, callosities on their heads, and no dorsal fin.
- Bryde’s whales: Have a single-spouted spray and dorsal fin.
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