Travel Destination: Hermanus - Viewpoints on Whale Watching in Hermanus!
If you’re looking to spot a whale, the first few things you’ll hear people say is:
“Hermanus has the best land-based whale watching in the world” and “You’re sure to see hundreds of whales breaching from the waters off the rocky cliffs to the West” or “You’ll definitely see them lob tailing from the vantage point of the golden beaches to the East”.
And this indeed is a fact.
Every year, like clockwork, the whales return to Hermanus for their yearly rendezvous in Walker Bay, carrying out their annual rhythms of mating and calving.
Considering what people actually understand about the Southern Right Whale - named because it was the “right” whale to hunt – the whales perspective will always be something mysterious and unknown.
What we do know is that they prefer the warmer waters of Walker Bay for a breeding ground rather than the cold waters of their usual haunt, the Arctic Circle.
According to the calendar they can be seen from July to November. What areas of Walker Bay or the time of day to expect them is hard to say. But there is one expert in Hermanus who is sure to know.
The Whale Crier of Hermanus
If you’ve never heard of the Whale Crier of Hermanus, it’s because Hermanus is the only place in the world to have one. If you’re interested in whales this is one whale expert you definitely need to meet.
Pieter Claasen was the first to lift a horn-shaped tube of kelp to his lips at age 11, sounding the first base notes announcing the arrival of the whales. Since then, his predecessor, Wilson Salukazana, has become Hermanus’s second whale crier.
He answers any questions posed to him about whales…