Our last big adventure with my parents was a whale watching tour in Plettenburg Bay! We drove for two hours to get an up, close and personal view of some whales. Yes, you can spot them from most anywhere along the coast(10 min from our house);and we did ,but we wanted the real deal! We left early in the morning because we heard the earlier you go, the more likely you are to spot the whales. We arrived a little too early and decided to have breakfast at this great restaurant right on the beach. When it was time for our boat to leave, we had to all suit up in life jackets and we where on our way.
Our first sighting was right there as we were taking off, amazing. The most common whale here in the South African waters is the Southern Right Whale, he travels all the way from the Antarctica to breed and to give birth. They are most commonly seen from July through October(so we hope to see many more)! These whales are protected in South African waters, which meant that our boat was only allowed up to 40 meters from the whales! Of course once the boat stops it is up to the whale to move in closer and they did- one swam right past our boat! These whales are magnificent in their size and rituals. They will come in very close to shore so that they can rub their bodies along the sand bars(hate to be hanging out on that sand bar!) to remove old skin and any parasites.
These large formations on the whales are parasites, some come off as they rub against the sand bars!
We were also lucky to see a large pod of about 50 dolphins, playing in the surf!
And some seals, but luckily no sharks!
1 comment:
Amazing...
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