Hermanus is considered to be one of the best places in the world for whale watching. From the end of July to the beginning of December, the sea giants come to South Africa from the cold waters of the Antarctic to calve.
Sven and I will remember our whale watching boat tour forever, albeit for completely different reasons 🤣🤣🤣
On our tour of South Africa we had planned 2 nights in Hermanus. The weather forecast predicted sunshine and a pleasant 24 degrees, but also quite strong wind.
On arrival we were met by very disappointed tourists who told us that all whale watching boat tours had been canceled due to too strong waves for the whole day. However, we did not let our mood spoil … our booked boat tour was only due for the next day and we were in good spirits that it would come about.
We spent the afternoon strolling along the coast, stopping again and again to look for whales. We were told that these could also be observed from the coast. Unfortunately we weren’t lucky that day 😔
The next day the time had come. We took part in the very first excursion. The wind was already blowing very strong, but we were just glad that the tour didn’t fail.
It didn’t take long until we spotted a whale cow with her calf 😍😍😍 Although the visibility was not perfect due to the high waves, I was just overwhelmed by the size and grace of these creatures.
Our guide explained that it was a Southern Right Whale. We were lucky enough to be able to watch the two of them for about 15 minutes, after which there were strong gusts of wind. We had to stop the trip immediately and head back towards the coast 😔
Now the absolute nightmare began for Sven 🙈 The captain allowed us to stay on the top deck on the way back, I gladly accepted the offer. On such a bumpy ride, I like to have an unrestricted view of the horizon. Sven was pretty sick from the wild ride and he really wanted to go down. That was a big mistake. Downstairs there was a wild bustle of a group of Chinese who vomited regularly 🙈 After this trip to hell, it took Sven a few hours for his stomach to play along again 🤣
We later learned that all tours had been canceled again for the rest of the day. Despite the hell ride we were very happy that we had the chance to watch whales in their natural habitat. We decided that this would definitely not be the last whale watching tour 😉
However, you can get an impression of it yourself in our video about Hermanus 😊
Our personal opinion about Hermanus:
- probably one of the best spots for whale watching
- beautiful natural landscape
On the following page you can get a very good overview of South Africa:
Best travel time:
From August to November you have the best conditions for whale watching.
Hotel recommendation:
The Marine Hermanus
Restaurant recommendations:
- Burgundy Restaurant
- Pear Tree Bistro
More tips & recommendations:
If time allows, plan an extra day in case the boat tour has to be canceled due to weather conditions.
Unfortunately we didn’t have the time, but you can go on great hikes in the nearby Fernkloof Nature Reserve.
And my last tip – take seasickness pills with you 🤣
