The Cape is known for the abundant sea-life like Great White sharks, Cape fur seals, penguins and a huge variety of seabirds complementing the 37 species of whales and dolphins found in the waters around the Cape.
Visitors to the False Bay coastline often witness some magical scenes occur in the bay; from playful Dolphins and Cape Fur Seals to the fearsome Orca’s and Great White sharks.
Southern Right (Baleen whales), Humpback, Bryde Whale’s and Orca’s (Killer Whales) have all been seen False Bay. In fact a pod of Orca’s was seen hunting dolphins in False Bay as recent as March this year.
The whales migrate from Antarctica along the Southern Cape coastline and up the West Coast as far as Namibia, to mate and calf.
They usually arrive from June to October; however for some reason they arrived a little early this year after a few Southern Right whales were seen frolicking off the coast of Muizenberg to the delight of those lucky enough to be close enough to witness their acrobatics.
The whale route along the Cape coast stretches from Doringbaai on the West Coast to Storms River Mouth in the Tsitsikamma National Park, that’s over for 900 km.
Vantage points along the Cape’s False Bay coastline stretches from Muizenberg via Kalk Bay, St James, Clovelly, Fish Hoek, Glencairn, Simonstown and all the way through Miller Point to Cape Point. These towns are synonymous with the fishing communities who make their living off the waters of False Bay.
A popular native viewing point on False Bay is from Boyes Drive above Muizenberg, the high vantage point offers whale-watchers a clear view of the whole bay. Other popular local viewing areas are Kalk Bay Harbour, St James and Fish Hoek just past the beach along the walkway.
Hermanus on the Southern Cape coastline celebrates the arrival of the whales in style with the Hermanus Whale Festival held in September every year.
This festival coincides with the arrival of the mating season of the whales. And it has attracted visitors from all over the world to this quaint little town.
The high cliffs in the town gives the viewer a clear view of the whales from an elevated vantage point and the rocky coast gets them close enough to the action.
Festival visitors are treated to a wide range of local delicacies from a variety of food stalls, food trucks, a car show, and a display by the local fire brigade and defence force, great entertainment as well a craft market selling a wide range of products related to the Whale Festival.
The Cape’s whaling history stretches back as far as 1810 when a whaling station was established in Simonstown, ten years later the whaling operations moved to Kalk Bay, after the naval residents complained about the stench from the by-products of the whaling operations.
The fisherman’s/whalers cottages are still standing to this day occupied by descendants of the pioneers of the local fishing industry.
Cape Town in Colour 