{"id":4053,"date":"2015-12-03T11:38:35","date_gmt":"2015-12-03T10:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildlife-travel.com\/?p=4053"},"modified":"2025-08-05T07:32:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T05:32:30","slug":"whale-watching-close-to-plettenberg-bay-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildlife-travel.com\/en\/whale-watching-close-to-plettenberg-bay-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Whale Watching close to Plettenberg Bay, South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people connect South Africa with a safari tour. Elephants, lions, rhinos, buffaloes and leopards (together the \u201cBig Five\u201d), but also hippos, numerous species of antelopes and an enormous variety of colorful and interesting birds belong to South African\u2019s beautiful terrestrial fauna. Who would there come up with the idea visiting South Africa for whale watching?<\/p>\n

Take me as an example.<\/p>\n

To be more precisely, my journey to South Africa led me to a small place called Plettenberg Bay, located at the famous Garden Route along the South African coastline. I already noticed, when passing through the small town, that whale watching has a central position in Plettenberg Bay. Stone sculptures like a whale fluke or dolphin sculptures decorate the streets of the town.<\/p>\n

I knew immediately: I am right here.<\/p>\n

However, a few more days had to pass until I saw my first whale in South Africa.<\/p>\n

In total I went three months<\/a> to Plettenberg Bay for whale watching. After my busy PhD studies in Spain I just needed some time off to think about my further steps in my career path as a biologist.<\/p>\n

I mention the three months because of the fact, that for whale watching you need a lot of patience and time.<\/p>\n

In contrast to a zoo, you never know when and where to observe animals in the wild. Of course, there is a whale watching season when the marine mammals pass the South African coastline. Then you know the chance to see a whale is high. However, as the whales live under the water surface and move as a free animal, obviously, more time is necessary to spot whales in their natural environment. Furthermore, there are good whale watching seasons with many whales, and there are season with fewer whales.<\/p>\n

So you have to know and accept, a lot of patience is necessary to observe whales in the wild.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I visited South Africa in a season with few whales.<\/p>\n

Why there were only a few of whales in that season is still a puzzle. Even for whale researchers.<\/p>\n

Is there a connection with global warming? Or did any disease break out that decimated the population? Or did the whales find a new migration route?<\/p>\n

Be that as it may, in 2015 when I was in South Africa, the people from whale watching companies told us that in that year unusually few whales pass Plettenberg Bay.<\/p>\n

That was bad luck for me. But this is nature. Maybe because of that every observation was so special for me.<\/p>\n

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