Whaling in the Western Cape
(This article has been printed in the Zambian Traveller)
by George Irwin

It is a sad fact that the word ‘whaling’ still conjures up images of Captain Ahab and his harpoons. In spite of the global moratorium on whaling, Japan and Iceland, among others, are allowed to continue killing thousands of whales each year. It is an industry which seems to be fuelled almost exclusively by Japan’s limited enjoyment of whale meat; in 2008/2009 the Japanese whaling industry required a government subsidy of nearly US$12 million just to break even. In contrast, in 2008, the global whale-watching industry generated nearly US$2.1 billion in tourism revenue, employed 13,000 people and gave immeasurable pleasure to 13 million tourists. If we can go birding, why can’t we go whaling?

My first experience of whaling was just off the coast of St. Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal. Having launched through huge surf – which threw our twin-hulled, twin-engined, double-decked boat into the air more than once – we were pitching and rolling in heavy seas for about ten minutes before the first sighting of our quarry. Our guide and captain was Danie Bennett of Advantage Tours. Danie has been running these tours for more than ten years and is believed to have the largest photographic library of whale tails in the world. With well-honed intuition, he quickly navigated us towards a pod of four humpback whales which were making little headway in the strong current.

“There! 11 o’clock!”, he would bellow. Sure enough, the vast bulk of an adult humpback broke the surface, accompanied by the long, loud whoosh of air escaping its blow-hole. “These animals are quite remarkable. They migrate from the Antarctic up towards Madagascar and back every year”, Danie explained. As the whales slid beneath the surface, reappearing only metres from our boat, it was very hard not to be moved. For Reneé Bufé, a South African member of our trip, this was her first whaling experience. “That was incredible. It was just so humbling to be so close to such an enormous animal.”

Boat-based whaling is an incredible experience and it is the only way to get so close to the planet’s largest mammals. It can, however, be an expensive morning’s entertainment; Danie charges R850 per person for two hours at sea. Arguably, for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, this is a small price to pay, but take a family of five out to sea and the bill becomes prohibitive. As regulations quite rightly limit the number of commercial whale-watching operations in each region to one, competition is unlikely to reduce costs any time soon. If you’re keen to see whales but are put off by the cost, then your only option is land-based whaling.

It might seem like a pretty dull alternative, but there are advantages to land-based whaling over boat-based. Firstly, you’re on solid ground. There’s no pitching and rolling, no sea-sickness and taking photographs is achievable without dousing your camera in the Indian Ocean. More importantly, it’s free. Search for land-based whale watching on the internet and you’ll quickly come across one of the Western Cape’s best-kept secrets: De Hoop Nature Reserve.

Two hours’ drive from Cape Town, De Hoop Nature Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is part of Cape Nature’s collection of reserves in the Western Cape. It is hailed as ‘the jewel of the Western Cape’ in recognition of important historical and botanical attractions, including Stone Age settlements, the rare Bontebok and the breeding grounds for 40% of the world’s Southern Right Whale population. Tierck Hoekstra, Cape Nature’s regional manager, says De Hoop “is Cape Nature’s flagship reserve and is home to some of the Cape’s most important and rare species. It also offers significant tourism opportunities and must be appropriately managed”.

The reserve covers 36,000 hectares and extends 3 miles out to sea, creating one of the largest Marine Reserves in South Africa. 70km of protected coastline offer innumerable vantage points from which to watch the hundred of whales which come to De Hoop to breed and calve between June and November each year. With a pair of binoculars, you can lie on the incredible white-sand dunes near Koppie Alleen and watch whales for hours on end. Of course, it will be winter, so you’ll have to wrap warmly. And bring a thermos. And probably a raincoat.

But despite the chilly weather, there is something remarkably rewarding about watching these animals play in the shallow waters. Some visitors have been lucky enough to see more than 200 whales simultaneously ‘sailing’ (sticking their tails into the air).

De Hoop offers a variety of accommodation, all of which are designed to have minimal environmental impact and offer a more than comfortable night’s stay. Options include the simple, remote, un-electrified cottages at Koppie Alleen; the Melkkamer Foreman’s Cottage; the Opstal Manor House and the soon-to-be-renovated Melkkamer Manor House, which will offer a private butler and chef. Prices range from R825 per person, to R2150 per person. Other activities in the Reserve include guided and un-guided walking and mountain biking, tennis, boules and game drives. The Fig Tree Restaurant is open all day and offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and picnic baskets.

And De Hoop is not the only place in the Western Cape that offers excellent land-based whale watching; the town of Hermanus exists almost exclusively to support the thousands of tourists who are attracted by the cliff-top whaling. Gansbaai, across Walker Bay from Hermanus, is home to one of the world’s most popular shark cage-diving sites. Closer to Cape Town, Simon’s Town, Fish Hoek and Boulders also offer great viewing opportunities.

As tourism increases to South Africa, an increasing number of people are coming to experience the face-to-face encounters with the planet’s largest mammals which are on offer throughout the Western Cape. Despite the huge potential for financial benefit, the whale-watching industry is closely regulated. Only 16 companies in South Africa are permitted to operate commercial boat-based trips and they are the only boats which are allowed within 300m of any whale. While the Japanese whaling fleets scour the Southern Seas decimating the Southern Right Whale population, South Africa has rightly chosen to focus on conservation and sustainable tourism.

Not only do we have a moral obligation to protect South Africa’s migrant whale population, but there is also a substantial financial motivation. As the whale-killing industry becomes less and less financially viable, as South Africa’s tourism industry grows (both foreign and domestic) and as sustainability and the protection of our natural environment become the predominant social movements, surely now is the time to reclaim the word ‘whaling’? Can’t ‘whalers’ now be as conventional as ‘birders’? I’m sure it won’t be long before the harpoonists of the Southern Seas are bestowed with a new label.