Whale Watching in and near Port Elizabeth

Whale watching in PE

The southern right whale spend the winter in some quiet bay between the West Coast and Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, mating, calving and generally having some quality time with their families. ... more

Experience the best land based whale watching in the world on the southern shores of South Africa. Every year from May to December, pods of Southern Right whales migrate from Antarctica to the warmer African Atlantic. This peaks from July to November when the females arrive to mate and calve.

While the whales can been seen all the way along the coast from Cape Town's False Bay through to the Indian Ocean, it is Hermanus, a resort town 100kms east of Cape Town, that has gained the international reputation as the best place in the world to see the Southern Right whales in action.

Their spectacular displays of spy hopping and breeching can often be seen mere metres from the shore line. Gansbaai and L'Agulhas are also well known for their vantage points and there are many places along the southern coastal highway to pull over and scan the seas for activity.

It is not only the Southern Right Whale that frequents South Africa's coastline – Humpback whales, some reaching 45 tonnes, pass South Africa's eastern shores every July to November en route to their summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic. The Indian and Atlantic Oceans also play host to Bryde's Whale, Minke whale, and, more elusively, Orcas.

If standing on the shore with binoculars isn't exciting enough for you, almost every coastal town offers boat based whale watching services for the ultimate in experiencing these magnificent creatures up close. The most adventurous can view them on guided sea kayaking expeditions.