Whale Watching Season is here!

Beach Holiday, Coast Experience, South AfricaThe winter months are a special time of the year at Morukuru Ocean House and Morukuru Beach Lodge! The skies are bright and the landscape bursts into colour as the endemic fynbos springs to life, following the start of the winter rains. It’s also when we see the return of the gentle giants of the ocean to the waters of the Southern Cape. Whale Watching Season 2019 is here at Morukuru!There isn’t an official date for the start of the whale season along the Southern Cape coast and you can catch ad hoc sighting of whales anytime between June and November. However, locals will tell you that July to October usually offers premium whale watching opportunities. When the cooler weather hits the nothern hemphisphere, whales start the long journey to the warmer, shallow coastal waters of South Africa to mate, calve and rear their young. They travel alone or in groups called pods and females choose to return to the same bay each year.Calving season is in August and September. Southern Right whales have a gestation period of 12 - 13 months and prefer calm bays to give birth. You can often spot a “midwife” helping during the birth and bringing the new calf to the surface for its first breath. Calves are born tail first and can swim 30 minutes after birth.Morukuru Family De Hoop is perfectly situated to offer guests extraordinary land-based whale watching locations and our expert rangers will introduce you to daily displays of raw power and elegant water acrobatics. June also signals the start of the mating season when the whales are quite active in the water. There is usually quite a lot of commotion as the whales breach, blow and lobtail. Whales also communicate with each other using lyrical sounds which are extremely loud depending on the species and can be heard for many miles. Sometimes a whale wants to see what is happening above the water. This when it will lift its head and body vertically, as far as the flippers, above the surface. This is called Spy Hopping!   The Southern Right Whale is arguably one of the most widely recognised species but 37 different species of whales and dolphins have been recorded along the Southern Cape coast, and you can also look out for other types of whales like Humpbacks, Bryde's and even the occasional Killer Whale (Orcas). Whale season also gives you a chance to catch sight of diverse marine life like the African penguin; dolphins; porpoises; Cape Fur Seals and the Black Oystercatcher.