Date: 11 July 2013
The photograph above was taken by Dave Hurwitz of Simon’s Town Boat Company, the holder of the whale watching licence for False Bay. I noticed the whale watching boat coming closer and closer as I was taking a group of divers out of the water at Seal Rock, and it was only once they were in the boat that we realised that a pair of humpback whales was coming closer and closer to our position. We held our breath and enjoyed the show – it is not often that this happens!
At this time of year there are both humpback and southern right whales in the bay, but there are strict regulations about approaching them. In this case the whale approached us, and I wasn’t about to leave the divers on the surface while I was busy retrieving them!
This amazing experience was only one of the parts of this day, which started early and ended late after two separate charters. One was a group of Finnish tourists who snorkeled and dived with the seals at Partridge Point – they were the ones lucky enough to enjoy the spectacle of the whales.
The second charter was a group of divers who wanted to dive with the seals, and then visit the cowsharks at Shark Alley. The visibility was so good I could see the divers on the bottom. We spotted an absolutely enormous bull seal on the rocks at Seal Rock, as well as some really adorable smaller juvenile seals.
