Southern Right Whale

Southern right whales spend the summer feeding in the Southern Ocean and come north in winter to calve in the sheltered bays of the Cape coast, close enough to shore that a cliff path beats a boat. They were hunted to near extinction by the whaling that gave them their name, the "right" whale to kill because they float when dead, and the population that returns to this coast every year is one of conservation's clearest recoveries.

The season runs from June to November, and August to October is the peak, when mothers and calves lie in the bays for weeks. Hermanus and Walker Bay are the best-known shore-based whale watching in the world, with the cliff path above the town giving a view straight down onto them. De Hoop, Gansbaai, False Bay, Plettenberg Bay and the Garden Route bays see them too, and permitted boat operators run trips from several towns.

They are unmistakable close up: no dorsal fin, a broad V-shaped blow and rough white callosities on the head that identify individuals. Pair a whale trip with spring fynbos flowers, the penguin colonies at Betty's Bay and Simon's Town, and the sea-rescue stations along the same coast.