Whale watching, spring flowers and summer before the stampede - by Nick van der Leek
Look, those sea animals that are the size of 10 African elephants are already swimming around the peninsula in September, but September is tricky to visit the Cape. September is rife with sharp teethed cold fronts. If you’re coming from across the Vaal, you’re less likely to be dodging wet weather in October, and you’ll have all that beautiful scenery to yourself before the matrics and the summer hordes start migrating from November onwards.
Even the locals venture onto the beaches for the first glimpses of summer weather in October. I visited during a tiny weather window squeezed between 3 nasty cold fronts, [the last cold front wrecked a Turkish ship on Dolphin Beach]. On the first day I saw 3 whales, and a whale calf, in Kalk Bay. You can hire a boat to get even closer, but by law you’re not allowed closer than 300 metres. Those who do venture closer need special permits.
While we were out there in our inflatable a Southern Right whale launched itself almost completely out of the water – a behaviour known as breaching – which involves making huge explosions of white water. The loud THWACK seemed to echo across the whole of False Bay. According to the experts, breaching can be heard up to a kilometre away. Which is perhaps the point. The whale that breached perhaps a dozen times in a row, sometimes twirling its huge body in the air before landing, was perhaps signalling its annoyance and attempting to frighten us away. It may also be announcing to other whales: “I’m here.”
Since we couldn’t get any closer than 300 metres, I pulled on my wetsuit, and swam in the dark green Great White infested waters of False Bay. The Southern Right Whale was clearly observing me, its pyramid head encrusted with large white callosities. These greyish-white calloused patches inhabited by whale lice are distinctive on each whale, which is the equivalent of fingerprints on human beings. The whale maintained a ‘safe’ distance between itself and me; not allowing me to get closer than around 250 – 300 metres, something that surprised me. Clearly they are quite shy and sensitive creatures, despite their size.
On Boyes Drive, which is a scenic road suspended high above Kalk Bay, I met a young shark spotter, Ethel Tshandu, who watches the whales and warns of sharks. I asked her whether she enjoys her job as a lonely lookout. “It’s nice getting to know nature,” she smiles. “This is their place; their home. Ethel points to a strange oblong speck far out in False Bay. It resembles a burnt piece of toast. “That’s Seal Island; it’s the MacDonald’s for the sharks.” I ask her if there’s ever been an attack on her watch?
“No attacks since I’ve been here. I see them though, and if they come close to the beach I call it in.” She offers me her binoculars, pointing me to a whale and her calf. I see the shiny black flippers of a whale moving between spinning, sparkling foam.
“Sharks aren’t as bad as everyone thinks,” she says. “We go into their territory. If someone came into your yard, how would you feel?” I have a strange feeling that Ethel may be protecting the sharks from people, not the other way round. Below us, surfers cover a wide swathe of white Muizenberg swell, rising like music notes on liquid paper.
The coast along Bloubergstrand and Table View is the flip side to the charm and laid back vibe of Kalk Bay. Here there’s the huge monolithic backdrop of Table Mountain, a steady flow of tankers and ships, and Robben Island across the Bay, sometimes seeming a short swim away, but in fact at its closest it’s about 7km through cold water and strong currents. It’s almost always windy on this side of the peninsula, but ideal for the extreme sport known as Kiteboarding. You can buy Kiteboarding equipment at Liquid Force, on the corner of Blouberg Road and Marina Drive.
For an experience of the Peninsula that’s off the beaten track head to the West Coast National park. You’ll need to drive 100km out on the R27. The turn off is about 40km before Langebaan. Here we found more whales drifting in the swells, and beautiful swathes of flowery vegetation, known as fynbos. One of the reasons the Cape is one of the world’s richest floral kingdoms is due to it surviving the most recent Ice Age, and thus many older plant species survived until the present time.
The azure lagoon in the West Coast National park, about 10 kilometres beyond the entrance, has the soft seaside tones – greens, yellows and blues – of the Caribbean. There are also beautiful roads for cycling, trails for mountain biking, as well as the Strandveld Hiking Trail
For me, the Cape Town that’s worth seeing is away from the thunderous stampede, places like Kalk Bay’s Kalkies [try their Calamari] and the experience of being out in False Bay with just the sound of the huge black tail of one of the world’s largest creatures, parting the waters, for company. That’s real R&R.
To visit the whales up close contact Chad at CKAT Coastal Adventures: 072 147 2555 or visit www.ckat.co.za
For Kiteboarding gear contact Jarrod at Liquid Force: 021 556 8172 or visit www.liquidforce.co.za
For information on the West Coast National Park visit: http://www.sanparks.org/parks/west_coast/And the flowers join in the spring
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