Whale hunting in Hermanus

Looking for the right whale, Hermanus, South Africa

I wanted to spot and photograph the southern right whale in Hermanus since I arrived in Cape Town last May. Hermanus is considered the Cape's most popular holiday destination and probably the best place for whale-watching. It is the host for the giant southern right whale which comes very close to the coastline during the winter months to mate and to calve. The right whale is so named because it was considered to be the "right" whale to kill. Rich in oil, it floated in the water when killed, which is why it became one of the most hunted of all species of whales. Today, the northern right whale is virtually extinct.

I got there on the last day of the famous whale festival which takes place every year around the end of September. For the occasion, I had borrowed a 600mm mirror lens from a friend and coupled with my Nikon D1, it gave me the equivalent of a 900mm lens; which should be good enough to spot the giant mammal from the high viewing spots of Hermanus. I found a nice area to set the camera on my tripod and start the long wait, in the freezing wind. The place was packed with people hoping to get a glimpse of the giant. After about fifteen minutes, some people started to shout "whale, whale". There it was, at quite a distance, swimming nonchalantly in front of his public. I started to get some shots of its fin, tail and head; hoping it would also perform a nice jump for me!!

I kept on waiting, and waiting... nothing happened. Every now and then, it would dive for a few minutes and reappear at almost the same spot. At every diving "interval", I would look around for something else to photograph. At one stage, a group of dassies (mountain rabbits) came out of nowhere and one of them caught my attention: he was chewing a cup of coca cola! I turned around to take my picture and while I started focusing on him, I heard loud screams of excitement around me. I turned around to see what was happening and what I saw was absolutely stunning. It is why I had come here for: a whale had jumped out of the water and was diving back in... Unfortunately it was too late to get the shot!! I decided not to get distracted by my surrounding and keep my eyes on the horizon, hoping for another jump. The whale never jumped again! Hopefully next time I go to Hermanus I will get the chance to photograph a whale in action and I will add the picture in the wallpaper section of Greatfive.

This is it for me. See you next time with another story from this fascinating country.