Every year these majestic creatures migrate from their icy feeding grounds off Antarctica to warmer climates and the South African coast arriving around mid-June in Struisbaai. They come here to mate and calve and stay for as long as late November, December.

Awesome Fishing Charters takes visitors to watch these giant mammals give spectacular displays of their water acrobatics. Here is what to look out for:

Breaching
Jumping high out of the water and then slapping the water as they come down making a loud sound that can be heard for up to a kilometre. Whales may breach as part of playing, or to loosen skin parasites and communicate with other whales.

Fluking
This is when the whale raises its tail out of the water as it begins to dive.

Lobtailing
The whale sticks its tail out of the water then swings it around and slaps it onto the water’s surface with a loud bang! This is believed to be a means of communication between the whales.

Logging
The whale is merely lying in the water almost like a floating log and only part of the back and head is exposed above the water.

Spouting
Whales have two blowholes located near the top of their heads that act as nostrils and spouting is when they blow water out of these blowholes, almost forming a V-shape.

Spyhopping
This is when the whale pokes its head out of the water, possibly to take a look at the Awesome people watching them.

Contact us to book your whale-watching trip

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