Ivanhoe Sea Safaris

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Ivanhoe Sea Safaris We offer unparalleled opportunities for close encounters with Southern Right whales during their season. Gps co ordinates
S -34.584007
E19.34857
(1)

With recognition in Trip Advisor's Hall of Fame and ranking as number 1 in the area, coupled with their ability to witness the highest volume of...

09/10/2026

Up close and personal in Gansbaai…

Guests lucky enough to have the whales right at the boat 🐳 bucket list stuff!!

Have a wonderful weekend from all of us at Ivanhoe and if you are in the area, please pop in and join us.

☎️ 082 926 7977 WhatsApp
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Gansbaai Tourism Go See Do 📍 Overberg Discover Cape Town & WC

04/10/2026

Meet Jurie.

He is the voice you hear on the trip. The one standing at the rail pointing out a Southern Right, telling you what species you are actually looking at, answering the question the kid at the back keeps asking about how big they can get.

A trip with Ivanhoe is not just spotting whales through a phone lens. It is understanding what you are looking at. The species, the behaviour, the coast, and why these animals come back to Walker Bay every year.

That is what qualified guides do. Ours have been doing it long enough that when they say "watch the surface just left of the buoy," you should watch the surface just left of the buoy.

Book a trip. Meet the crew.

📍 Departing daily from Gansbaai Harbour
🎟 whaleviewing.co.za
📞 082 926 7977

02/10/2026

Common Dolphins around Gansbaai do not travel in small groups.

Pods here can hit hundreds. They arrive from the sides, weave under the bow, disappear, come back around from the other side. It looks chaotic. It is not. Every dolphin knows exactly where every other dolphin is.

Watching a superpod work together is one of the reasons ocean safaris out of Gansbaai are worth booking even outside whale season. This is not seasonal content. This happens year-round.

📍 Departing daily from Gansbaai Harbour
🎟 whaleviewing.co.za
📞 082 926 7977

FAQ:Are the whales still around in October?Yes, and October is one of the best months to come.Southern Rights stay in Wa...
01/10/2026

FAQ:Are the whales still around in October?

Yes, and October is one of the best months to come.

Southern Rights stay in Walker Bay until early November. The mothers who arrived in June to give birth have spent months teaching their calves how to breathe, swim, and interact with the boat. By October those calves are curious, confident, and often the first to come check us out.

Then in early November they leave. Mothers and calves head south together, back to feeding grounds. Walker Bay goes quiet until next winter.

October is not the last-chance panic slot. It is the month the whales are the easiest to watch. But it does close.

📍 Departing daily from Gansbaai Harbour
🎟 whaleviewing.co.za
📞 082 926 7977

Sarah Neill posted about her trip earlier this month. A lot of you saw it. This is the part we want to sit with.Sarah ru...
29/09/2026

Sarah Neill posted about her trip earlier this month. A lot of you saw it. This is the part we want to sit with.

Sarah runs Marine Biology field trips from the University of Cumbria. Her students spent two mornings on the water with us. Here is what she wrote after the second one:

"For our Marine Biology students, encounters like these are so much more than simply seeing a whale. They provide an opportunity to observe animals in their natural environment, consider their behaviour and learn how responsible wildlife tourism can allow people to experience marine species while minimising disturbance."

Most whale watching operations sell a sighting. Sarah booked us to teach her students what a well-run one looks like.

That is the difference. Not the whale in the frame. The way the boat behaves around it.

📍 Departing daily from Gansbaai Harbour
🎟 whaleviewing.co.za
📞 082 926 7977

Comment below, which country are you tu

Kendal College Animal Rescue Centre

27/09/2026

Sound on. 🔊

Two metres. No zoom.

This is what a Southern Right encounter actually looks like when the engine drops to neutral and the whale decides to come closer.

October is your last full month. Southern Rights leave Walker Bay in early November when the mothers head south with their calves. After that, the coast goes quiet until next winter.

Book while the water is still full of them.

📍 Departing daily from Gansbaai Harbour
🎟 whaleviewing.co.za
📞 082 926 7977

How did Gansbaai go from whaling town to whale-watching town?The short answer: the whales came back, and the town change...
24/09/2026

How did Gansbaai go from whaling town to whale-watching town?

The short answer: the whales came back, and the town changed with them.

By the 1930s, Southern Right numbers had crashed to roughly a few hundred animals globally. Commercial whaling stopped. Protection came in. And slowly, over decades, the population started rebuilding.

Walker Bay turned out to be one of the places they returned to first. Sheltered water, right depth, quiet coastline. Perfect for calving.

The harbour we launch from today is the same harbour boats used to leave from for a very different reason. Now we drop the engine into neutral instead of chasing. We watch mothers teach calves how to breathe. We come back with photos, not counts.

That's the Heritage Day story worth telling on this coast.

📍 Departing daily from Gansbaai Harbour
🎟 whaleviewing.co.za
📞 082 926 7977

"I have been on whale watches in various countries around the world, but this was the best."That's from Seasidedad, on T...
22/09/2026

"I have been on whale watches in various countries around the world, but this was the best."

That's from Seasidedad, on TripAdvisor. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

His full review:

"Outstanding close encounters with whales. A really great crew sensitively approached the Southern Right whales which were mostly mothers with calves. Quietly they drifted in respecting the whales space, but got so close. The boat was surrounded by whales who seemed to be coming up to us for a look. I have been on whale watches in various countries around the world, but this was the best."

Two things worth pulling out. The word he chose was "sensitively." Not carefully, not slowly. Sensitively. That's the whole difference between a whale watch that works and one that spooks the animals.

And the boat being surrounded by whales coming up for a look? That's what happens when the engine drops to neutral and we wait. They decide.

📍 Departing daily from Gansbaai Harbour
🎟 whaleviewing.co.za
📞 082 926 7977

Comment below, where in the world are you tuning in from? 👇

Go See Do - Overberg

"Even if you have a doubt, that will be fine in the first 20 minutes."Vikki booked a trip with us not knowing what to ex...
15/09/2026

"Even if you have a doubt, that will be fine in the first 20 minutes."

Vikki booked a trip with us not knowing what to expect. Here's what she wrote afterwards. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"AMAZING!!!! We didn't know what to expect... but what we did was amazing! The skipper did his best to get close to the whales, and well he did that for sure! We saw so many and they were so close. I would recommend to anyone, even if you have a doubt that will be fine in the first 20 minutes. Absolutely amazing."

That first 20 minutes is real. First swell, first whale surfacing, and everything you were worried about goes quiet.

Southern Rights are on the coast until early November. Book the trip you keep meaning to.

📍 Departing daily from Gansbaai Harbour
🎟 whaleviewing.co.za
📞 082 926 7977

Comment below, which country are you tuning in from? 👇

15/09/2026

What a great day out! Thank you 65onCliff for joining us and the beautiful footage! 😍😍

Join us this weekend in Gansbaai. www.whaleviewing.co.za
Gansbaai Tourism Go See Do - Overberg fans

Address

Gansbaai Harbour
Gansbaai
7221

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00
Saturday 09:00 - 17:00
Sunday 09:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+27829267977

Website

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