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...

13/08/2025



2021: We’ve been a little quiet recently, but with the president asking us all to social distance, we’re committed to keeping you entertained and educated with our posts over the coming weeks! Our boat is also off the water for the next few weeks due to scheduled routine maintenance, but we hope to come back with a vengeance and hopefully plenty of trips once we’re back on the water.

Social distancing can be tough on us all emotionally and mentally, we hope that during this time you look after your mental health! Increasingly, there are studies that are tying time in nature to improved mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. There is also lots of evidence that covid does not spread very well in open, well ventilated spaces, so we encourage you to get down to the beach, go for a hike or take a walk in the forest.

Once we’re allowed to operate again, we will be operating at 50% capacity, and because our boat is not a closed space, we have plenty of ventilation from the salty sea air to keep you safe!

Please also let us know if you would be interested in a virtual whale watching experience as we begin to head out to sea again.

Keep well, keep safe and keep following our posts for updates on the ocean.

https://whaleviewing.co.za/

+27 28 384 0556

+27 82 926 7977

Gansbaai Tourism Go See Do - Overberg Cape Town Day Tours Cape Whale Coast

"Had the pleasure of going out, what an awesome experience, one of my best ever, friendly and informative crew. High r...
12/08/2025



"Had the pleasure of going out, what an awesome experience, one of my best ever, friendly and informative crew. High recommend for anyones bucket list. Keep up the good work." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Alan Nambiar

Thank you Alan Nambiar

📧[email protected]
☎️082 926 7977 WhatsApp
Book Online: https://www.whaleviewing.co.za/online-bookings/

"Some fun in the sun! Our Southern Right Whales were feeling rather frivolous yesterday, with 3 single adults coming...
06/08/2025



"Some fun in the sun!
Our Southern Right Whales were feeling rather frivolous yesterday, with 3 single adults coming together to make us a little whale for next years season. We set out just before 1pm in search of our favourite ocean giants, passing the protected area of De Kelders before making a b-line for the beach. It didn’t take too long for our skipper, Johan, to spot some playful behaviour from above, so we moved in closer to see what the whales were up to.

Chivalry was definitely the order of the day, with the male whales pulling out all the stops, showing off their best moves as they rolled around and arched themselves in the direction of the very pretty girl. She had lovely white patches on her belly, which we got a great view of as she lay on her back, exposing her ge***al slits and tummy out of the water. Sometimes we think the females do this for a little break, but soon the fun and frolicking resumed!

We had one whale slap the water with his flipper a couple of times, giving off a tremendous noise. The whales were also liberal with their tails, showing them off to us as they took dives close to the boat. They also found some time to do some people watching in between all of their own fun, coming in for a closer look and doing some spy hopping to our absolute delight.

One of the gentle giants gave us a beautiful show as he arched his back out the water, which is something we don’t encounter all too often but love to see. In the photographs from yesterday’s tour, you’ll find that the whales were on their sides a lot, giving us some glimpses at their eyes, though I didn’t manage to catch an open eye.

We also managed to spot a seal or two and a little African Penguin on our way back to the harbour. We had an amazing time with all of our lovely guests and can’t wait to head back out on Monday again.

WhatsApp 082 926 7977
Book Online: https://www.whaleviewing.co.za/online-bookings/

S.A Nice Gansbaai Tourism

"Such an amazing experience to see these great creatures in the ocean. Staff on board were amazing and very informativ...
05/08/2025



"Such an amazing experience to see these great creatures in the ocean. Staff on board were amazing and very informative. Definately something to tick off the bucket list and well worth it" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Adele Baker

Thank you Adele Kruger Baker

📧[email protected]
☎️082 926 7977 WhatsApp
Book Online: https://www.whaleviewing.co.za/online-bookings/

05/08/2025



"Extraordinary Southern Right Sightings!

We managed to get some video footage of yesterday's spectacular Southern Right Whale sightings. This mating group consisted of 6 animals, with 5 very eager males!

The Southern Right Whale mating strategy is a little different from that of other animals, where males compete for a chance to mate with the females.

Southern Right Whales are all about free love, with mating groups of up to 9 individuals coming together to flirt and frolic. In a mating group, there is often only one female surrounded by several males, and surprisingly, she will likely mate with all of them.

It is believed that Southern Right Whale bulls don't compete with each other, but rather, attempt to outcompete their rivals inside the female. it is thought that they try to dilute the s***m of rivals, with the male producing the most s***m having the highest chance of fathering a little whale for the survival of the species.

It is perhaps for this reason that Right Whales hold the title for having the largest package in the animal kingdom, larger than that of the Blue Whale, to aid in this fascinating mating strategy.

When the whales are mating, they typically pay no notice to us, although sometimes the females will tire of the males tomfoolery and try to use us as a diversion. This was exactly the case of the poor female yesterday, who seemed a bit fed up with all of the attention.

All of this footage was captured within the boat based whale watching regulations of South Africa. As the whales came within 50m of the boat, we set our engines in neutral and waited for these beauties to clear before maneuvering once more.

As the world opens up, we look forward to inviting you to South Africa to experience this all with us!"

☎️+27 28 384 0556
WhatsApp +27 82 926 7977
Book Online: https://www.whaleviewing.co.za/online-bookings/

Discover Overberg Cape Town Day Tours

05/08/2025



August 2021 "Some unreleased footage from last weeks mugging!
We're loving having the GoPro on board as it gives us just a little insight as to what's going on below! Whales spend most of their lives under the water, which makes them super hard to study.

In this ocean wonderland, Southern Right Whales will use their sight to discern what's around them, but only at close range. Sight isn't really the most helpful sense under the water, so whales will use their hearing to engage with the world.

Sound travels 4 times faster under water than it does above it. Which means that long before we've sighted our whales, they've heard us from below. This is just one of the reasons why we travel very slowly on our vessel and slow our speed further once we've spotted some blows.
Whales also use sound to communicate with one another. Baleen whales such as Southern Right Whales use low frequency sounds to talk to one another. Some whales, such as blue whales, can hear each other across ocean basins, hundreds of kilometers apart.

The weather is stormy the whole week, but we might have a quick gap on
Thursday morning for a whale watch.

☎️082 926 7977
📧[email protected]
Book Online: https://www.whaleviewing.co.za/online-bookings/
Subscribe to our Youtube Channel Here: https://bit.ly/3lZVrrl

Gansbaai Tourism Go See Do - Overberg Cape Whale Coast

29/07/2025

Good morning from a beautiful and sunny Gansbaai, South Africa ☀️ we wish you could be here with us!! Gansbaai Tourism Go See Do - Overberg Hermanus Tourism Bureau Cape Town Day Tours Cape Whale Coast Discover Overberg

Trip 1 started off with 5 cow calf pairs who were ambling along, and ended with a very curious single sub adult hang...
23/07/2025



Trip 1 started off with 5 cow calf pairs who were ambling along, and ended with a very curious single sub adult hanging out alone in the shallow water. We spotted this big beauty a while a way as he breached out the swell and went in for a closer look! He was a real show stopper, giving us a view of his baleen before coming in closer. He had a look at the boat before heading off and taking a dive, giving us a close view of his tail before letting off a mighty breach, much to our delight! He then came back to do some mugging, which also had us breathless and this giant inspected our motors and vessel again and again!

Trip 2 saw a mom and baby passing right underneath our vessel, the sort of amazing that is hard to capture in photographs but leaves a lasting impression in hearts and souls as mom came to show off her baby again ang again. Interestingly, it was baby who erred on the side of caution, keeping his distance as he slowly figured out what our large floating mass is all about from below. After these wonderful close views, we got to see baby bonding with mom, trying hard to get on her back and stealing our hearts along the way!

Our 3rd tour of the day was treated to the sight of a female with grey markings on her back and a bit of breaching in the distance as one of our Southern Rights thought to have some playtime. We had a mother whale roll over and expose her beautiful white belly as baby whale made a half hearted attempt to climb on to of her before resuming an easier form of play. We love seeing these boxish looking flippers as the whales lay peacefully on their backs in the water. Close views and happy faces, we set back to the harbour for trip 4.

On this last ocean adventure, we got super lucky, seeing all 3 baleen whale species the area has to offer. First a Brydes Whale travelling along, before spotting a young Humpback Whale who showed us his tail once and swam below the boat twice to our delight. We found this little whale close to the beach and do hope he might encounter some other Humpbacks as travel companions.

WhatsApp 082 926 7977

Address

Gansbaai Harbour

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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