Whale Expedition SA

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Whale Expedition SA

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Whale Expedition SA offers private and small group whale-watching expeditions in South Africa, along the Cape West coast, a renowned feeding ground for Humpback Whale ‘Super Groups’.

12/06/2025

12.06.25

Most asked question:
When is supergroup season

And the reality is- no one can really say for sure.
(Yet!)

We have always aimed to pioneer the unknowns -
So today- our first winter rekkie to scout out the area.

With chlorophyll counts high to the North, - North we went!

10 hours later
Arguably more questions than answers, but for sure - some information that will play a key role in long term understanding.

A steady start with easily 30 humpback whales in the first 2 hours- scattered.

A slow middle, with the odd lone whale spotted

And a mind blowing, whale filled sunset for an end

Groups gathering
Bringing the day estimate to 70-80 whales spotted.

Preliminary results - from an onboard and now very tired Alex Vogel with Happywhale

39 individuals ID’d
20 matches
16 from this past supergroup season
(We are confident this number will increase above 40 when we all exchange images)

This intel is really cool-
1. It shows, a lot of the typical ‘summer supergroup whales’ are not really going that far - with supergroups potentially a year round phenomenon
2. With basically a 50/50 split on matches and newbies - a great sign for whale numbers in our oceans

Off for a whisky and a nap! More to follow!!!

27/05/2025

S***m whales - known to be around the SA coastline but expected to be in deep water canyons, far offshore - hunting giant squid.

So when this male was thrashing in the surf at Struisbaai last week - a long way from home - its fate was inevitable.

Today - tagged along with
to take measurements and samples which given the rarity of these animals coming ashore is a rare opportunity.

Great experience and knowledge gained. Thanks for the invite.

08/04/2025

9-11 APRIL 2025…
Stand L25

Taking the & to the international stage , in the CTICC this week.
Today, with a race against time – setting the stand up to exhibit the unprecedented whale experience that lies just an hour north of cape town in

Teaming up with established brands of & , exhibiting varied activities and year round whale watching along the SA coastline.

With interactive Virtual Reality whale expedition experience on show – come visit us – lets connect and show you what we’ve got !

Weskus is the beste kus!

Stand L25

11/03/2025

This killer whale – is our favourite!

Why…..

As we sit post season and start cataloguing our encounters, it turns out she is the only killer whale that was present – in every killer whale encounter we had during the 2024/25 season.

These roaming wolves of the ocean have been getting seen more and more frequently on the west coast, leaving on lookers in awe.
Maybe they were always there?
Maybe they were always further offshore and now have chosen to roam closer to shore?
Maybe its just as simple as the effort in the area is now more, so the odds of encounters are higher?

While also often witnessing their predatory behaviour on humpback whales – these traits are slowing starting to be understood.

Facts:
-6% of the humpback whale tails uploaded in southern Africa have ‘Orca rake’ marks (clear signs of being harassed – but surviving)
-Killer whales always train their young in these encounters – often males not even in the area and the adult females leaving the humpback for prolonged periods, staying close by, keeping the situation under control while their young hone their skills.

More questions than answers with these powerhouse animals, but for sure, - their intellect and co-ordination is simply unmatched in the ocean.

07/03/2025

WILD. NUMBERS!

With over 1100 Humpback whales identified in the 2024/25 super group season, this years figures make for some impressive reading…..

In the 4 months of operating the season, here’s an insight into the WhaleExpeditionSA team haul……

Total number of humpback whales WhaleExp identified: 635
Most successful day: 20th Feb – with 115 individuals identified
Most seen individual: was MN0804345, (the tail in this post) – this whale was seen on 11 different occasions by the team - and incidentally, seen both on the first AND last expedition of the season.

In comparison to the 2023/24 season – with our count of 211 individuals, -we TRIPPLED the score!

Confirming, for sure – that the past few months have been INSANE, and a great sign of Humpback whale populations returning to it’s former glory.
As always a MASSIVE shout out to / for the countless hours and messages of encouragement (and harassment at times!)

04/03/2025

2024/25 season – our best yet.

That’s. A. Wrap.

With Humpback supergroup sightings evading us for the past few days, and no significant movement north or south of us…. It’s our conclusion that the bulk of these whales have moved out of the area for now.
Being dedicated to showcasing these supergroups and often commenting in jest – “if they are here, we’ll find them”! – when we are not finding them, - we know it’s time to call it a day and bow out graciously!

In a quick sightings review for the year:
-Huge presence of whales on the west coast region with well over 1000 whales identified in 4 months - a massive effort from all involved.
-Regular killer whale sightings, with several predatory behaviours witnessed
-More Southern Right Whales seen than any other season so far
-First common dolphins witnessed in the area by our team
-First Brydes whale witnessed in the area by our team

For us, at WhaleExpeditionSA:

2024/25 saw us launch our brand new, state of the art, Gemini Rib – giving us ability to explore further offshore – proving to be a massive asset and a great boat to have in our repertoire.

Above that though, we are beyond proud to call this area our playground while also forever thankful to everyone who joined making this dream a reality.

We’ve pushed boundaries and been able to witness some of the most mind-blowing magic the ocean could provide – arguably, world wide.

All while attaining 5* reviews across the board, keeping our record in tact!!

For now, its time to take a back seat, crack a beer and really let the past months set in, the highs, and the higher highs… what we have seen, in all of its beauty and rawness, it’s is unique, it’s exciting, it’s life changing, it’s emotional, it’s intense – and not a single encounter is taken for granted.

As we celebrate what a solid foundation the past months have been for us, we’ll enjoy watching as the south & east coast regions take the limelight with the sardine run forming/no doubt kicking off any day now and the much anticipated Hermanus whale season starting in a mere few weeks….

02/03/2025

02/03/2025 the sheer power these animals have when taking down a young humpback whale is simply incredible. It’s raw. And hard to watch. But it’s also nature thriving - and an absolute honour to see this first hand.

22/02/2025

A feel good story…..

This humpback whale was seen around Hout bay in January with a complicated rope entanglement, - despite bold efforts of the whale disentanglement unit/ unfortunately, it was unsuccessful.
A few days later, we spotted the whale off Yzerfontein. Again – despite local efforts – disentanglement was unsuccessful.

NB: There are several reasons for this - not least- most trained and successful tactics for disentangling a whale are limited/can’t be used with whales in super groups due to the high volume of whales in close proximity to each other.

Today we saw the whale again, this time with some scars/injuries but free of rope and behaving as expected in a supergroup.

Amazing, and really great to see how resilient these animals are.

20/02/2025

WHAT A DAY TO BE ALIVE!
20 Feb 2025. – a day to remember….

A horizon, FULL of blows – is what welcomed us this morning.
Easily over 100 Humpback whales, in a tight group, forming a solid wall of power & energy.

Words, pictures and even videos wont ever really do it justice.
IYKYK

!

14/02/2025

Even whales are in on the action.

With each humpback whale tail being as unique as love itself, - how more apt than this one whale spotted earlier in the week- with a heart shaped marking on the tail.

All. The. Feels.

04/02/2025

ILTM - aka
International Luxury Travel Market - gives leaders in the African luxury travel market every opportunity to connect, build relationships and grow.
An invitation-only event, the very best travel agents from across the globe meet Africa’s most spectacular luxury travel experience providers.

We’ll be there, showcasing .sa and boasting all that the west coast region has to offer with the sole aim – of displaying whats right on our doorstep.
Less than 1Hr from Cape Town, and direct access to arguably the most whale rich waters worldwide – is a gateway to soul changing experiences and we plan to shout from the roof tops about it!

02/02/2025

Well, that was epic.

—- End —-
🤣

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+27823530550

Website

https://whaleexpedition.co.za/

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