Cape Town - With just a month to go to the Hermanus Whale Festival, the whales have already made an appearance, with social media aflutter with posts of sightings and breachings.
If you do decide to head down to Hermanus before the crowds descend on the Overberg town for the big festival towards the end of September, you can enjoy the Kalfiefees (Calving Festival), which takes place from August 8 to 12, 2018.
Hermanus is known and recognised by the Worldwide Fund for Nature as among the best whale watching destinations in the world. And once you're there, you'll need somewhere to watch the whales from by land, if you aren't able to watch them by sea or air.
According to the official Hermanus website, the best spots to watch the whales from land are as follows:
* The Cliff Path offers 12km of the best whale watching view points in the world, stretching from one end of Hermanus to the other. At certain points whales can be seen playing as close as five meters from shore
* Drive south on Westcliff Road and park at Fick’s Pool. Take the cliff path towards the New Harbour for about 100 metres and arrive at Dreunkrans – a popular whale watching site
* Park at Fick’s Pool or in Marine Drive and make your way to Windsor Bay
* Gearing’s Point overlooking the Old Harbour, gives an uninterrupted view of the ocean
* At the Old Harbour,viewing terraces are available with spectacular views over Walker Bay. Information boards provide basic information about the whales
* Drive down Main Road towards the beaches (north-east) and take the turn-off to Die Gang at Berg-en-See to arrive at De Gang
* One of the most popular locations in Hermanus for whale watching is Siever's Point, which is closest to where the whales frolic
* The Kwaaiwater lookout point is accessible by vehicle
* The Voëlklip and Grotto beaches are perfect for whale spotting and watching, especially on the rocks above the sea
@CapeTimesSA