Home » PHOTOS of Huge Gathering of Humpback Whales in South Africa

PHOTOS of Huge Gathering of Humpback Whales in South Africa

Since the start of the weekend I’ve been hearing reports of the huge gatherings of humpback whales at Noordhoek, Robben Island and Dassen Island. As much as I wanted to document this amazing wildlife event, for five days in a row the wind was unfortunately too strong to fly…until yesterday. I woke to a beautifully calm […]

By SAPeople Contributor
05-04-18 00:05
in Fab South African Stuff

Since the start of the weekend I’ve been hearing reports of the huge gatherings of humpback whales at Noordhoek, Robben Island and Dassen Island. As much as I wanted to document this amazing wildlife event, for five days in a row the wind was unfortunately too strong to fly…until yesterday.

Whales South Africa
Humpback whales on the move… Note the two cape fur seals at bottom right. The seals were all over the whales, splashing and playing and generally making a nuisance of themselves!

I woke to a beautifully calm pre-frontal morning, grabbed my camera gear and headed out to the airfield…

The sea in Table Bay and down the length of the Atlantic Seaboard was a beautiful aquamarine blue, the cleanest I have seen it in five years of flying!

Whales South Africa
Probably the cleanest water I’ve ever seen on the Atlantic Seaboard. This image of Llandudno Beach at the foot of Klein Leeukoppie.

We spotted a lonely looking southern right whale all on its own just off the kelp line at Blouberg. The first humpback whales to be seen were in Table Bay and then we found the first big gatherings (around five groups of 6-8 whales each) just offshore from Maori Bay.

Whales South Africa
A lonely looking southern right whale in the shallows near Blouberg.

At the Crayfish Factory near Scarborough we hit the main group, a huge pod of approximately 60 humpback whales in a tight bunch all lunge feeding on what I found out later was a huge pocket of krill. For miles around there were single animals and pairs all heading for the main feeding aggregation as fast as they could swim.

Whales South Africa
A massive feeding aggregation of over 50 humpback whales lunging through the suface and grabbing huge mouthfuls of krill. Upon sighting the group my first thought was that they were a big pod of common dolphins… no way so many animals could be whales! Then I realised that they were actually humpbacks!!! Each of these animals can weigh around 36 tons, thats a lot of hungry mouths to feed!

It was truly an incredible sight and the images do it no justice at all. Even now, many hours later I am still filled with amazement and the wonder of it all. What a privilege to be able to witness this behaviour from such a unique perspective!

JEAN TRESFON is a South African marine conservation photographer who specialises in aerial and underwater photography. He flies several times a week specifically to keep tabs on our South African marine wildlife and regularly assists the authorities with shark and whale spotting.

To see more of Jean Tresfon’s photos and updates: