Boat Based Whale Watching- Area 3  - Permit Holder - Waterfront Expeditions trading as Waterfront Boat Company   
See the News pages for the latest sightings .

CAPE TOWN- South Africa
3 to 4 hour Boat trip
 
South Africa has to be one of the most incredible destinations in the world for watching marine mammals .

Every year in June, these beautiful gentle giants of the sea , the Southern Right Whales leave their Antarctic feeding ground to congregate on  our shores to mate and calve and frolic in the relatively warm and sheltered bays of the Western Cape Coast. They are a true marvel to behold occasionally flopping a tail up, or sticking their heads out of the water, much to the delight of onlookers.

The best way to enjoy whale watching in South Africa is to go on a whale-watching boat trip from the Waterfront in Cape town . The CONDOR  is big, comfortable and dry. Boarding is easy and people in wheelchairs can also be accommodated with prior notice.

 The prices of these whale watching boat trips are very reasonable, considering the chance to get within meters of whales at water-level is simply unforgettable.

The images seen above show what you might see from the CONDOR boat of the Whale above the water, and helps you to identify the whale's habits under the water .(Images courtesy of MTN WHALE ROUTE)

This industry is strictly regulated by MCM (Marine and coastal Management) which only allows a few boats close access to the whales, and only within very limited areas. In South Africa whales are protected. It is an offence to catch, kill, disturb or harass any whale at any time. This legislation is designed to protect whales along the South African shore from excessive disturbance.
The whale watching boats have provided a dual role as an effective form of policing the inshore waters and reporting illegal activity it is an offences to Shooting at any whale, approach any whale in a boat, aircraft or helicopter closer than 300 metres.Fail to move away immediately if a whale surfaces within 300 meters of one’s boat or Stopping or lingering closer than 300 meters to a whale.

Departing daily from the V & A Waterfront at 13h00 you can expect to enjoy some of the most awesome views of the Cape Coast while our registered whale guide keeps you up to date about the history of Cape Town & Whaling, this he does while keeping a beady eye on the water in search of a footprint, blow, flipper or fluke on the surface of the ocean.
Other interesting sightings would include the coast of Robben Island, the Penguin Colony, the wide variety of Marine Birds, dolphins, and the odd sunfish or basking shark.

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WHALE WATCHING From Condor - History of 2010 Season

We log all sighting information for Whales and dolphins in terms of our permit with Marine an Coastal Management .Brief exerpts below show what activity to expect . We number all planned trips from the start of the season .The BBWW Vessel is condor and the Guides are Agnasius and  Louise.

Trip 45 28th August 2010 No BBWW weather bad
Trip 44 27th August 2010 No BBWW weather bad
Trip 43 26th August 2010 excellent day for Whale Watching spotted 13 SRW and calf lobtailing flippers laps  pax was very satisfied with big whales were amazing
Trip 42 25th August 2010 sea conditions was calm and spotted 3 SRW  and calf surfing and logging
Trip 41 24th August 2010  Penguins release  and sea conditions was calm spotted 3 SRW brief lingering spyhopping and lobtailing
Trip 40 23rd August 2010  sea conditions was choppy and spotted 2 SRW and calf swimming feeding and stayed above surface for long
Trip 39 22nd August 2010 No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 38 21st August 2010 No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 37 20t August 2010 No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 36 19th August 2010 No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 35 18th August 2010 No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 34 17th August 2010 No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 33 16th August  2010    No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 32 15th August 2010  No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 31 14th August 2010  No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 30 13th August 2010 No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 29 12th August 2010 No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 28 11th August 2010    No BBWW vessel closed maintenance
Trip 27 10th August 2010  No BBWW  vessel closed  maintenance
Trip 26 09th August 2010  No BBWW  bad weather
Trip 25 08th August 2010  No BBWW  weather was bad
Trip 24 07th August 2010  Sea conditions was calm and spotted 5 SRW  syhopping , they did not stayed long above surface pax enjoyed  the tour and whales gave a very good tour.
Trip 23 06th August 2010  No BBWW   trips cancelled
Trip 22 05th August 2010  spotted 5 BRW and pax was overwhelmed on the cruise
Trip 21 04th August 2010.    Sea conditions was calm spotted 2  SRW  with calf . whales were very shy and moved of very quickly
Trip 20: 03rd August 2010,  spotted  3 Humpback whales  swam off never stayed long above surface
Trip 19: 02nd August 2010, sea conditions were calm and spotted 3 HBW and 1 calf swam off did not stay long above water and dived.
Trip 18: 01st August 2010,   no whales spotted, rough seas
Trip 17: 31st July 2010,1 HBW and 1calve spotted relaxed calf stay next to mother the all time. 2 SRW  breaching and lobtailing.  Whales were extremely  relaxed.
Trip 16: 30th July 2010, spotted 3 HBW relaxed and 2 SRW spy hopping .
Trip 15: 29th July 2010; calm sea conditions and spotted 4 SRW logging.
Trip 14;  28th July 2010: No BBWW trip -cancelled rough seas
Trip 13; 27th  July 2010. No BBWW trip -cancelled rough seas.
Trip 12: 26th July 2010   No BBWW   trip -cancelled due to weather
Trip 11: 25th July 2010.  sea conditions were calm and spotted 2 SRW  and calf spy hopping tail slap .
Trip 10: 24th July 2010. Excellent day spotted 4 HBW and 3 Srw and calf mating, spy hopping and stayed long above water.
Trip 9: 23rd July 2010: spotted 3 SRW mating and spy hopping and 1 SRW and calf surface long above water good show tail.
Trip 8; 22nd July 2010  spotted 2 SRW mating and spy hopping vey passive 3 HBW and 1 calf spy hopping and very active and play full. Passengers has an enjoyable time
Trip 7; 21st July 2010       No BBWW rough seas

Trip 6 20th July 2010 - Sightings of HBW with no calf , the passengers enjoyed the trip and had a wonderful time when the penguins where realeased off robben Island .The HBW stayed on the surface for a long time . 
Trip 5 19th July 2010 - Cancelled 
Trip 4 18th July 2010 - Excellent conditions , sighting of HBW with calf , relaxed and staying close to surface
Trip 3 17th July 2010 - Cancelled
Trip 2 16th July 2010 - Cancelled
Trip 1 15th July 2010 - Chopy sea with wind 10-15 knots . sightings of both SRW with Calf swimming and spy hopping . also sighted a HBW which dived .

WHALE WATCHING From Condor - History of 2009 Season

Whale Watching Sightings ( Extracts from the Whale Watching Log Book )
In term of our Permit from MCM , we log all planned trips .

 Trip # 142 Monday 09th November: LAST TRIP OF THE SEASON !!! No BBWW  choppy sea conditions. The Season is now officially over .

Trip # 141 Sunday 08th November: No BBWW rough seas

 Trip # 140Saturday 07th November:  No BBWW sea conditions extremely rough

 Trip # 139 Friday 06th November: sea conditions were choppy and no whales were spotted

Trip # 138 Thursday 05th November: No BBWW bad weather

Trip # 137 Wednesday 04th November: sea conditions was calm and spotted 2 Southern Right whales sailing.

Trip # 136 Tuesday 03rd November: Good weather conditions but no whales were spotted

Trip # 135 Monday 02nd November: No BBWW

Trip # 134 Sunday 01st November: Sea conditions were choppy and no whales were sighted.

Trip # 133 Saturday 31st October:  No BBWW vessel chartered.

Trip # 132 Friday 30th October: Fantastic atmosphere spotted 7 Humpback whales lobtailing.

Trip # 131 Thursday 29th October Extremely good weather spotted 4 Humpback whales breaching and 4 Southern Right whales Sailing and Breaching. Guide Dennis

Trip #130 Wednesday 28th October:  Sea Conditions was calm spotted 3 Humpback whales sailing and breaching and 1 Southern Right whale mating.

Trip # 129 Tuesday 27th October: No BBWW rough seas with strong south Easter wind blowing

Trip# 128 Monday 26th October: No BBWW rough seas

Trip# 127 Sunday 25th October: Strong winds and choppy seas but still managed to spot 5 Humpbacks whales breaching.

 Trip# 126 Saturday 24th October:  No whales were spotted during the cruise

Trip # 125 Friday 23rd October: Sea condition was calm and 1 Southern Right whale was spotted sailing.

Trip# 124 Thursday 22nd October clear weather condition but no whales sighted.

Trip # 123 Wednesday 21st October: Extremely rough seas and no trips were done.

Trip#122 Tuesday 20th October: No whales were sighted

Trip# 121, Monday 19th October: Sea condition calm but no whales spotted.

Trip# 120, Sunday 18th October: Choppy sea conditions no whales spotted

Trip# 119, Saturday 17th October: Moderate winds and choppy sea conditions but managed to spot 1 Southern Right whale sailing

Trip# 118, Friday 16th October: No BBWW vessel chartered privately

Trip# 117, Thursday 15th October: No BBWW Sea conditions to choppy

Trip# 116, Wednesday 14th October: Clear weather during the cruise and people enjoyed the cruise spotted 1 Southern Right whale sailing

Trip# 115, Tuesday 13th October great weather spotted 1 brydes whale swimming and an hour after 1 Southern Right whale swimming.

Trip# 114, Monday 12th October: Sea Conditions was choppy and no whales were spotted

Trip# 113, Sunday 11th October: No whales spotted and sea was very calm

Trip# 112, Saturday 10th October: No whales spotted and sea conditions was choppy

Trip# 111, Saturday 10th October: No whales spotted during cruise

Trip# 110, Friday 09th October: Fantastic weather condition and people enjoyed the trip spotted 1 Southern Right whale sailing. Guide Dennis

Trip# 109, Thursday 08TH October: Sea condition was calm and spotted 2 Southern Right whales mating.

Trip# 108, Wednesday 07th October: No whales were sighted on the trip. Wind and sea conditions not favorable

Trip# 107, Tuesday 06th October: Sea conditions were rough and no whales were spotted.

Trip# 106, Monday 05th October: Sea conditions were choppy but still managed to spot 2 Brydes whales breaching and sailing.

Trip# 105, Sunday 04th October: sea conditions were calm and spotted 1 Southern Right whale sailing.

Trip# 104, Saturday 03rd October: Weather was excellent and spot 1 Southern Right whale swimming.

Trip# 103, Friday 02nd October: Sea conditions was calm and spotted 1 Bryde’s whale feeding

Trip# 102, Thursday 01st October: Strong wind was experienced during the tour but still managed to spot 1 Southern Right whale sailing and 1 Bryde’s whale feeding. Guide Dennis

Trip# 101, Wednesday 30th September: No whales were sighted and sea conditions were very rough and rough seas.

Trip# 100, Tuesday 29th September:  No whales were sighted on the trip. Wind and sea conditions not favorable

Trip #99, Monday 28th September: No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip#98, Sunday 27^thSeptember ;No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip#97,Satuday 26^th September ;AFRICAN PENGUIN DAY, No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip#96, Friday 25^th September  spotted 1 Southern Right whale lobtailing.

Trip#95,Thursday 24^th September .HERITAGE DAY ,Sea conditions was calm spotted 3 Humpback whales and an hour later 2 Southern Right whales sailing.

Trip#94, Wednesday 23^rd September .Light North westerly wind blowing spotted 3 Southern Right whales spyhopping and breaching.

Trip#93,Tuesday 22^nd September. Sea conditions was calm, Guide spotted 6 Southern Right whales spyhpping and tailshow.  Guide Agnasius noted that whales were vey friendly and gave a great show for the passengers.

Trip #92,Monday 21st September:whales were brilliant shoving of tails spotted 2 Southern Right whales spy hopping and tail show and 30 minutes later another 3 Southern Right whales spotted breaching and tail show Guide Agnasius

Trip #91,Sunday, 20th September:lovely weather conditions with South Westerly wind blowing and spotted 1 Southern Right whale Spy hopping and breaching and 1 calve swimming.

Trip #90,Saturday 19th September:passengers tremendously enjoyed themselves with the sighting of whales spotted 1Humpback swimming and 2 Southern Right whales spy hopping and moving. Guide Agnasius

Trip #89,Friday 18th September:sea conditions were choppy but spotted 1 Southern Right whale and 1 calve diving, swimming.

Trip #88,Thursday 17th September:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #87,Wednesday 16th September:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #86,Tuesday 15th September:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #85,Monday 14th September:good weather and 1 Southern Right whale and 1 calve spotted Swimming and Spy Hopping. Guide Agnasius

Trip #84,Sunday 13th September:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #83,Saturday 12th September:Good crowed of people onboard vessel, spotted 3 Southern Right whales mating

Trip #82,Friday 11th September:Sea was calm with South Westerly wind blowing spotted 1 Bryde whale feeding and 4 Southern Right mating.

Trip #81,Thursday 10th September:Weather was favorable passengers was very satisfied and enjoyed themselves another successful BBWW day spotted 4 Southern Right whales and 2 calves spy hopping and swimming.  Guide Agnasius

Trip #80,Wednesday 09th September:spotted 3 Southern Right whales spy hopping and swimming. Guide Dennis

Trip #79,Tuesday 08th September:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #78,Monday 07th September:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #77,Sunday 06th September:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #76,Saturday 05th September:Sea Conditions was calm with the South Westerly wind blowing and spotted 3 Southern Right whales breaching and lob tailing. Guide Dennis

Trip #75,Friday 04th September:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #74,Thursday 03rd September;No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #73,Wednesday 02 September:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #72,Tuesday 01st September:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #71 ,Monday 31st August: No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #70,Sunday 30th August: Fantastic weather spotted 3 Southern Right whales and 1 calve breaching. Guide Dennis

Trip #69,Saturday 29th August:  Good weather and people were relaxed onboard vessel going 5-10 knots and spotted 1 Southern Right and 1calve nursing.

Trip #68,Friday 28th August: Sea conditions were calm with South Westerly wind blowing. 3 Southern Right whales were mating it was a pleasant moment. Guide Dennis

Trip #67,Thursday 27th August: Another successful day for BBWW sea, was calm and spotted 2 Southern Right whales and 1 calve blowing and nursing.

Trip #66,Wednesday 26th August:  4 Southern Right Whales spotted breaching and spy hopping weather with South Westerly wind blowing.

Trip #65,Tuesday 25th August: Sea conditions were calm and a very successful day spotted 2 Southern Right whale and 1 calve swimming

Trip #64,Monday 24th August: Spotted 1 Bryde whale dived with South Easter wind blowing. Guide Agnasius

Trip #63,Sunday 23rd August: Good day for BBWW saw 6 Southern Right whales sea conditions was calm vessel going 5-10 knots

Trip #62,Saturday 22nd August:Sea conditions was choppy with the South Easter wind blowing but managed to see 2 Southern Right whales and 1 calve breaching. Guide Dennis

Trip #61,Friday 21st August:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #60,Thursday 20TH August:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #59,Wednesday 19th August:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #58,Tuesday 18th August:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather..

Trip #57,Monday 17th August: Weather conditions were somewhat choppy. Wind direction was 5-10 knots  South Westerly ,spotted 5 Southern Right Whales.

Trip #56,Sunday 16th August:Superb weather conditions, spotted 1 Southern Right whale and 1 calve nursing and swimming with a SW wind blowing.

Trip #55,Saturday 15th August: 2 Southern Right whales and 1 calve spotted nursing and breaching.  Weather was calm with slight SE wind blowing. Guide Dennis

Trip #54,Friday 14th August: A Great Day !,2 Southern Right whales and 1 calve spotted spy hopping and swimming. Weather was fantastic.  South Eaters wind blowing with 5 knots

Trip #53,Thursday 13th Aug:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #52,Wednesday 12th Aug:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #51,Tuesday 11th Aug:Big swells wind blowing 5-10 knots.  No sightings of whales.

Trip #50,Monday 10th Aug:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #49,Sunday 09th Aug:Very, very good sighting of whales and extremely good weather. Spotted 2 Southern Rights and then another 6 an hour later. Guide Dennis

Trip #48,Saturday 08th August:Condor spotted 5 Southern Right whales blowing and mating. 23 Passengers onboard vessel

Trip #47,Friday 07th August:Wind SW 5-10 knots ,1 Southern Right whale spotted blowing. Very good weather conditions.

Trip #46,Thursday 6th August :left at 13h00.Spotted 6 Southern Rights Mating

Trip #45,Wednesday 5th August:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #44,Tuesday 4th August :no BBWW due to weather ,Condor did a penguin Release to Robben Island.7 Penguins aboard for half of trip .

Trip #43,Monday 3rd August :Wind switched to NW , 5 knots , 4 Humpbacks sighted , they eventually moved off and kept moving   . Guide Agnasius

Trip #42,Sunday 2nd August:wind SW , 5-10 knots, 5 Southern Rights sighted Breaching and Lobtailing , and late another spyhopping. Dennis the guide reported a great atmosphere aboard !

Trip #41,Saturday 1st August 2009:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip#40, 31st July;Spotted 6 Southern Right whales mating with South Easter wind blowing Guide Dennis noted that whale very pleasant mood.

Trip#39, 30th July;Choppy sea conditions and strong wind but still managed to spot 1Southern Right whale breaching

Trip#38, 29th July;Good weather throughout the tour spotted 3 Southern Right whale feeding and mating

Trip#37, 28th July;weather was good with South Easter wind blowing. Spotted 1 Brydes whale feeding, 2 Southern Right whale mating and 2 Humpback whales feeding Guide Dennis

Trip#36, 27th July:Good weather with South Westerly wind blowing spotted 2 Southern Right whales mating and an hour later spotted 2 Humpbacks mating.

Trip#35, 26th July:Sea Condition was calm but no whales was spotted.

Trip#34, 25th July:.had fantastic weather conditions considering we are in the middle of winter !The Wind direction was 5 to 10 knots from the South West .Sea State was Calm . Two Humpbacks sighted feeding and hour later Condor saw  4 Southern Rights mating. The Whales looked relaxed at all times , A great day for sightings.

Trip#33, 24th July;Spotted 2 Southern Right whales mating guide Agnasius noted that whales were very relaxed.

Trip#32, 23rd July;No BBWW due to strong wind and choppy seas

Trip#31, 22nd July;Sea was choppy but was a fantastic day for whale watching. Condor sighted 4 Southern Right whales mating an hour later spotted 1 Southern Right whale Spy hopping and another 4 Southern Right whales mating. Really a good day indeed Guide Agnasius

Trip#30, 21st July;Sea Conditions was calm but no whales was spotted

Trip#29, 20th July:No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip#28, 19th July; Spotted 1 Southern Right whale breaching weather was fantastic. Guide Agnasius.

Trip#27, 18th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#26, 17th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#25, 16th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#24, 15th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#23, 14th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#22, 13th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#21, 12th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#20, 11th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#19, 10th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#18, 09th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#17, 08th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#16, 07th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#15, 06th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#14, 05th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#13, 04th July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#12, 03rd July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#11, 02nd July;No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#10, 01st July; No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#09, 30th June;No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#08, 29th June;No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#07, 28th June;No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#06, 27th June;No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#05, 26th June;No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip#04, 25th June;No Sightings of Whales

Trip#03, 24th June;No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.
Trip#02, 23rd June;No BBWW Today . Trip cancelled due to weather.

Trip #01, 22nd June; Our official whale watching season has started sea conditions was rough and no whales was spotted.