Hermanus Weekend: No Whale of a Time

Went “whale watching” over the weekend. Well, that was the intention, turned out to be more like a whale “looking for” weekend. They were there somewhere, but not to be seen. Hermanus has a “Whale Crier”. His job is to bring tourist attention to the best vantage points to whale watch. He does this by vigorously blowing on a seaweed/kelp horn. He was under-employed this weekend. The Whale festival is in a month or so, maybe the whales know that and are rehearsing somewhere private. All in all a disappointment, but a good weekend. The company was good, wine was excellent, discovered a local lager that is magic. Made mussel soup starter, prawns , mussels in shells, white line fish, lemon rice and seafood salad for supper on Saturday .
I came to the conclusion (again) that I don’t like Hermanuspietersfontein anymore. It has become a suburb of Cape Town. A “no longer” small town with serious traffic problems, inflated prices, no parking, too many restaurants and all the other “tourist trap” trademarks. Thank heaven the name was shortened to Hermanus. On some road signs the “m” has been deleted, and this gives me a vindictive grin. I wanted to take a photo for Silly Signs, but the heavy traffic would not allow that to happen.
If Hermanus is the "Whale" capital then Gansbaai is the “Great White Shark” capital. About 50 kilometers from Hermanus and it is all about Jaws. Problem is that you have to go out to sea to find the buggers, Then, if you want a good look, you climb into a cage and they drop you over the side for some underwater bonding with this awesome creature. I have an arrangement with these fish. I don’t play in their backyard and they keep away from mine. Works for me.

Hermanus: Whale Festival, Southern Right Whales

This is a “crash course”, all about the Southern Right Whale.
The Hermanus Whale Festival is usually in September, but I am going through this weekend to miss the rush. The whales have been around since June and all accounts are that sightings are good.
I went rambling and found "stuff" on these mammals.
“Southern” as it is found in the Southern hemisphere.
Called a Right whale as the whalers thought this was the “right” whale to catch. These whales float when they are killed, move slowly, swim in sight of the shore and are docile enough to approach. These whales are on the endangered list and are protected.
Estimated that there are 7,000 of these whales left, and numbers are increasing at about 7% per year.
This whale can weigh up to 100 tons, and grows to about 70 ft. No dorsal fin. The testicles weigh an enormous 550 kg,s or 1,100 lbs. That’s an animal with lotsa balls. Get to be about 70 years old. Leading causes of death are listed as contact with ships, entanglement with fishing nets, Orcas and Man.
The whales are covered with growths called callosities, ie thickened skin as a result of repeated contact or friction. The growths are grey, but look white due to lice surrounding the growths. This gives each whale an individual "Fingerprint".
The whales migrate up to here from the Antartic to mate and give birth, from June to October each year.
Now for the other part. Whale watching terminology. Lobtailing, Spyhopping, Breaching and sailing.




Hermanus is known as the Whale Watching Capital, and am looking forward to the trip.