Megaptera Novaeangliae appear on Protea Banks and generally along the East Coast of South Africa from July until November
Best time for Humpbacks on Protea Banks Aug – Oct
The scientific name of the humpback whale seems like a random row of letters, but the animal with this crazy name is all but random. It is massive, 30 tons in weight and appears out of nowhere just like a submarine.
Humpback Whales arrive on our coast line sometime in July. They come from the Antarctica and move slowly into warmer water where they give birth to the pup somewhere between Mozambique and the Seychelles.
Once i had the privilege to see a newborn whale on Protea Banks. Its mother nudged it and it took its first breath right in fron of us.
Until about ten years ago there was no way to encounter a whale on scuba. They heard or saw us divers and made a big detour around us.
Meantime the whale population grows by 7% each year and we can actually tell that there are more and more whales in our waters during winter time.
For the last three years it has become an almost common occurrence to encounter one or several humpback whales while diving on Protea Banks.
Last year we were on our safety stop when a whale came past us. It turned and came around again and carried on swimming around and beneath us for over 20 minutes until we ran out of air and had to go.
If you dive Protea Banks with us during August and September and you stay for at least 5 days, you are guaranteed to see a whale on your dives !!!
