Top Whale Watching spots

Cape Point Route spotted our first whale of the season on the 23 June 2010, but the Southern Right Whales are starting to appear more regularly and in greater numbers. This morning there was a huge pod of dolphins swimming from Fish Hoek southwards to Cape Point. What an amazing place we live in! I just love this time of year – the waters of False Bay are calm

There is a regional Whale Spotting and General Information Line: 079 391 2105 and they publish a weekly sightings log. Please call if you see a whale!

Since the 1 May 2010 there have been 136 sightings (not whales as often there is more than one whale hanging out). You can check out the most updated sightings here

Cape Point Route’s Top 10 Whale Watching Sites: (these are land based!)

1. Boyes Drive – gorgeous scenic mountain pass between Muizenberg and Kalk Bay.
2. Kalk Bay –. Hot tip: Walk the Muizenberg – St James walkway along the coastline
3. Clovelly – at the northern side of Fish Hoek Bay – either from the beach or the mountainside.
4. Jager’s walk – Fish Hoek – undulating coastal path between Fish Hoek Beach and Sunny Cove.
5. Sunny Cove – Fish Hoek
6. Glencairn Beach - Hot tip: have a meal on the deck of Southern Right Hotel to watch the whales.
7. Boulders – Smitzwinkelbaai - Simon's Town (including Froggy Pond and Murdoch Valley). Hot tip: stay at Boulders Beach Lodge or Whale View Manor for great views.
8. Cape Point Nature Reserve – Hot Tip: Eat at the Two Oceans Restaurant whilst you whale watch.
9. Misty Cliffs – Kommetjie: The road above Slangkoppunt Lighthouse has awesome views and excellent whale watching spots. Or go up the lighthouse for a different view!
10. Chapman’s Peak Drive: One of the most spectacular coastal roads on the planet running between Noordhoek and Hout Bay. Did you know fees for the toll road are now R30 for light vehicle.

This list is by no means complete and almost the entire coastline of the Cape Point Route becomes a whale watching feast. Peak season starts NOW and runs through to mid-October. You are almost guaranteed to see whales but sometimes you need to be patient as you watch for the subtle blow. Wind free days make sightings easier.

What to take: binoculars and your camera! Send us your pictures – we love whale shots!

For a seriously incredible experience book a boat based whale watching trip which operates from Simon’s Town. It is spine tingling, jaw dropping stuff to be within metres of these massive creatures of the sea where you can see the barnacles clinging to their skin and hear the whale song. Boat based whale watching requires a special permit to ensure that the whales are viewed without being harmed so be sure to use a licenced operator.

Whale Watching Trip details:
Daily departures (weather dependent): 09h00; 12h00; 14h30
Cost: R800 adults; R500 children
Duration: 3 hours
Departs: Simon’s Town
Bookings: 021 782 9356
Email: info@capepointroute.co.za

IMAGES:
1. Humpback Whale Tail - courtesy of D.Hurwitz Simon's Town Boat Company
2. Boat based whale watching - courtesy of Calders Hotel
3. Whale watching - by German Visitor Eva Sittig
4. Whales watching in False Bay - courtesy of German visitor Eva Sittig

Cape Point Route offers a wide range of Accommodation, Activities, ttractions, Restaurants, Venues, Shops, Tours and Packages on the CAPE PENINSULA, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Spring Splash 2010 - Sunday 5 Sept.

Live on the Wild side! Article courtesy of the Peoples Post Community Newspaper False Bay

START having cold water showers, because it’s training time for the annual Fish Hoek Spring Splash!

Held on the first Sunday in September, the Spring Splash will put an instant spring in your step (or, at least, a cold twitch in the one toe that still has feeling left after the swim).

Everyone – sane and insane – is invited to join in this hearty Fish Hoek tradition on Sunday 5 September.

If you love the slightly eccentric gees of Fish Hoek, step forward to the starting line just before 15:00, when the countdown will take place. At exactly 15:00, the signal will sound for the mad dash into the water to welcome the calendar start of spring. Of course, thanks to global warming and other inscrutable mysteries, the calendar is not always right – but what the heck, someone needs to take the lead.

Celebrate your victory afterwards with warming refreshments at reduced prices for all swimmers, served up by the Galley Restaurant.

Families are encouraged to make a day of it. There will be fun activities for children, from 10:00, presented by the Mad Hatters business coalition.

The theme for the Spring Splash is “Wildlife in Fish Hoek” and participants must dress up in outrageous outfits to fit the bill. The best outfit will win a mystery prize!

Be there if you’ve got what it takes!

For more information, phone Manu Choudree on 072 980 4335.

Check out images from a previous Spring Splash here

Cape Point Route offers a wide range of Accommodation, Activities,
Attractions, Restaurants, Venues, Shops, Tours and Packages on the
CAPE PENINSULA, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Images courtesy of Grant Johnson: www.silverfoxphoto.co.za and Cape Point Route

Hollywood’s Halle Berry in Simon’s Town

Halle Berry and co-star Olivier Martinez are filming their new movie “Dark Tide” in Simon’s Town on the Cape Point Route. It’s not everyday that Hollywood hangs out in the naval town and residents have been trying to catch glimpses of the stars between shooting scenes for the movie.

‘Dark Tide’ is directed by John Stockwell and is an action thriller that is due to be released in 2011. In the film, the many-time-voted-sexiest star Halle Berry plays the role of a diving instructor called Sara, who survives a near-fatal shark attack and faces the difficult decision of getting back into the water. Halle Berry will be getting into a shark cage near Seal Island in False Bay.

This is a perfect shooting spot for the movie as Seal Island is well renowned for the breaching great white sharks that concentrate near Seal Island during the South African winter which is also breeding season for the great white sharks. Visitors to Cape Town can go great white shark cage viewing and/or diving from Simon’s Town.

‘Dark Tide’ movie synopsis:
Sara (Halle Berry) is a modern-day adventurer, deeply drawn to close encounters with the magnificent White Sharks who rule the primal predator shore of isolated Guadalupe island. When her husband chooses ambition over his wife's safety in a split second encounter with the jaws of death, her marriage nearly breaks apart. A year later, a monsoon season voyage back to the same island becomes an escalating series of terrifying underwater confrontations and gut-wrenching emotional challenges. Testing her courage in the face of nature's ultimate terror, she shows herself as tough as the men she is attracted to; and perhaps bravest of all Sara endures and changes the terms of the contest with mankind's most feared underwater predator.

The movie has caused some controversy however and Alison Kock, a shark conservationist from Save our Seas Foundation in Kalk Bay is reported to have said, “The first script that we got sounded very much like it had a thriller aspect to it and a personal kind of aspect to it as well. But fighting off a shark, or surviving a shark attack - we couldn't see the positive side of that, as much as we tried to. After reading the script we decided it was not something we would like to put our names to. Obviously our mandate is to try to change people's perceptions of sharks, and the situation in Cape Town is quite sensitive.”

The Filmmakers do have a permit from Marine and Coastal Management and scenes are being shot in Simon’s Town harbour and a local team of marine professionals have been hired to provide support during filming. Local stunt co-ordinators have also been contracted.
For the movie, a tent town of caravans and marquees has been set up in the parking lot of Simon’s Town’s Seaforth Beach. The area is popular for its natural bays which are ideal for swimming. It is also situated next to Boulders Beach - one of the only places where people can swim alongside African penguins and a major tourist attraction on the Cape Point Route.
For shark cage diving bookings please contact Cape Point Route on 021 782 9356 or email: info@capepointroute.co.za

Cape Point Route offers a wide range of Accommodation, Activities,
Attractions, Restaurants, Venues, Shops, Tours and Packages on the
CAPE PENINSULA, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

All images from Google Images