Hermanus in the western cape province is the hot spot to see whales.
But sadly, the whales have not arrived yet, and we settled for a visit to a whale museum.
They have a whale crier here that blows a horn as soon as he spots the whales. But on this day, his horn did not sound. We travelled a far way, crossing two mountain passes to get to Hermanus, and it would have been a folly to return immediately when we saw that there were no whales. There are many other attractions that we have not seen, and now we are glad that we decided to stay for a while, as we have unearthed some gems as you will see in here. The canon monument is right opposite the whale museum. There is also the "Old Harbour Museum" and a "Photo Museum", that we will visit on a future occasion.
But for now, let's see what I have to share.
An interesting building with no great fanfare, as it matches the surrounding buildings. All of them historical, of course.
There are also some great whale action photos inside the museum. Such as the two below.
In case it is difficult for you to read the details in the close up of the photo above, here are some whale stats.
Adult female length: 15,5 meters
Adult weight: 50 tons
Measurement at birth: Around 4-6 meters
Lifespan: +50 years
The town is noted for the presence of whales that often swim within sight of the coastline of the town. Although the Southern Right whale is the most prolific species in Hermanus bay, it is not the only species in the area. The whales can be seen from the cliffs all along the coast from as early as June and usually depart in early-December. They were once hunted in the nearby town of Betty's Bay but are now protected. The Old Harbour Museum contains several exhibitions that explain the local whaling industry, and the De Wetshuis Photo Museum houses an exhibition of photos by T. D. Ravenscroft that depicts the history of Hermanus. The Whale Museum houses a skeleton of a whale and shows an audio-visual presentation of whales and dolphins twice daily
Note: Apart from the Wikipedia source, there are many other sites on the web with stories about the whales in Hermanus. So, do yourself a favor, if you are interested, to have a look around on Google.
A whale upper jaw on show and it is very big.
As usual, there is always the dark side to things. The flensing knives below were used to butcher the whales, but thankfully all whaling has been discontinued, and the whales are now a protected species.
The last two pictures can speak for themselves.
We also explored the area a bit, and I have some great material to share in future posts. We are really in trouble on this planet, as not only do we try our best to destroy nature, but now the oceans are also being invaded by our quick and comfortable plastic castaways. How long can this all go on before it will all be gone? Yet another achievement of mankind that is not to be applauded. And so, I will only appeal to you to start to speak up about the desecration of this planet.
I simply had to include the warning photos with the hope that those who do not care will start to realise the danger of the current situation. It turned out to be a wonderful visit for us, and we are glad that we decided to explore the area instead of returning home. On the way to Hermanus we stopped to have a meeting with the principal of a local school as he asked for the meet, and then he unpacked all of the needs that they have at the school and asked for Papillon's assistance. The thing is that donors have become scarce, not only for the school but all over the country.
So, as usual, we will see what we can do to help.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
Thank you kindly for supporting this post.
