Myoli Beach in Sedgefield has a whale watching lookout point. It has a deck with all the information you need. It is a beautiful beach with a restaurant and beach bar situated right at the beach. Fun water activities can also be enjoyed like, surfing, kite surfing, wakeboarding and stand-up paddling. There is lots of parking available as well as toilet facilities.
Myoli Beach is very well known for the whale watching right here in Sedgefield! Here is a list and a few facts of the whales and dolphins that can be spotted in this area.
Southern Rights:
They can be seen from June to November when they leave the summer polar waters of Antarctica to calf and breed in the warmer Indian Ocean along South Africa’s coastline. From Saldanha to Kwazulu–Natal, this is a distance of over 2000 kms. Adults are 11 – 18 metres long and can weigh between 25 and 66 tons. They are called “right” because they were considered right for hunting and floated once harpooned so were easy to retrieve. They were hunted to the brink of extinction (90% of the species was slaughtered) by the late 1800’s with 10 whaling stations operating off the South African coast alone. Their northern counterparts suffered the same fate. All the countries in both hemispheres in whose waters they breed, now protect them but their recovery has been slow and they are still considered endangered
Humpbacks:
They appear along our shoreline from May to early December. Adults are around 16m in length and weigh 25-40 tons. They spend their year close to continental shores and islands, breeding and feeding on shallow banks. They are given their name because of their habit of cresting out of the water before bending their backs in preparation to dive thereby accentuating the hump in front of the dorsal fin. Humpbacks are energetic and acrobatic and can be seen blowing, breaching, lobtailing and spyhopping which is most entertaining.
Brydes:
Adults are 11.5-14m in length and 12-20 tons in weight. They often give the impression of large dolphins. They swim in small groups of between 1-7 and can increase to 30 at feeding grounds. Brydes eat krill, squid and fish including sardines and anchovies. They traverse the whole length of South Africa’s coastline but are generally not often seen so when you’re visiting the Garden Route you have the best chance seeing them by taking a whale watching boat from Plettenberg Bay.
Bottlenose Dolphin:
The bottlenose dolphin swims along the shoreline of east Cape Town. Bottlenose dolphins are one of the largest types of dolphins in South Africa, reaching an adult length of over 7 feet. An even larger species of bottlenose dolphin called tursiops truncatus reaches an adult length of over 9 feet, but this species rarely swims near the shore. Bottlenose dolphin mothers give birth to one young dolphin after an entire year of pregnancy. These dolphins are the most likely species to interact with humans, performing tricks such as somersaults and fin splashes.
Humpbacked Dolphin:
The Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin has a small population in the waters surrounding South Africa’s coast. Numbers are estimated to be in the range of 1,000 to 1,200 adults and juveniles. One of the most distinctive types of dolphins in South Africa, the humpbacked dolphin has a long, wide hump below its round, pointed dorsal fin. Like the bottlenose dolphin, humpbacked dolphins are born after 12 months of pregnancy and continue to nurse from their mothers for several years. They are a shy species and generally stay away from boats and other human activity.
Common Dolphin:
One of the smallest types of dolphins in South Africa is the long-beaked common dolphin, reaching a length of about 2.4 meters. Similar in size to the smaller species of bottlenose dolphin, the long-beaked common dolphin tends to weigh less and appear weaker than its more energetic relative. The reason for this difference in size is perhaps the common dolphin’s practice of nursing only for a few months before being weaned from the mother. Common dolphins usually live for forty years or longer. Like bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins often swim near humans and boats.
Be sure to make a stop at Myoli Beach Whale watching in Sedgefield.
Common Dolphin:
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