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On that morning upon waking up in Cape Town all was pretty normal, we took our breakfast and had our morning coffee, in the stunning Airbnb we had rented out for the week. We didn’t realize that we we’re about to make an extraordinary encounter that day with whales.
We had planned a visit to Robben Island, and we’re on our way to the pier to get the boat. I had booked these tickets a few months earlier because I had been told they usually sold out quite fast. I had also been reading former Presidents Nelson Mandela book, Long walk to freedom, and I wanted to see Robben Island for myself.
Robben Island isn’t very far from Cape Town, however you will need to take the ferry that is organized with the tour to get there. On the ferry we caught a glimpse of shark fins and dolphins which was nice to see. We did the tour of Robben Island which I really do recommend by the way.
On our way back we boarded one of the ferries waiting for us on the pier. There we’re also a lot of playful seals all around in the water.
Our ferry departed once enough tourists we’re onboard. On our way back we choose to sit on the upper deck on the outside of the ferry to enjoy the views.
As we we’re making our way back to Cape Town our captain announced we had to shut the engins because there was a whale coming up on his monitor, and he was worried about hitting it. The captain shut the engins and low and behold there was a whale! Cape Town does have whales, and whale tours are available. However, there is only a specific season when you can encounter them. Whale season in Cape Town is from June to December. At that time, we we’re in February so we were’nt expecting to see any whales.
The captain then tried to start the engins again, but for some odd reason the engins couldn’t start. We we’re told our arrival would be delayed, while they we’re trying to find a solution. We honestly didn’t mind! Because the whale we had stopped for wasn’t alone, and soon we we’re surrounded by whales blowing water and diving. It was honestly magic.
In the end the engins did start again, but the boat wasn’t able to go above the first gear. So the ride back to port was a slow one. We we’re also escorted by two boats of the coast guards that made sure we made it safely to port. The captain and the crew handled the whole situation with a lot of professionalism and most of the tourists we’re thrilled to have seen beautiful creatures along the way.
If you enjoyed this storytime, you can check out another one that also happened in South Africa just here.
