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Umdloti BeachWhale Sightings Register |
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When you spot whales or dolphins off Umdloti Beach, send us an e-mail and we will record your sighting on this page. Dolphins can be seen from Umdloti throughout the year. Whales tend to visit the warmer Indian Ocean waters off Umdloti for calving from end June to end November. Our Nature and Wildlife section gives tips on how to distinguish between the different species of whales and dolphins frequently seen from Umdloti shores. The fantastic pictures of whales and dolphins on this page were all taken by local photographer, Sarah Jones. She has lovely shots of surfers, breakers and kite surfing in Umdloti Beach and her pictures can be viewed in our Sarah Jones Gallery.
21 February 2012 Image Courtesy of Drifters Dolphin Coast Lodge 
24 October 2011 Thought I would post a few more pictures. The weather has been great, which has played along for some easy dolphin and whale spotting. We have about one month left before the season ends, so now is the moment to get down to the beachfront for some spectacular viewing. There is also no right time "whales and dolphins are around all day" :) Kind regards Shane 
21 October 2011 I have seen some phenomenal dolphin sightings
over the past two days (just off backline). This morning must have been the
most dolphins I have ever seen since my days in Umdloti (easily 150 plus -
approximately
6 schools). Both mornings between 05:00 and 07:00. Just had a fantastic
whale sighting too (pictures below). Sighted four whales on the 18th,
one yesterday and today 
7 October 2011 The whales are certainly making a strong appearance right now (4 this morning and 2 this evening)...my camera zoom (pic's attached - just don't do enough justice), but with the naked eye a spectacular feature. So for those with a keen interest in whales - now is the time to get down to the Umdloti beach front :) Pics: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
7 October 2011 We are on holiday at Umhlanga Sands and today at around 4pm we spotted a
whale splashing in the water. My 8 year old took some pics. We watched it
move towards the South Beach and some canooists or could be the lifeguards
went to take a closer look. It was wonderful to c
5 October 2011 Been away for a month but good to be back :) Seems I may have missed a few good whale sightings in my absence (barring the poor weather), but have spotted three already since my return (just off Tobago). Here is a pic of a young one slapping its tail on the surface...Last year the sightings went on until late November so there is still plenty of time (heard on ECR about the Humpback that got caught up in the shark nets of Amanzimtoti. Believe it however managed to free itself :) Best Regards Shane
22 September 2011 Whale sighting North Beach 0700 this morning
Regards 11 September 2011 Whale sighting North Beach, Umdloti 10:00 today 10/09/2011. There were 2 whales throwing their whole bodies out of the water not just their tails it was an amazing sight. Kindest regards
26 August 2011 What I thought was to be a bumper whale season with my sighting on 02 July 2011 has since been pretty quiet. That was until now 26.08.2011 at 16:50. I happened to miss this one breach, but managed to catch him/her on camera at play August is typically a good month so let’s keep our fingers crossed. Best Regards Shane
1 July 2011 Another year has passed us and the whales are back again. I guess most of the activity is around the South Coast at present with the arrival of the sardines. I had my first sighting of a humpback this morning (02 July 2011) at around 08:00 just off La Mercy (quite far out). Also a small pocket of sardines just off backline. For those whale enthusiasts (keep your eyes open the season has arrived)…
29 November 2010 I thought I would note this one for the record, considering it is so late in the season. I saw a huge splash late yesterday, but could not confirm a whale sighting. Today, however at 10:30, two big Humpbacks are heading South (approximately 400 m off shore). It looks like we still have whales around. My last sighting to this one was on the 16th November 2010.
Best regards Shane
19 September 2010 What an action packed weekend for whale sightings…Whales have been around all weekend (Fri – four sightings, Sat – at least twelve sightings, Sun – and it’s still early, four sightings). Visitors on the beachfront are marveled by these sightings and I had a few people come and chat to me about it. Most sightings have been humpbacks, but I did spot what could have been a Southern White Whale? Best time to keep an eye open is from 16:30, but there is a mother and calf that has been hanging around close to shore the entire morning. Plenty of breaching going on; both mother and calf. Whales seem to be heading South again, so if our visitors want to see them, now’s your opportunity. Best Regards 12-20 August 2010 Humpbacks are definitely around. I have spotted them on the 12th, 17th
and right now 20th .08.2010. Right now the calf is breaching the surface and
the mother just chilling (heading North)…fantastic to watch (for all of u
out there, time is late afternoon to early evening). Yaay - we were also watching the whales Friday afternoon, with a great view from the Bush Tavern Deck. Julie Thanks to Shane for the first whale sighting of the season. Keep watching. Julie 07 August 2010 My first whale sighting for this season (07 August 2010 – 14:45 to 15:30). Humpback whale heading South past Tobago and settled offshore just of Camaraque. Although the typical signature of a mother feeding her calf (tail in the air). I did not spot a calf. Thereafter a spectacular display of breaching the surface and tail slapping for approximately 15 minutes. Best wishes and hopefully many more sightings 11th August 2009 Terrific sightings from Tobago again (11 Aug -14:50). Two whales (different specie from others seen). These two whales are completely white underneath, what appears to be brown on top, with traces of white surrounding the entire top part of the body. Both were thrashing tails on top of the water. Very spectacular. Starting to feel like I’m filling your blog space. Need others to comment too. Shane 10th August 2009 - Not quite sure what the bait fish were that I saw this morning (sea gulls having a whale of a time), but the school must have been 200 to 300 m long (also heading south). Took a walk along the beach at about 08:30 and spotted the whales again. One whale a few hundred meters offshore in front of the Lazy Lizzard and another just off Pinnacle Rock. 10th August 2009 - 07:00 (10 August 2009) - As I type this email, I have seen yet another two whales passing by, heading south, just off Tobago. Looks like this is the time of morning for all of those whale watchers. Noticed a lot of sea gulls and bait fish around as well. Shane Haworth
9th August 2009 - 07:50 Whale breaching the surface, a few hundred meters off Pinnacle Rock (heading south). Leapt twice and disappeared thereafter. Top of tail black and white underneath. 08:25 (09 August 2009) School of dolphins ± 20 heading south. One of the dolphins was continuously smashing his/her tail on the surface of the water, with each cycle of motion? Terrific sightings and it looks like we will have another good year. Shane Haworth, Tobago, North Beach Road Umdloti
2nd August 2009 Hey guys, I saw a pod of what looked to be around 4-5 Humpback whales off the Umdloti Tidal pool on Sunday (from Cozumel). I think it was Humpbacks because of the frequent breeching. Awesome sight to behold and just need to invest in a decent camera to post some pics next time. In fact this has been about the 3rd sighting in around 6 weeks. Just wish I could be closer. My house mate, Sean actually first made out Sundays sighting. Dave Harvey, Sea Consortium, Sub-Sahara Africa Representative (Based in Durban, South Africa), www.seacon.com.sg, South African Office: +27 31 4600700, Blackberry: +27 71 6047081, Skype: seacondavid 2nd August 2009 - 09h30 Wow thar she blows!!! just off La Mercy Beach whilst we were enjoying a Sunday brunch from our home overlooking the ocean...now, if only we were on the Bush Tavern "Whale Watchers Deck" we might have won the first whale of the month prize... but then again 9.30 am in The Bush Tavern? rather not!!! Julie Hallows 17th June 2009 Hi Guys, Just spotted a whale having a whale of a time (hee Hee) right in front of Cozumel, North Beach Road. Unfortunately I did not get a pic. Camera was at office. Not clever. But very excited to steal a few minutes to watch the awesome display. Have no idea what type of whale it was all I know is it was huge. The view from Tuscany was absolutely fabulous. Enjoy. Lynne Temlett
13th June 2009 Oh yes, we saw a whale about a week ago too! Hylton Creswell. 12th June 2009 Hiya Guys, Hooray saw my first whale of the season Friday afternoon. Always get so excited!!!! Sat on deck at the Bush having late lunch and spotted large and small blow straight out in front. Think it was feeding as it was there for nearly an hour and still there when we left around 3 ish. cheers, Jacs (Jacci Murison)
6th June 2009 PS: Spotted our first whale on Saturday +/- 15h30 swimming south. I was so excited I forgot to take a photo!! Embarrased poor old Rob from downstairs by singing a welcome to the whale (ala Nemo) instead. Sulla Smit 25th January 2009 at around 17:00 a group of surfers including myself got the fright of our lives when a 4 meter whale shark cruised past us in the line up just south of the shops-we followed its' path down to the point with numerous people on the beach confirming the sighting before it disappeared south. Another delightful visitor for the past few months is a turtle that is hanging around the point at South Beach car park-I think it's the same guy but do not know too much about them(somebody said it's a greenback turtle) anyway the turtle seems to have made Umdloti its' home for now! Michael Ryan 16th December 2008 I don't believe it. Humpback whales are still here! A wonderful display all afternoon of breehes, splashes and a fluke sticking out of the water for ages. It really has been an incredible season with more whales spotted than ever before. Surely this must be the last and we'll see of them this season. They'll all be back in June 2009 again. Bob 26th October 2008 Having a whale of a time celebrating Diwali in La Mercy!!! The whales this year have been most spectacular virtually every day for weeks now. Each year they seem to put on a bigger show now that they know it is safe off La Mercy Beach. Thank God the Unilever whaling station in Durban was closed down in 1964.....it has taken over 40 years for these beautiful mammals to recover from human greed. John Govender 18th October 2008 from Milkwood Chalets....on Saturday afternoon we watched a whale cow teaching her calf how to jump out of the water. It was actually the first time that I've seen this – besides seeing it on nature programs. Leon and Erica Viljoen
15th October 2008Incredible pictures from Rory Barber with a whale and from Sarah Jones of Rory on his paddle ski with the whale. Check out the Sarah Jones gallery for more shots 14th, 15th and 16th October,What a magnificent sight! It was the first time we had seen whales, and what a display this whale put on! this particular whale put on a stunning display – tailing we were told, to apparently cool down. It stayed in one position for three days, tail on display! Richard de Sousa 14th October 2008 I have had sightings daily of the whales during the past three weeks. Mornings, approximately 06:00 and afternoons approximately, 17:00 (North Beach past the bathing area, roughly1 km off-shore). Mornings travelling North and afternoon travelling South. Two whales in particular. Would appear to be a mother and her calf. Maybe you can answer a question for me? Why would the mother drift vertically with the tail rising above the water? Shane Haworth 13th October 2008 East Coast Radio. Two humpback whales, each
with a calf, have been spotted nurturing their young to the north of
the Umdloti River Mouth just off La Mercy Beach. The Sharks Board’s
Mike Anderson-Reed says it is a common sight at this time of the year
because the mums prefer feeding in shallow waters as it is safer for
their little ones.
“They’ll do what all mommies do and look after their calves and just
stick close inshore and then slowly, after the calves have fattened up,
they’ll move slowly back down towards the Antarctic - arriving down
there probably at the end of December.
“We have probably about 7 000 humpback whales off our coast and it’s a
pleasure to see them. I think people should go out there and enjoy it
while they can.” 14th October 2008, 10:30
Humpback whale frolics cause a commotion
By Heinz de Boer of The Pretoria News 10th September 2008 Absolutely fantastic! Two humpback whales jumping right out of the water. I've seen plenty of whales off Nova Scotia but never anything like this...awesome and unbelievable. Gill Goddard, London, U.K. 6th June 2008 First Whale of the season! Spotted from La Mercy a humpback whale frolicking just beyond the breakers. Welcome back!!!....early this year too. We have also heard that the Sardines are on their way, spotted off the Transkei Coast and heading North. Could be off Margate by mid June! 15th October 2007 What a display witnessed from our house in La Mercy – whales everywhere, at least three pods all frolicking, breaching and blowing. A magnificent school of Dolphins too. Julie and Bob 14th October 2007 Our first whale sighting from our apartment in the Tahiti complex on North Beach Road, opposite the circle – wonderful! Pierre and Sulla 13th October 2007 At least two whales seen close in from Beach Bums restaurant, whilst we were enjoying a family birthday lunch. Frank and Jenny (from Umhlanga) 3rd September 2007 Two humpbacks spent a couple of hours this morning off of South Beach diving and breaching – came quite close to shore – perhaps 200 meters. Michael L. Bennish, MD - Executive Director Mpilonhle (A Good Life) 13th August 2007 Hi guys, if people are not spotting all the whales lately, then they are not looking. We are spotting them on a daily basis now. Today an awesome sighting of mother and calf just behind the white water about 100m off shore. The dolphins have also been seen on a daily basis. Dion Bezuidenhout Drifters Dolphin Coast Inn
Click on the year to view previous sightings: 2006 Remember to send your sightings and pictures to mailto:whales@umdloti.org Umdloti also offers rich Zulu culture, with easy access to big five game reserves plus the World Heritage Sites of the beautiful St. Lucia Wetland Park and majestic uKhlahlamba (Drakensberg) mountains. Please visit our neighbours in La Mercy and our sponsors, Hlumelela Natural Products CC, who have spent a lot of time and effort collecting the material for this website and putting it all together. |
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Umdloti Beacha comparative guide, objective and independentContact Julie or Bob your web-hosts |
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