Umdloti Beach

Whale Sightings Register

When you spot whales or dolphins off Umdloti Beach, send us an e-mail and we will record your sighting on this page. Also remember THE BUSH TAVERN is giving away a R100 meal voucher to the person who spots of the first whale of each month from their magnificent Whale Watchers Deck - just confirm your sighting with the duty manager.

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.

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.
Thanks Shane. The bait fish that you describe were almost certainly sardines. The sardine shoals are very late this year and have failed to beach along the South Coast like they usually do. Dubbed "The Greatest Shoal on Earth" these massive shoals of sardines visit our shores annually in June and July with the associated dolphins, sharks, gannets and gulls feeding off them. For more info visit the BBC science pages regards, Bob

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)
Did you claim your R100,00 from the Bush Tavern? - Bob

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
Interesting Sulla, the Humpback whales that visit us annually normally swim north in June and then back south with their calves from October onwards. Your sighting could have been a Southern Right whale which are seen all year round but far less frequently - well spotted!, Bob

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.”
If you would like to catch a glimpse of the whales calving, Anderson-Reed says, “The best place to go at the moment will probably be along the lower La Mercy Road, along the beach there. They are very close inshore so they are very visible.”

14th October 2008, 10:30 Humpback whale frolics cause a commotion By Heinz de Boer of The Pretoria News
Migrating humpback whales frolicking off Durban and the coast are causing a stir among motorists and seaside revellers who are being treated to spectacular viewings. A small pod of humpback whales doing "headstands" and flicking their fins in the air near La Mercy on the north coast on Tuesday morning caused a commotion, as dozens of motorists pulled off the road to take photographs. First spotted swimming in tandem with about 15 dolphins, one of the whales suddenly dived down and lifted its massive rear fins, or flukes, into the air. The sudden manoeuvre and it remaining in the head-down position for about five minutes sparked a flurry of calls to the Natal Sharks Board. But Sharks Board spokesperson Mike Anderson-Reid said the spectacular headstand was common behaviour for these whales, which are now migrating to Cape waters after having swum into the Mozambique Channel earlier in 2008. And with an estimated 6 500 humpback whales in South African waters, chances are that whale watchers will get even better sightings until the end of November. "It is a very busy time of year for whales when they again start migrating southward," Anderson-Reid said. Humpback whale populations were almost wiped out before a ban on whaling in 1964, because of their natural tendency to remain close inshore. The humpback is one of the best-observed species of whale and is easily recognised by its distinctive hump just below its dorsal fin. Whale pods are often spotted when individuals burst out of the water, creating huge splashes. Southern right whales, which are not encountered as frequently as humpbacks, are also in local waters at the moment, and often venture extremely close inshore.

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!

15^th 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

14^th October 2007

Our first whale sighting from our apartment in the Tahiti complex on North Beach Road, opposite the circle – wonderful! Pierre and Sulla

13^th 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)

3^rd 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

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We acknowledge, with thanks, input to this website from the following people and organisations: Technorati Profile, Hlumelela Natural Products CC, ADT security, Dolphin View, Drifters, The Dune, Rising Moon, Nostalgia, Club Mykonos, Umdloti Letting, Umdloti Holiday Resort, Umdloti Conference Centre, 121 Cozumel, Die Strandhuis, Umdloti Beach Cottage, Umdloti Bottle Store, Aqua Tours, Headquarters Beauty Salon, Tahiti, Umdloti Rate Payers Association, Umdloti Bush Tavern and we acknowledge the following for “just being” in Umdloti Beach: Sea Haven, Gully Point, Java Cafe, Umdloti, Spindrift, Sea Villa, Brenda Perry, Fairlight Beach House, African Ocean, Mei-Pen-Lai, The Rusty Anchor, Milkwood, Kaitaia, Gracie's Place, Beachbreak House, Lalaphansi, Mallorca, Surfside, Cascades, Carmarque, Marginella, Cozumel, Mahe Sea View, Isikhulu, Cottonlands Accommodation, Villa Ladera, Perna Perna, High Seas, Umdloti Beach Guest House, Blue Mango Restaurant, Beach Bums, Bel Punto Restaurant, La Casa Nostra , Bonjour, Steers, Spar, Umdloti Hardware, Umdloti Pharmacy, Tape Shapes, Wellesley Stables, SASSPA, Ukuthula, Mangwanani Day Spa, Carpe Diem.

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