If you have never seen whales calving before, now is the time to book cheap flightsto George and experience this phenomena for yourself. The Garden Route is proudly showing off the whales, some of which have travelled all the way from Antarctica, to breed and calve in South Africa’s warmer waters.
The Garden Route plays host annually to a fantastic display of whales between July and December each year. If you are lucky enough to get time off work at short notice, and book a trip to the Garden Route, you will be blessed with fantastical sightings of Southern Right Whales, Humpbacks, and Bryde Whales. Killer Whales and Orcas can be seen here all year round, but because they are so rarely sighted, many people do not ever get to see them at all.
Whale-watching Route along the Garden Route
Driving the entire Garden Route is going to prove to be a long trip, so why not decide on a chunk of coastline that’s magically scenic and guaranteed to offer you clear sightings of whales? A recommended route for whale-watching along the Garden Route is to fly to George, pick up a car rental, and then wind your way along the coast to Buffalo Bay in Knysna. This is not the longest route, but it is one that is short enough to do in a day, making it the ideal road trip for those who want to get cheap flights to George and spend a weekend whale-watching. Thewhales are known to do a fair amount of their frolicking in the waters of Buffalo Bay.
This route is a 60km drive and should take around an hour to do. However, it is highly recommended to stop along the way to look out over the expansive ocean – you never know what you might see.
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Want a Closer View of the Whales?
Is a self-drive coastal tour going to be enough to satisfy your curiosity? Probably not! If you want to get a closer look at the whales, we recommend that you hop onboard one of the manywhale-watching tour vessels that are currently operating in the area. Ocean Odyssey takes 25 passengers onto the water at a time and gets close enough for a clear view of the gentle giants without endangering anyone’s life or encroaching on their space.
To make this trip, it is still recommended that you take the scenic drive from George to Knysna and head to the Thesen Island jetty where you canboard awhale-watching vessel. From Thesen Island, you will be taken to the Knysna Lagoon via the Knysna Heads.
Don’t be concerned that your trip out to sea will be to no avail.Whale-watching companies have a look-out sitting on top of a hill with a clear view of the ocean. They use radio communication to let vessel skippers know where the whales are frolicking each day.
When you board a whale-watching vessel,you can expect to learn a lot more about the whales than you would otherwise do on a self-drive and shore-watching adventure. The guides will feed your curiosity withinteresting facts about whales such as the fact that a whale’s milk is so fatty that it has a paste-like consistency, or you might be enthused to learn that a baby whale makes its debut into the world already weighing a whopping 1 ton!
Regardless of how you choose to encounter the whales on the Garden Route, you are bound to have an experience that is life changing.
How to Get There
If you are not from the Garden Route, you will need to travel to the area. Use our quick and easy flight search feature above to book cheap flights to George. You will find car hire readily available and affordable in George. Take a leisurely drive along the coast and spoil yourself to an afternoon on a Whale-watching vessel. You won’t be disappointed.