Trip Report - Humpback whale supergroups: Simply indescribable!
Years ago, we heard about large groups of humpback whales that are said to be sighted off the coast of South Africa during the southern summer, which is actually outside of whale season. Our trip leader Alex has discovered South Africa for himself in recent years and in January 2025 made his first attempt to get to the bottom of this phenomenon of humpback whale supergroups – and was richly rewarded! It quickly became clear that we at Moby Wildlife Tours wanted to show this spectacle to our guests!
And so, in January 2026, we set off with a group of like-minded people to the picturesque west coast of South Africa, hoping to share our fascination with humpback whales.
We hit the jackpot on the first two days! We were lucky enough to encounter fantastic conditions and experience several super groups. The energy of these groups is simply indescribable and left all participants speechless. Hundreds of bubbles per minute, flukes everywhere you look, the special smells and sounds – and all this with only one boat in the area! Even if you have experienced the phenomenon several times before, you are still overwhelmed every time.
In just three days, our trip leader Alex photographed around 120 different whale flukes. In most places, you might not collect that many fins in years! We upload these images to Happywhale to see where our whales will be sighted again in the future.
The supergroups off South Africa are a mystery. Of the more than 1,200 animals seen feeding around Cape Town this year, only a handful have ever been documented outside South Africa. Where do all these whales go after their big feed on the west coast? Scientists at the University of Pretoria are also investigating these questions, and we hope to have many answers in the coming years!
In addition to humpback whales, we also saw many other animals during our week there. We saw dusky and Heavyside's porpoises several times. We also saw sunfish, penguins, albatrosses, hundreds of fur seals, and many other seabirds. The biodiversity in South Africa is truly special!
Another highlight was a humpback whale that posed perfectly for us with Table Mountain in the background! What a sight!
On two days, the wind blew a little too strongly, so we took a closer look at the west coast north of Cape Town. Beautiful dunes, long beaches, and the enchanting West Coast National Park made the days on land fly by.
The week was rounded off with great presentations, delicious food, and a fantastic atmosphere within the group—it was really good fun!
If you're interested in joining us next year, you should get in touch soon! There are only a few spots left for 2027.