The South African Town Where Someone Gets Paid Just to Watch for Whales

Sharing is caring!

Every morning during whale season, a man walks through Hermanus with a kelp horn around his neck. When a whale surfaces in Walker Bay below, he blows it. One long blast means a whale to the south. Three short ones means west. The whole town knows exactly what each call means. South Africa has the world’s only official whale crier, and this small coastal town would not have it any other way.

The Job Nobody Else in the World Has

Hermanus sits on the Overberg coast, about 120 kilometres east of Cape Town. It is a small, unhurried town perched above Walker Bay — a wide, sheltered inlet that curves along the base of dramatic cliffs and mountains.

Between June and November, southern right whales arrive here to rest, breed, and nurse their calves. They do not hide. They come close to the cliffs and stay for weeks, sometimes months.

In 1992, the town appointed its first official whale crier. A man named Pieter Classen was given a kelp horn, a patch of clifftop path, and a single instruction: watch the ocean, and announce what you find. The tradition has continued every season since.

What the Kelp Horn Sounds Like

The horn is made from a dried kelp stalk — a large, hollow seaweed that grows abundantly along the South African coast. When you blow it, it produces a deep, resonant sound that carries easily across the cliff edge and down into the town below.

Each call means something specific. One short blast indicates a whale to the east. Two blasts to the south. Three to the west. A long, sustained note brings people running from restaurants, guesthouses, and garden paths.

When you hear it for the first time, it does not sound like a tourist attraction. It sounds like something far older — a signal between a community and the sea that has always provided for it.

The Whales That Choose This Place

Southern right whales can reach 17 metres in length and weigh up to 80 tonnes. They are slow, curious animals — known for approaching vessels and simply watching, as though equally interested in the humans staring back.

In Walker Bay, they come to the surface just metres from shore. Mothers nurse calves in the shallows. Bulls roll slowly at the surface. And occasionally, one will launch its entire body clear of the water in a full breach — an event that brings everyone on the cliff path to an immediate, stunned stop.

Walker Bay is widely considered the finest land-based whale watching location on earth. No boat trips needed. No binoculars required. You stand on the cliff, and the whales are simply there below you.

Enjoying this? 5,600 South Africa lovers get stories like this every week. Subscribe free →

The Clifftop Path That Holds Its Breath

A 12-kilometre walking path runs along the cliff edge above Walker Bay, dotted with benches and stone lookout points. In season, you will rarely walk it alone. Families settle in at favourite spots with flasks of tea. Couples stand at the railing long after they meant to leave.

Local residents who have seen thousands of whales in their lifetimes still stop and look. There is something about watching an animal that large breathe in the ocean just below you. Time genuinely slows down.

The town also sits close to Gansbaai — a fishing village just 30 kilometres further along the coast. If Walker Bay is where you watch in wonder, Gansbaai is where South Africa’s relationship with the ocean takes a wilder, sharper edge. The two make for an unforgettable pairing.

When to Go and What to Expect

Peak season runs from August to October, when the bay fills with mothers and calves. June and July offer quieter, less crowded sightings. By late November, the whales have begun their slow journey south.

Hermanus itself is worth staying in longer than you might plan. There is a harbour fish market in the mornings, a Saturday craft market, and enough good restaurants to fill a slow week. The Overberg region — rolling wheat fields, mountain fynbos, empty beaches — rewards those who stop rushing.

Many visitors pair Hermanus with the Garden Route, which begins just east of the Overberg and unfolds for 300 kilometres of coastline and forest. The two stretches of South Africa complement each other perfectly.

A Tradition That Nobody Wants to Stop

The whale crier is not simply a novelty. He represents something the town chose — deliberately, and years before whale watching became an industry — to honour. The whales matter here. Their arrival matters. It is worth announcing.

There are other places with whale watching. There is nowhere else with a whale crier. That distinction, small as it sounds, says a great deal about the kind of town Hermanus is.

South Africa’s coast is full of surprises — from penguins colonising a Cape Town beach without asking permission to giant whales that choose one small bay above all others, year after year. The ocean here is never quite what you expect.

Standing on the cliff above Walker Bay, the kelp horn’s echo still fading over the water, watching a 15-metre whale slip silently beneath the surface — you understand exactly why people return to this coast again and again. Some places simply hold you.

You Might Also Enjoy

• The South African Fishing Town That Made Peace With the World’s Most Feared Shark — Gansbaai, 30km from Hermanus
• Why African Penguins Colonised a Cape Town Beach and Nobody Asked Them To
• The Garden Route Road Trip: The Complete South Africa Planning Guide

Plan Your South Africa Trip

Ready to explore the Whale Coast and beyond? Our complete South Africa travel guide covers everything from the best time to visit to where to stay along the Overberg coast.

Sharing is caring!