Whale Watching Tours & Marine Life Education

Ocean Safaris has come a long way from its humble beginnings back in 1997, when owner, Lloyd Chapman would invite sunbathers on the beach to join him for a trip on his small inflatable to go look for whales, dolphins and whatever else they could find. In 1999, Lloyd merged with another marine activity company to form Ocean Safaris. At this point they started to use twin-hulled ski-boats launched off the beach, allowing for more passengers to be accommodated in greater safety. In 2000, the company again joined forces, this time with renowned marine mammal specialist, Drs Vic Cockroft and Debbie Young, founders of South Africa’s only private marine mammal research institute, the Centre for Dolphin Studies. In early 2006, Vic and Debbie opted to focus on their research, although we do still enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship with the Centre, its’ students and volunteers who all contribute to the greater understanding of our marine environment. Ocean Safaris now welcomes passengers at the conveniently located spacious shop, which also serves as an Info Centre and Internet Café, with wheelchair access and toilet facilities.

Ocean Safaris has a long standing relationship with the South African Boat-Based Whale-Watching Association (SABBWWA), which was started in 1998 in an effort to ensure the responsible and sustainable growth of this new eco-activity in the country. As such, Ocean Safaris has played a pivotal role in establishing the guidelines under which all activities of its type are conducted in South Africa. Some of the regulations to which we adhere include;

Not approaching whales to distances of less than 50 metres. Once at this aproximate  distance, we allow the whales to determine the nature and proximity of the encounter. Whales are very curious and tend to swim up to and around the boat.

Not spending more than 20 minutes with a whale, or group of whales, at a time.

No close encounters with mother/calf pairs. This is an extremely sensitive time for both mother and calf and should we find ourselves in close proximity, will move away immediately.

Should you wish to find out more about the national regulations pertaining to whale watching in South Africa, kindly visit www.cometcorp.co.za.

While every appropriate effort is made to ensure a most memorable encounter with the animals, we trust passengers will understand that the welfare of the animals we encounter is at all times of utmost importance. We also ask prospective passengers to take note that we use no technology, such as sonar or satellite transponders to locate the animals we seek. Using our combined local knowledge and eyes, we endeavour to give passengers as varied a perspective of the bays’ marine life, but cannot guarantee any specific sightings or behaviours.

The safety of our passengers is also of great importance to us. Our Skippers are all trained and accredited by the South African Maritime Safety Association and have completed the required SABBWWA modules, qualifying them to perform their respective tasks aboard. While we don’t employ qualified marine biologists, our crew are selected for their passion for the environment and a willingness to share their knowledge and experience with the public.