South Africa’s so-called Big Five will soon become the Big Seven, when the whale and the shark are officially added to this tourist “tick list”. The department of Environmental Affairs has decided to add the two ocean predators to the current Big Five, which are the lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo. This as “a very significant move for tourism as we will become the only country in the world to boast a Big Seven. We can offer tourists, amongst other things, a shark dive in Gansbaai. We will be marketing these animals - sharks and whales - to the whole world. It will have a significant impact on tourism.”

The arrival of the Southern Right Whales to the Cape Whale Coast every year between June and November brings a flurry of tourists to our shores.  Southern Rights, the less common Bryde’s (pronounced ‘broodess’) and Humpback Whales are frequently sited along the Cape Overberg Coast from Stony Point near Betty’s Bay, along the cliff paths of Kleinmond, Onrus, Walker Bay, the De Hoop Nature Reserve and Witsand. These marine giants spend summer feeding around Antarctica and then migrate thousands of miles to our waters where the sheltered bays of the South African coast provide perfect refuge to mate and calve.