June to November

Whale season, watched from the terrace.

Southern right whales come into this bay every winter to calve — close enough in that you watch them from the sand, or from the house with coffee in hand. This footage was filmed by a friend of the house, over the water along this same stretch of the Tergniet coastline. If you are looking for whale-watching accommodation in Mossel Bay, this is the house.

The season

They arrive at the end of June. They leave in November.

Southern right whales migrate up from the Southern Ocean each winter to calve in the sheltered bays of this coast. The first arrive in late June; the mothers and new calves stay through the spring, with August and September the peak; by mid-November they are gone.

They come remarkably close in. On calm mornings you spot the blows from the beach, and the pairs drift along the back line slowly enough that a whole breakfast can happen around one sighting. No boat required — though Mossel Bay runs licensed whale-watching trips twenty minutes away if you want the close view.

Follow the season as it happens — whale photos and updates go up on Instagram at @431kusweg and on Facebook.

A whale and her calf in turquoise water off the Tergniet beach
Southern right whale with her calf alongside, in the bay at Tergniet

Honestly told

This is winter. Not Christmas.

We say it on every page and we will say it here: if you book December expecting whales, you will be disappointed — by then they have gone south again. December belongs to the dolphins.

But if you can travel between June and November, you get the whales, the mildest winter on this coastline — rarely under 10°C — empty beaches, and the house at its cheapest.

The winter arithmetic

Whale season is also the cheapest season.

Outside the school holidays the house runs at 70% of the December rate — and monthly stays of 28 nights or more take a further 20% off that.

Whale-season ratePer nightA whale-season month
28+ nights, 80% of season
Either unit — top sleeps 5, bottom sleeps 6R5 600R4 480 / night
Whole house — sleeps 11R10 150R8 120 / night

Minimum stays outside peak are flexible — ask. R5 600 a night for a whole unit sleeping five, whales included.

Ask about whale-season dates   See the house

The big four

Whales. Dolphins. Sharks. And, once in a while, orcas.

All four swim this stretch of coast, and all four are on this page as they were really filmed — by a friend of the house, with his drone, along the Tergniet coastline within a kilometre of the house. No stock footage. Whales in winter, dolphins through the summer, sharks patrolling the backline — and an orca, caught on camera.

The closest look we have ever had — an orca just under the surface, filmed from directly above.
A southern right cow and her calf off Tergniet, filmed from above.
And once in a while this coast outdoes itself — even orcas have been spotted here. Filmed by the same friend, off this coast.
A pod of dolphins in the turquoise shallows off Tergniet
A pod working along the beach in the summer shallows.
A shark cruising the clear shallows behind the surf line
A shark on the backline patrol — the clear-water silhouette every drone pilot hopes for.

From this bay

Photographed here, not borrowed.

Every whale on this page was photographed over the water in front of this stretch of coast. Like everything on this site — no stock images.

Two southern right whales side by side off Tergniet
Two southern rights off Tergniet
A whale rolling at the surface
Rolling at the surface
A whale blowing off the beach
The blow you spot from the beach
A whale turning below the drone
Turning below the drone

Ask about whale-season dates   See the house