Kiteboarding with Whales in Cape Town
Kiteboarding with Whales in Cape Town. That’s just one of the highlights in this feel-good video from Sam. It’s full of action, laughs and ‘oh no’ moments as he kites with his mates; plus plenty of shenanigans that you probably shouldn’t try yourself, and one crazy synchronized kiteloop involving no less than 5 kiteboarders launching off the same wave. That one, is definitely for the pro’s only.
Now before you get any ideas about kiting out to find some whales this winter (it’s getting to that time of year!) lets refresh the rules for doing so in Australia.
Kiteboarding near Whales - The Rules
At all times, you must endeavor to stay 100m from whales in all directions. You also cannot approach from directly behind (chase the whales) or kite in front of the whales and wait for them to swim to you. (Although if you’re game enough to sit in the water and wait for a whale, good for you!)
Whales are very inquisitive, so if a whale wants to have a closer look at you, let it do so and consider yourself extremely lucky.
Be extra careful if the whale pods have calves in tow. These are large animals, but a muppet on a kite can easily startle them!
There are a few types of watercraft you cannot use to go and observe these natural beauties, including jet skis, underwater scooters, parasails and hovercraft. All of which are noisy and disruptive, so must stay at least 300m away from animals at all times.
Finally, a word of warning with video evidence of such encounters. If you are lucky enough to get extremely close to a whale (as in the video below). Before you post it online, be very (very!) sure you’ve followed the rules. You wouldn’t be the first excited kiter to chase down a whale, post the video and receive hundreds of angry letters from conservationists and whale lovers about how you broke the rules!
Shenton Park, WA
