The 18 th annual Whale Festival in Hermanus starts today, and runs until the weekend.   Over the years the Whale Festival has been good for tourism, and accommodation establishments, restaurants and retail outlets all benefit from the event.

The focus of the Whale Festival is to celebrate the marine richness of the region, with talks by local experts on marine topics.   Wally the Whale (?!) will be present as well.  Classical music treats, an ABBA-style concert, a boxing tournament, a half marathon, kid’s morning market, winetastings, car show, lifestyle expo, as well as the Southern Right whales, are on the menu for the weekend.

The Hermanus Whale Festival is using the same logo and slogan as it did last year.  The slogan is inane: “Hermanus, the place to be”!   In a special advertising supplement in Die Burger last week, the “Cape Whale Coast” had a three-quarter page full colour advertisement, which is very poorly designed, trying to depict what the area offers – whales, penguins, wines, sharks, fynbos, golf, beaches etc.

A disturbing report in the Hermanus Times is that there are fewer whales in Walker Bay this year.    So far only 45 whales have been counted.  The norm is to count over 100 whales in October and November.   Local whale experts believe that the whales have been delayed in coming to Hermanus, and are on their way.

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com