The beautiful Knysna lagoon, featured on almost every Garden Route postcard, is a truly fascinating place, and I’m not just talking about what can be seen above the water. As is the case with most beautiful things, Knysna lagoon has hidden depths and is considered to be one of the most dangerous harbours in the world, as it has not one but two sandbars!
During our TravelGround Knysna weekend I had the pleasure of sitting down with the very friendly Evelyn Pepler from Ocean Odyssey and Springtide Charters, a company which offers lagoon cruises, whale watching tours, and eco-tours. She shed some light on on-going educational and community outreaches, and her charming husband Stephan later took us around the lagoon and out to the nearby Needle Caves – which was an incredible experience.
Unique Features
One of the most unique features about Ocean Odyssey, is permitted to be up to 50m from the whales, giving you a close encounter you won’t experience anywhere else. During mating season the female whales often swim much closer to the boat, likely in the hopes that the males won’t follow her – which will give you wonderful photography opportunities.
The company has a very high whale-spotting success rate in comparison to their competitors, and have spotted whales almost daily since 20 June 2013. They make use of shore-side assistance – to ensure that their guests get the best possible experience when out and about with them. Two sturdy young men take to scooters and head up to the Heads with binoculars. They then get to spot the whales before the boats, and safely direct Stephan out to meet the pods.
Tour Options
With three boats in operation, visitors have a variety of cruises to choose from. Breakfast and overnight cruises can also be arranged. Visit their website for pricing and enquiries.
Romantic: Springtide Charters offers stunning sunset cruises around Knysna lagoon and to the Knysna heads on their 50-foot charter yacht. You will get a beautiful view of the town as you bask in the fading sunset glow surrounded by soft lounge music. Also, you can indulge in the heavenly finger foods and champagne laid out for you … tres chic!
Whale Watching: Knysna predominantly has Menlyn Whales and Humpback Whales visiting during the temperate winter season, though recently there’s also been an increase in the Southern right Whales and Bright Whales visiting. The Ocean Odyssey will take you through the Knysna heads and around to Buffelo Bay, giving you the chance to view Needle Caves and other marine life, and can come within 50m of the whales, giving visitors a fantastic and up-close experience.
Eco-Tours: Visitors are taken around the lagoon on the Oyster Catcher, and learn about the ecosystem in play, viewing pelagic birds of the estuary and sea such as Terns, Cape Cormorants, and Shearwater petrels. Your captain will also give you more insight into the marine lifestyle of dolphins, whales, seals, sharks, and the tiny Knysna seahorse.
On most of the tours, you’ll gain a healthy awareness of the dangers humanity is doing to this fragile ecosystem; you’ll soon pick up on this when you see a Shy Albatrosses flying inland – a more common sight as the months go by. This is likely due to trawlers, which are not controlled by an administrative body, overfishing at sea, and forcing these deep-sea birds to come inland to find food.
Social Responsibility
Apart from the sailing charters and tours, Evelyn is a driving force behind educating the local children about conservation. She believes if you educate children about marine ecology and the effects of pollution while they’re still at school, they will become more passionate about protecting their heritage as they grow up.
She is currently involved with community outreaches at local government schools, taking children out on day trips and assisting in putting up factual and informative educational modules in nearby sanctuaries and wild life centres. Springtide Charters is also involved in a community project, affiliated with the group Edge of Africa.
The Edge of Africa group is made up of international volunteers, predominantly marine and elephant researchers, who help out part-time at a youth sporting goods store. Customers to this store who bring in a pair of old sports shoes have their name entered into a hat, and the winner will then receive a reduced rate on one of Springtide Charters cruises. The shoes are given to the township children using a points exchange. The children earn points by bringing in glass, paper, and metal to the swap shop – helping to keep their community clean. In turn, they receive shoes and can enjoy extra mural activities they wouldn’t be able to. Other items available in the point swap include toothpaste, toothbrushes, and stationery.
Our Springtide Charters Experience
Salt-scented air, sea spray, and the fragile hidden world below the waves makes the ocean a mesmerizing draw card for most people, who feel both intrigue and terror when heading out to sea. Our content team was lucky enough to be taken out by Stephan of Springtide Charters, and we couldn’t have asked for a better morning as the sunlight poured down on us after a day and half of rain. It was quite choppy when we headed out onto the lagoon, and we spent quite a bit of time trying to photograph the shore, the two headlands, and caves hidden from view by curves of the limestone cliff-face, before we headed out through the heads and onto the open waters.
The waves rose and fell around us, and though the Springtide spotter was on the lookout for whales, we’d arrived a bit too early to catch any action. As we had limited time, Stephan steered Oyster Catcher closer to the cliff-face curve, so we could view the nearby Needle Caves, which stood out due to their white coating. These caves are only reachable by sea, and the stalactites dotted about on their ceilings are not your run-of-the-mill rock-formations, but are instead salt formed features. They took thousands of years to come into creation, and were formed by salt left behind from the waves which hardened over time to form slender white stilettos.
It was truly an unforgettable and informative trip, learning about the pelagic birds, history of the cliffs, and marine life, and we highly recommend that you try a trip with Springtide Charters when next in Knysna.
Let us know where you’ve gone whale watching!
Main image courtesy of Stephan Pepler (Springtide Charters)
