Sometimes I wonder if these fabulous stories about these places you read about in guidebooks are real, or if they are just a figment of the author that gets paid by the local tourism office? Are the amazing things always so amazing? Unique places really so unique? The phenomenal truly a phenomena?
Same goes for the Whale Route. You see the high gloss pictures of breaching whales in many magazines, websites or brochures… but do they really exist?
We have done the Whale Route a couple of times now: it is only 50 kilometers away from Cape Town and a perfect trip for an easy Sunday. The R44 starts near Gordon’s Bay, the small and winding costal road leads you through a stunning scenery of mountains, beaches and a generous view of the False Bay. Countless lay-bys bordering the road, invite you to stop and scan the ocean for the huge animals that gave the route its name.
To answer the question – yes – they exist. And oh my god, they are beautiful! You can watch them for hours, playing, breaching (if you’re lucky), blowing or just doing nothing while bobbing up and down, showing their vast grey back every now and then, submerging under the opaque skin of the ocean, just to arise somewhere else under the excited cries of the watchers.
Nobody can promise you will see whales if you are there, but they exist in large numbers, so the chances are really high.
There are so many amazing spots on the route, even if you don’t see any whales, you can visit the penguin colony at Stony Point in Betty’s Bay, have a walk on the beach at the Kogel Bay, have a coffee at the harbor in Kleinmond, while watching the fishermen coming back from their draught, gutting the snoek on the massive concrete tables or just sit in Hermanus on the promenade, observing the waves rolling in…and of course the whales.
Here is my offering for the whale altar:There is a place where feosrt and mountains and sea come together. Joining them together is a wide ribbon of many colored pebbles and rocks and shells and sea glass, each with a story to share. They can be heard in the gentle sighing as the wavelets caress them and recede. An altar has been created from large flat rocks and drift wood. The rocks have been carried from the mountains to the sea by rains & winds. These rocks are cool & slightly damp to touch. The slabs are tones of gray & faintly sparkle with flecks of mica & pyrite. The driftwood is soft brown, whitened by the salts & minerals of the sea. We come here, those of us who are Dreamers. We have come in our own time; some singly, some in groups. This is an altar to the whales & others who dwell in the waters of the Mother. Though the altar is bare at first, we offer our gifts to the waters & place them on & around it. Each offering is unique to each Dreamer. Some are objects, some are thought forms, some dance, some sing, some offer the quiet & healing of meditation & prayer. The altar seems to expand to hold all of these so that they are not crowded. We each depart in our own time & along our own path. But we never truly leave. Perhaps in time, this altar, this space, will become a meeting place for all Dreamers in all dimensions. Perhaps it will become a sanctuary; a place of refuge. As we part each is gifted with a symbol that is unique to them to help them with the pathwork of their Dreaming.Blessings to all.