Ocean Odyssey is Knysna’s only official whale watching permit holder in the area. Our Close Encounter Whale Watching Tours offers a unique experience for passengers as we traverse the Garden Route coastline in search of our migratory giants – Humpback & Southern Right Whales – annually from June to November.
With a maximum capacity of 25 passengers per tour, expect an intimate and personalised experience aboard our vessel which is accompanied by our skilled skipper and nature site guide. The tour departs from Thesen Island marina and cruises through the diverse Knysna estuary up to the impressive, rugged headlands. Passing through the Knysna Heads is an experience on its own! Once we skilfully manoeuvre our way through the headlands, we enter the vast Indian ocean where all the fun begins!
Keep your eyes peeled for the tell-tale signs of whales – their distinctive blow, a large body jumping out of the ocean and/or a big white splash! But you aren’t the only ones looking, our eagle eye spotter located at elevated viewpoints on the headlands is keeping a close eye on the coastline and communicating any activity to our crew and directing the vessel to sightings – this helps increase chances of sightings as this is marine life in their natural environment!
Approaching our gentle giants is done with incredible skill and respect. Our permit allows us to approach whales up to 50 meters, but it’s not uncommon to encounter curious whales that approach the vessel, and, in this instance, we remain stationery and observe their beauty until they move along. Whales are not the only marine life that can be experienced on this tour, our coastline is teeming with three species of dolphins – Bottlenose, Common and Humpback dolphin, Cape Fur seals, Brydes Whales (Non-migratory whale) African penguins, pelagic birdlife and from time to time depending on water clarity you may sight a shark or two! Whilst sighting the array of marine life that can be experienced, we also highlight the beauty of our unique coastline – the caves, and coves, cliffs and beaches – the magnificent natural scenery perfectly compliments the experience!
The duration of the activity is 1.5-2 hours and is sea and weather conditions permitting! We highly recommend booking this for the first day you are in the area, in the event of poor conditions we can reschedule you to the next best ocean-going day.
Bottled Still Water
Life Jacket
CHECK-IN IS 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO DEPARTURE TIME –
All passengers are required to complete our indemnity form.
Ready to be kitted out with lifejackets and present for our pre-departure briefing.
• Minimum of 4 passengers is required to proceed.
• Please dress warmly, it’s always cooler on the ocean than on land
• Children welcome, Skipper will advise parents of young children if they feel conditions may be uncomfortable for them – please contact our offices.
• Food and beverages are NOT permitted on board – water is available and is included in the tour
Ocean Odyssey Whale Watching Knysna
We had a great time with Ocean Odyssey whale watching from Knysna, we saw a number of humpback whales, seals, hammerhead shark, as well as some gorgeous coastline! The waves are very large, and they were great for providing water and sea sickness items! Very knowledgeable guide and skipper who gave a great trip! - Holly
What a fabulous trip. We were recommended to go with Ocean Odyssey by Kanonkop House Hotel (another Knysna gem) where we stayed and were so glad we did. The crew were all great providing commentary and being very sensitive to the marine life and not intruding on them. They allowed the whales to slowly approach the boat when the motor was silent/switched off. The amount of migrating Humpback Whales we saw exceeded our expectations - for the full 1h 30mins we were barely without a sighting. The family's put on a great display lobbing in and out of the water and cresting their tails as they slowly made their way along the coast. At the end of the cruise we got a treat, and were taken into the mouths of the sea-caves and also spotted dolphin and seals before a bit of a thrill ride back into the Knysna Heads - a great experience not to be missed. I 100% recommend this company. - Christina
It was an excellent trip. We saw 2 very active pods with the Whales putting on a fabulous show for at least 30 minutes. The skipper even commented, 'best in a long time' Unfortunately, my wife was sick and missed the show! Many thanks to your efficient and friendly team. - Mike
Loved every moment, it was really a close encounter with the sea giants. Take your Motion sickness pills before hand . - Nokuthula
A fantastic experience...as a long time Knysna resident it was an opportunity to see our coastline in a different way I recommend to anyone - Gareth
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