The whales returning to Hermanus have been honored with the new IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) Whale Walk, reports the Hermanus Tourism Bureau.    The cliff paths along the Walker Bay coastline in Hermanus afford the town the honor of offering the best land-based whale watching in the world. 

Thanks to the sponsorship by the IFAW, eight information boards relating to whales and dolphins have been erected along the coastal walkway. The boards were developed by Oceans for Africa's Noel Ashton, a highly regarded whale illustrator.  The IFAW protects wild and domestic animals, and also advocates the protection of whales at the International Whaling Commission.

Dr Peter Best of the Mammal Research Institute estimates that the number of Southern Right whales visiting South Africa from May to December is growing by 7 % per year, reports the Hermanus Times. 

In 2006 as many as 140 whales were counted in Walker Bay during a weekly whale count in the greater Hermanus area.

Zolile Baleni has been appointed to take over from Wilson Salukazana as Hermanus' Whale Crier, the only such person in the world to announce the sighting of whales with his kelp horn. 

South Africa's previous International Whaling Commission representative and deputy chairman has joined the controversial Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.  Horst Kleinschmidt is highly regarded and has been appointed to Sea Shepherd's advisory board, and as a director of its South African branch.   

The Society has become known for its aggressive means of stopping Japanese boats from catching as many as 900 whales in the Antarctic every year.  According to the Cape Argus, Kleinschmidt joined the Society because it is the only body to actively encourage anti-whaling.    Henrich serves on the Society's international Board of Scientific, Technical and Conservation Advisors.

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