Whale watching in Sierra Leone

Whale watching? Really? Are there whales in the coast of Sierra Leone?

A friend of us arranged a boat trip to see them. We went into one of the Sea Coach boats for 20 people; and since I was traveling with my 3 children, it was really a relief to use a stable boat with shadow. They also provided life jackets.

Boarding the Sea Coach boat in Banana Island, Sierra Leone

Departing a bit after 9am from Aberdeen, Freetown, it took us around 2 hours to get to Banana Island. On the way, the captain stopped few times to ask the fishermen whether they had seen the whales, and they pointed towards the sea. Do not expect sophisticated spotting methods here. All the same, we got to Banana Island without having seen any whale, hearing afterwards that it was too late in the morning to see them anyway.

Fresh coconuts were waiting for us at arrival, which were very welcome for those of us who felt sick after the trip (me). Bafa resort is one of my favourite beach places in Sierra Leone, you can see that the owner has made an effort to use local materials, and he has cleared the land respecting the trees and planting few more plants to make it look really pretty in a natural way.

Swimming in the rocks at Bafa resort, low tide

After a bit of swimming in the rocks, we were served lunch on a pretty table with table cloth and textile napkins. Fish carpaccio with bread, buttered fish fingers, barbecued fish with fried bananas and rice, and when we thought we were definitely finished, four lobsters landed on the table. Good to note too: the water bottles are packaged by them with purified and filtered water, and labelled as Bafa Resort water: a good initiative of local production! 

Lunch at Bafa resort

Considering the heat, and that we still had to take the boat back, I do not think anybody ventured to the bar, but, hey, it did look inviting!

Bafa resort

At 2pm we left again with the boat and returned by circling the island on the left into its northern tip. from there we finally got a glimpse of a whale! It is really hard to take a picture, since at the moment you spot the whale, it is already gone. Honestly, it is pretty difficult to catch sight of one, the ocean is big (this sounds really obvious), and the surface reflects the light like a mirror. So you will see a whale at the moment that is is going out for breathing, and being lucky, if it jumps out of the water. After a while we also saw a couple of dolphins jumping and swimming relatively close to the boat, which was a nice treat.

Two hours later, with most of us half dozing, we arrived back to Freetown; a well spent Sunday! For the record, Greg Deli, at Dalton Banana Guesthouse is also organising whale watching trips departing from Banana island; check it out!

Humpback whales, the ones most commonly seen around Banana island, have wide migratory patterns, and are relatively easy to spot due to the fact that they are close to the shore, and surface active. The NOAA website has quite some information on this kind of whales, as well as the Wildlife Conservation Society and the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature); have a look!

I have tried to find out more on the whales we saw, and their migration pattern. Some sources explain that humpback whales go feeding to the Antarctica, and return to West Africa for breeding, although I have read that they go as far as Benin. Sierra Leone lies above the equator, so above Benin, and I wonder then whether those whales come all the way from the Antarctica, or if they come from another migrating route. If you know more, please, leave me a comment!