A WHALE OF A BIRTH EXPERIENCE!

Imagine waiting for the birth of your baby while watching the whales in labour! Because we live 4 hours from my midwife, we had to be near her for the birth of my daughter. We rented a small house on the Cape coast to await Baby Buckaroo's arrival. Little did we know, as we walked the beaches and splashed in the waves, that we were there during the birth season of whales!

While my husband and I are both swimmers - I having grown up on South Africa's beautiful south coast and being both lifesaver and swimming teacher - we now live far inland. And not just away from the ocean but in semi desert. The countryside is also currently going into its sixth year of drought. Apart from our homesteads icy cold dam/reservoir that waters our fields, livestock and homes my son doesn't know large bodies of water. He was fascinated!

My two year old took to the "big dam" like the proverbial duck to water. While I waddled my 40 week pregnant self in the shallows my more mobile husband played with our little boy in the crashing waves. And then we noticed big blasts of water not too far from shore. It was such a special experience.

Virtually every day for those three weeks we would watch one or sometimes two whales doing their slow dance of labour. For such massive animals they really move with incredible grace. I was amazed to hear that for four months of the calving season the pregnant female doesn't eat but survives off the reserves of blubber on her body!

Here in South Africa our sea has 37 different species of whale. The most common being the Southern Right whale as well as the Humpback whale. Apart from the whales were were also blessed with sighting dolphins one day. Then on two occasions while enjoying the water we saw seals also frolicking in the waves! It was truly spectacular.

We are now back home on our beautiful though dry homestead. Complete with our growing farm boy, a precious little girl and some wonderful memories of her birth.