June 2, 2025 – Page 2 of 2 – St Francis Today

St Francis Bay Welcomes The Whales – Various Exciting Happenings 6 – 9 June – Check Out The Info!

by SFT | Jun 2, 2025 | St Francis

ST FRANCIS BAY WELCOMES THE WHALES

6 – 8 JUNE 2025
The Bay, The Port and The Cape come together for a celebration of the sea

Monday, 02 June 2025 – St Francis – including The Bay, The Port and The Cape – will once again come alive as the whales return to their coastline. From 6 to 8 June 2025, families, locals, and visitors are invited to participate in a weekend that celebrates these magnificent giants of the ocean with various events across the village.

A programme for all ages

The weekend kicks off on Friday, 6 June, at Cape St Francis Resort with Whale Tails, a 360° sensory experience presented by Silent Soul. Children and adults alike will be able to lie back on bean bags, put on a headset, and be transported into the underwater world of whales through immersive storytelling, visuals and sound. Sessions run every 30 minutes from 4pm to 7pm.

On Saturday morning, the beachfront at Cape St Francis Resort hosts A Whale of a Time, a sandcastle building competition open to teams of two or more, hosted by Just Property. From families to friends or corporate teams, all are welcome, with great prizes to be won.

At 10:15 am, the Welcome the Whales Silent Soul Experience offers a beach-based wellness session. Guests are invited to stretch, breathe and listen to whale songs while guided through light movement, a calming way to connect with nature.

From 10am to 2pm, a Mini Market at St Francis Brewery will showcase local produce, crafts, and food. Entry is free and the market offers a relaxed way to enjoy the day while supporting local crafters.

The Whale Tails experience returns from 1pm to 4pm at the Resort, followed by a rare opportunity to hear from marine conservationist Lloyd Edwards at 2pm. Lloyd, from Raggy Charters, has travelled the world to study whale behaviour and drive conservation efforts. His talk at Cape St Francis Resort promises deep insight into global marine research.

Sunday’s trail

Sunday’s focus is on nature and reflection. At 10am, the Trail of the Whale begins from Seal Point Lighthouse and winds along the Wildside Trail to Sunset Rock. This self-guided walk allows participants to set their own pace, with Tim Christy and his team from St Francis Safaris and the team of St Francis Sport positioned along the route to assist with whale sightings and point out other marine life.

Weekend highlights and specials

Throughout the weekend, St Francis Safaris will offer guided whale watching cruises at 9am, 1pm and 3pm daily. In celebration of the event, they’re running a two-for-one special – pay for one guest and bring a second for free.

Kids can also take part in the Whale Art competition. From drawings to decorated models, artwork can be submitted at the Cape St Francis Resort or the St Francis Tourism Office by Thursday, 5 June. Prizes will be awarded on Saturday.

Local restaurants will be highlighting the Calamari Route, a nod to the bay’s seafood heritage and one of the Whales favourite snacks.

For tickets, visit www.quicket.co.za, buy on the day at the venues, or contact St Francis Tourism on 060 53 0516.

It’s going to be a weekend to remember – see you there.

WHATS ON DIARY

St Francis Bay Welcomes the Whales | 6–8 June 2025
Celebrate the return of the whales with a weekend of family-friendly events including whale watching cruises, immersive experiences, beach yoga, live music, kids’ art, markets and more. Activities take place across The Bay, The Port and The Cape. Tickets via Quicket or St Francis Tourism.

DATES: 6–8 June 2025

TIMES: Various times, refer to the schedule available on Quicket

VENUES: St Francis Bay, Cape St Francis

PRICES: Various ticket prices, refer to Quicket.

ABOUT ST FRANCIS – The Bay, The Port and The Cape

Experience the unspoiled beauty of the greater St Francis area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Where pristine beaches, charming villages, abundant wildlife, fauna and flora await. Enjoy thrilling water sports, the great outdoors, incredible bird-watching spots, and world-class golf courses. It’s an untouched paradise, just waiting for you to explore.

CONTACT

Hantie van der Westhuizen

Office Manager

042 294 0076 / 0605310516

office@stfrancistourism.co.za

www.stfrancistourism.co.za

Read further: All the event details cane be found on the St Francis Tourism website here

Further reading: Blue Cheese on Wheels: A Surf Dad Story

Challenger Series Adds Pipeline and Newcastle to 2025-26 Schedule

by Craig Jarvis | Jun 2, 2025 | Surf News, World Surf League

—

Press Release

LOS ANGELES, Calif., USA (Sunday, June 1, 2025). The World Surf League (WSL) today announced that the Challenger Series Adds Pipeline and Newcastle to 2025-26 Schedule. This will be to help decide the qualifiers for the 2026 Championship Tour (CT). Pipeline will be added to the schedule as the penultimate event. Newcastle will return as the seventh and final event of the season.

With the recently announced changes to the Championship Tour schedule and format, this season’s Challenger Series season will now run from June 2025 to March 2026. The last two events being held at Pipeline in January and Newcastle in March. It will be the first time since 2022 that a wave on the North Shore of O’ahu in Hawai’i has counted for Challenger Series points. Also, the first time since 2020 that Pipeline has contributed to a surfer’s CT qualification.

Pipeline is one of, if not the most, important waves in surfing, playing host to some of the biggest moments in the culture and the sport. Its addition to the Challenger Series schedule will give the next crop of CT surfers a taste of competition at one of the most perfect and intense waves on the planet. This will ensure each batch of qualifiers is being prepared for the intensity of the Tour.

Pipeline and Newcastle

“The WSL is super excited to announce that Pipeline and Newcastle will be the last two stops of the Challenger Series this season,“ said WSL Senior Tour Manager Travis Logie. “Pipeline is the ultimate proving ground and one of the most perfect yet challenging waves on the planet. For the next crop of CT surfers to get the opportunity to compete out there is a huge step forward for the Challenger Series. Not to mention incredibly exciting for our fans to enjoy two major events at Pipe in just a couple of months. To then finish the season and decide our CT qualifiers at the iconic Newcastle SURFEST is amazing. It’s an event with so much surf history. The whole town gets behind it. To see our CS surfers realize their dreams in front of thousands of fans at Merewether will be a huge moment.“

In 2026, the iconic Newcastle SURFEST will celebrate its 40th anniversary. This will cement the event as one of the longest-running professional surfing competitions in the world. Born from one of the most passionate and talent-producing towns in Australian surfing, Newcastle SURFEST has been won by the biggest names in the sport. This includes Kelly Slater, Stephanie Gilmore, Tom Curren, Layne Beachley, Mick Fanning, Frieda Zamba and Mark Occhilupo. With so much history to celebrate, it will be a fitting location to decide the qualifiers for the 2026 Championship Tour.

Pictured: Challenger Series Adds Pipeline and Merewether, which will host the final event of the Challenger Series. It will decide the qualifiers for the 2026 Championship Tour. Credit: WSL

2025-26 WSL Challenger Series Schedule:

Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia: June 2 – 8, 2025
Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: June 30 – July 6, 2025
Huntington Beach, California, USA: July 29 – August 3, 2025 (US Open festival window: July 26 – August 3)
Ericeira, Portugal: September 29 – October 5, 2025
Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: October 11 – 19, 2025
Pipeline, Hawai’i, USA: January 28 – February 8, 2026
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia: March 8 – 15, 2026

At the end of the season, the top 10 men and seven women from the Challenger Series Rankings will earn a spot on the 2026 CT. The best five of a possible seven results count towards each competitor’s end-of-season ranking.

Both the Challenger and CT schedules are transitioning into their new looks and seasons. Therefore, as a one-off, for the 2025-26 season, the Burton Automotive Newcastle SURFEST will count twice in the one season. Merewether will host the opening and closing events of this year’s Challenger Series.

The regional Qualifying Series (QS) will continue as a year-round series in each of the seven WSL regions, with a specific number of surfers from each region graduating from the top of the QS rankings to the Challenger Series each year.

Next Entries »