Daily Trip 27 January 2018

Guide Summary and Photographs

Our winning streak is still holding up with us having just the most awesome day out on the water. Weather wise, the sea was completely still with a welcome light breeze blowing, so we were really eager to set out today. Our boat of choice was our old faithful, Whale Whisperer, which is perfect for days like today as one really feels as though you’re fully immersed in the ocean.

Our day kicked off with a bang when Dickie, our skipper, spotted a lone Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin travelling through The Shallows. This dolphin is one of several who frequent our area, and using his dorsal fin, we were able to recognise the individual as Oupa. After watching this animal come up a few times between the swell, we moved into Jouberts Dam where our sister company lay anchored.

At Slashfin, we managed to get a few views of a large Copper Shark, who became quite curious towards the end of our time here. Once we’d seen this requiem shark a couple of times, we moved on over towards Dyer Island. Just in front of Dyer, we happened upon around 6 Giant Petrels sitting on the water. In our area, we have both the Northern and the Southern Giant Petrels come through, with one of today’s birds giving himself away by giving us a close look at the tip of his razor sharp bill. Southern Giant Petrels have a green tip to the bill where their northern cousins have more of a reddish tip.

We moved on from these giant scavenging birds to our favourite flightless friends when we stopped in Sponge Bay to try to catch sight of our endangered African Penguins. Luckily, we had quite a few around today with many sitting in one of the valleys, which seems to be a favourite hangout spot for them.

Geyser Rock was the next port of call, with us cruising into an alley choc-o-bloc full of Cape Fur Seals. On days where it’s a little warmer, these animals flock into the water in an effort to avoid the heat of the sun, which allows for some great photographic opportunities of them playing the fool just in front of the Rocky shores of their home. Before exiting the alley we took a closer look at Hospital Rock and picked up a piece of sea bamboo before checking out the deep sea.

Our sightings here included a bait ball, where we got to see a few cormorants and terns feast on a school of anchovy, as well as a Brydes Whale. The whale was spotted by Kira and his eagle eyes just as we were beginning to move towards Danger Point. This was a very large, relaxed animal, so we got to spend a lovely few moments together before we head back to the harbour, where we had one more surprise in store. Just before we entered the channel, we had a few Bottlenose Dolphins pop us next to us, which was a great end to a great trip.

If you would like to get hold of your trip footage, please download the credit card authorization form here to complete and forward it through to bookings@whalewatchsa.com. Please be sure to mention the date and launching time with response. Our team will reply with a direct link to your video footage for download, please allow 72 hours to footage to be uploaded. Download link will be valid for 6 months.For more Whale facts and updates, also “Like” our Dyer Island Cruises Facebook fan page. If you would like to review your trip online to help others choose the right whale watching company, please visit our TripAdvisor page and leave your feedback