Daily Trip 27 November 2017
It’s impossible to have a blue Monday when you’re spending it with some Southern Right Whales…
Written by Jax, November 28 2017
Guide Summary and Photographs
The wind and swell have picked up a little from the previous days but that did not deter us from having an epic tour out on Dream Catcher. We set out with an easterly blowing and head towards the shallows in the hopes of spotting a shark or two!
On the way, we spotted an Ocean Sunfish or Mola Mola. These strange looking creatures hold the title of being the largest bony fish in the world, which is super impressive since they are only a few millimetres in length when born. This dude stayed deep, probably in search of some brunch so, after viewing him for a bit, we head on over to the cage diving vessels.
Once we arrived, we were delighted to see not 1 but two Bronze Whaler or Copper Sharks. This species have been giving us a great show recently here in Jouberts Dam, but they are most famous for following the annual movement of Pilchards along our east coast, which we commonly refer to as the sardine run. These two Bronzies were particularly surface active, with one even clambering over the other in an effort to check out the bait line. Bronzie, unlike White Sharks, are also known to school, so it is not uncommon to have more than one of these beauties around the boat.
After getting our fair share of fish, we decided to move towards Pearly Beach in search of some whales. When we arrived, we had a little calf give us a breach or two before he returned to travelling slowly with its mom. This was however, only the start of the action with the whales clearly enjoying the wind and swell out there! A little later on, a mom began to fool around in the breakers, rolling on her side and exposing that massive pectoral flipper to us. Even from a distance one could see that this was not a small animal, with her making it really easy to believe that that flipper can weigh up to 2 tons. Towards the end of the sighting, we hit the jackpot when a little one decided to partake in some lob tailing. As if the tail alone was not impressive enough, watching it crash back into the water repeatedly was really something.
We stopped at Geyser Rock next to spend some quality time with our favourite seal colony. More and more little black babies are emerging on the island, much to our delight. The little ones are quite awkward and clumsy at this early stage of life, so it is adorable to watch as they stumble about on the beaches, dodging rocks and gigantic males alike. After this stop, we took a pass by Dyer island, where we got to see some Swift Terns who are heading into the season in which they attempt to perfect a synchronised mating flight, which is a really spectacular sight to behold.
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