07 March 2017 | Boat Based Tours

Guide Summary and Photographs

Today’s trip was a relaxing one with 3 out of the Marine Big 5. It was a beautiful, clear day out at sea and we set out very eager to see what the day had to hold. Over the last couple of trips, we’ve seen a couple of animal rescue missions and today was no exception.  Our first stop of the day was in the shallows with a juvenile Cape Gannet who seemed a bit weak. After coming to the conclusion that this beautiful bird needed our help, Kira swiftly removed him from the water and placed him in the capable hands of Karli, our guide and videographer. Karli has many years’ experience when it comes to this kind of thing and she settled the bird down quite quickly before we went ahead with our trip.

Our next stop was at Slashfin, our shark cage diving vessel who were just packing up to go back to land after having had 1 shark around during the trip. Whilst here, Kira spotted some birds on the water and we went to go investigate. The Cape Cormorants were at it again, flying in their thousands along the water and we cruised with them for a while, listening to the sound of their beating wings and enjoying the spectacle. In between them, many Kelp Gulls gathered hoping to benefit from the diving capabilities of the Cormorants, something that they lack as sea birds.

After watching the birds, we head towards Dyer Island in search of the Endangered African Penguin. Luckily for us, the penguins were pretty visible today, sitting in a little valley close to the edge of the island. The fact that many of the Cape Cormorants were out fishing further enhanced our views as often times they make for a very confusing game of spot the back and white birds on the white rocks between the black birds. Following our time with the penguins, we went out to the open sea for a bit to go and have a look at a huge flock of Cape Gannets on the water. Our Largest residential sea bird and an expert diver, these guys hit the water so hard that they need to have a shock absorber system – almost like bubble wrap- to support their internal organs just to survive the force.

We found ourselves at Geyser Rock just after this where we watched the seals for quite some time. The curiosity of the young pups is adorable and at any given time one can see at least 50 little heads staring at the boat before they disappear under the water. After visiting the dogs of the sea, we spent some time in the open ocean where we managed to spot a Bryde’s Whale who surfaced for us a couple of times. We also saw a couple of Giant Petrels, one of which ran on the water which is always a sight to behold.

All in all, another great day at work.

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