8 March 2016

Guide Summary and Photographs

Another day filled with some awesome and unusual sightings! Our trip started off well with a Humpback dolphin sighting. Although they did not stay with us for every long, our guests were delighted by their playful nature and close proximity.  After this, we head off towards the shallows were we met up with a 3m great white and our sister company, Marine Dynamics. The fact that such a large, mysterious creature can move with such grace never ceases to amaze us.

While travelling towards the island, the red tide that we are experiencing became particularly apparent. Red tide (the discolouration of sea water) may be caused by an algae bloom or the Dinoflagellates (single-celled organisms) in the water which lay dormant until upwelling takes place.

Shortly after admiring the murky-red colouring, we spotted a particularly obliging African penguin. These birds usually move away from our vessel however, this bird seemed completely unperturbed by us. Presented with this wonderful photographic opportunity, we took our time capturing this beautiful little bird in the environment in which it is most comfortable.

Following the theme of surprises at Dyer Island, we spotted our first Humpback whale of the year just off of Geyser rock! Although it made itself somewhat scarce, it was still a privilege to view it, even if just for a brief moment. At this point, Karli spotted a bait ball. This school of fish was surrounded by common dolphins while hundreds of birds launched an aerial attack. This sighting had all of our guests on their toes and it was definitely the highlight of the trip! It was amazing to be able to witness -and hear- the dolphins in action and it is something that I think many of us will never forget. With smiles all around, we made our way into shark alley where we spotted the elephant seal again. Today, she put on a little more of a show, opening her large jaws and looking directly towards us.

Today was an amazing day and we were incredibly lucky to have shared it with an awesome group on board.