A warm winter’s day, 31 August 2018
Spring is slowly creeping in to the bay...
Written by Jax Bath, August 31 2018
Guide Summary.
We’re having some great weather at the moment, with lots of sunshine and even a bit of heat creeping in. This makes for some lovely sea days and we’re taking it all in with some stormy weather due to come in next week.
We launched at 09:00 today and hugged the coast towards Uilenkraalsmond in search of some sea life. We found our first whale on our way, but this guy seemed to be taking some deeper dives, so we moved on and took a quick stop at Slashfin before moving on towards The Clyde reef system. On the way, we had a baby blue pop up. Baby Blues are juvenile African Penguins and we spent a bit of time watching this little guy surface before heading off. The Clyde reef system runs from Dyer Island to the mainland and provides a nice sheltered spot for many of our sea creatures, and today it seemed as though even the whales were a fan!
We found 3 separate groups of Southern Right Whales in this area. The fist was a mom and a very curious calf, who had an interesting callostie on the top of its head. The barnacles looked a bit like a crown which made the little one look a bit like a prince. This was super cute and we got a very close look at it all when baby came right up to the boat.
We also got to spend some time with another mom and calf who also gave a close approach at the back of the boat, coming up and investigating what we had to offer. There were also some single adults lingering and we even got to see one open its mouth in the distance, with a spy hop or two also happening. We were really surrounded by whales today and we could not have asked for a better time with them.
Our final stop for today’s tour was with our favorite oceanic pups; the Cape Fur Seals. Cape Fur Seals enjoy breeding in large colonies and Geyser Rock is home to roughly 60 000 of these playful pinnipeds. We cruised past them a few times taking it all in before making our way back to port.
Daily Snaps.
Having a look at an abalone shell.
Another calf giving us a look.
This mom and calf pair were super relaxed.
Geyser Rock.
Waving.
Selina, one of our International Marine Volunteers, showing the clients some Sea Bamboo.
One seal checking as out as another is about to break the surface.
This seal took a slip and slide over the barnacle covered rocks and into the alley.
Mom and calf moving just behind the boat.
Seals seem to have very little concept of personal space.
The same mom, calf pair travelling behind the boat.
This baby has a really funny callositie at the top of its head which looks a lot like a crown.
Approaching the boat.
A curious calf coming in for a closer look.
Southern Right Whale watching.
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What species did we see today?
Southern Right Whale Southern Right Whale
Southern right whales attract thousands of visitors every year to experience these gentle giants off the South African coast.
