A whale of a day, 11 October 2019
Written by October 11 2019
After two days on land we were all excited to return to the ocean today. It was a really nice day, with great conditions to encounter our marine species in the Dyer Island ecosystem. Throughout the day we had at least 10 Southern right whales around to see, with one pair being close to Kleinbaai and the others further along the coastline off Pearly Beach. One highlight was seeing a brindle Southern right whale, which is a rare white colour form that can be seen in only 4% of all Southern right whales. We also got to see some breaching behaviour, with some of these leaps out of the water being near our boat. One one trip we got to see a very playful juvenile rolling around in the waves and coming with its head up and mouth open. On another trip a curious adult approached our boat. Everyone had a whale of a time aboard with us today, regardless of which trip they were on. Some of us were lucky to see some endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphins, while others got to see our endangered African penguins. To round off our sightings, we all got to see Cape fur seals and sharks today, so it was a great day all around aboard our boat Dream Catcher.
Photos from today
A very big Southern right whale
Southern right whale tail
Southern right whale head
A playful Southern right whale
Southern right whale opening its mouth
Southern right whale with its mouth open
Brindle Southern whale
Brindle Southern right whale
Southern right whale approaching us
Breaching Southern right whale
Breaching Southern right whale
Indian Ocean humpback dolphin
Great white shark with Slashfin
Bronze whaler shark
Cape fur seal
African penguin
Bank cormorant
What species did we see today?
Bronze Whaler Shark Bronze Whaler Shark
The Bronze whaler (also known as Copper sharks) here in Kleinbaai are very curious and interactive. These sharks eat mostly fish, with sardines being one of their favourites.
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.
Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin
Humpback dolphins are an endangered species, with small populations living very close to shore, typically in water less than 25m deep and an average home range of 120km. Their proximity to land makes these animals particularly vulnerable to human influence.
Great white sharks Great white sharks
Gracious, beautiful, misunderstood - three words used by guests of Dyer Island Cruises after witnessing South Africa's most infamous marine species: The Great White Shark.
African Penguin African Penguin
As one of only 17 penguin species left in the world (and the only one on the african continent), the african penguin often breed in offshore colonies, such as Dyer Island.
Cape fur seal Cape fur seal
With a local population of 60,000, it's no wonder our guests capture so many photographs of these wonderfully playful marine mammals.
Bank Cormorant Bank Cormorant
Often enjoying a broad diet including klipfish, rock lobster and more, the increasing rarety of the Bank Cormorant makes every moment we see them even more special.
