An Epic Oceanic Adventure, 30 August 2019
What a fantastic day out on the Atlantic....
Written by Jax Bath, August 30 2019
Today's Whale Tale.
What an incredible sea day! We set out on two tours this morning, spotting 4 members of the Marine Big 5 on our first tour of the day and 3 on the second, with an awesome Ocean Sunfish also coming up to say hi.
Our first tour of the day launched from Gansbaai harbour due to spring tide and saw us moving around Danger Point and into the open ocean. We had a little wind out at sea, which made for an adventurous ride in search of some oceanic giants. As we travelled along, we enjoyed sight of dozens of Albatross, soaring against some moody looking clouds in the background. Our first member of the Marine Big 5 was none other than the African Penguin, with an adult and a baby blue giving us some lovely close looks as they bobbed around next to the boat. As we head further along, the drizzle ceased and in the distance, kira’s eagle eyes spotted a breaching Humpback Whale!
We were ecstatic to have caught up with some whales, so we made our way in their direction, hoping that they would continue to breach as we got closer. We were in luck, with the whales giving off the most spectacular show as they threw their 40 ton bodies out of the water to the joy of all aboard. Between these incredible breaches, the whales would also slap the water with their flippers, which happen to be the longest of any whale in the world, reaching up to a 3rd of the body length! ‘
Whilst taking in the sight of the whales breaching again and again, we also spent time with our eyes to the sky, as it was alive with pelagic seabirds! Albatross, Gannets and Petrels could be seen catching the wind, with a very special sighting of two Soft Plumaged Petrels. These birds are an uncommon winter visitor to our shores and were a life lister for all crew on board, who were elated to have seen a new species out at sea.
After this spectacle, we made our way into Shark Alley where we spent some quality time with our Cape Fur Seal colony. We watched as the seals took part in some tomfoolery in the water before making our way into The Shallows where we got a quick look at a beautiful and curious Copper Shark, which came up to check out our boat. After this amazing tour, we head back into Klienbaai harbour to pick up our next group of clients.
The Best Photographs From Our Tour.
Is there anything more beautiful than a breaching Humpback Whale, taken on trip 1.
We tend to find that as the wind picks up, the whales pick up too!
A close pass from the two Humpback Whales.
The Humpback Whales with a Soft Plumaged Petrel, a first for all aboard.
The Soft Plumaged Petrel in all it’s glory!
The ever dramatic Humpback Whale, which also happens to hold the record for the second longest migration of any mammal in the world.
We had such fun watching these two whales, who could be up to 15m in length.
Cape Fur Seals lazing around on Geyser Rock.
Egyptian Geese, which happens to be Gansbaai or “Goose”bay’s namesake!
A beautiful Sunfish laying at the surface. There are around 5 species of Sunfish and it is believed that they are becoming vulnerable due to them often being caught as by catch.
A raft of torpedoes in tuxedos.
The Albatross action was absolutely awesome today, with so many of these ocean voyagers keeping us company in the deep.
This Shy Albatross decided to have a rest next to the boat.
The beauty queen of the ocean, The Cape Gannet, flying by.
A Humpback Whale surfaces on trip 2.
Although sporadic, these whales were slow moving and relaxed.
This whale has some barnacle scarring on it’s dorsal fin. Humpback Whales can be identified with their dorsal fins, but the tail fluke is preferred.
Kira, our eagle eyed spotter.
An entangled seal on Geyser Rock.
