Breaching Humpback Whales And Salty Sea Spray, 22 July 2019
The Humpback Whales were out in full swing today...
Written by Jax Bath, July 22 2019
Guide Summary.
Today was a wet and wonderful day out at sea, with us spotting 4 of the Marine Big 5 including 2 different species of shark and some stunning Humpback Whales. The wind picked up a little earlier than predicted, but we had a fun and adventurous ride through the bay, starting off our trip by the shark cage diving vessels.
Here, we stopped for a few minutes and got to enjoy the sight of a Bronze Whaler Shark coming up to investigate the boat before a beautiful Great White Shark popped up to come and say hi! It’s a always great to have a bit of diversity around the boat, so we were really thrilled to catch sight of both species.
We then made our way over The Clyde Reef System and onwards to Geyser Rock where we watched the young seals catch the surf! Most of the adults had opted to sleep in, but it little ones were having a whale of a time, letting themselves be propelled by the surge. Whilst most of us were watching the seals, Kira kept his eyes on the deep. Soon enough, his eagle eyes spotted a blow so we quickly took our seats and head out behind the island in the hopes of catching up with some oceanic giants. We were in luck, spotting 3 large Humpback Whales heading east.
This was a competitive pod, so we watched in awe as the males gave chase to the female. As we arrived, we got to see some flipper slapping which soon turned into full on breaching. It is incredible to watch these animals throw themselves out the water, and this is a behavior we tend to see a little more when the wind picks up. These whales were certainly the highlight of the tour and after watching them breach again and again, we decided to head back in towards the bay to see if we could spot an African Penguin.
As we pulled into Sponge Bay, which is where these birds like to hang out, we got to see some waddling and some cuddling. There were quite a few of these black and white beauties about, so we watched with joy before hugging the coast back to shore.
Daily Snaps.
look at that breach!
A Copper Shark over at Slashfin, we got to see a Great White too!
These sharks get their name from their golden skin.
Enjoying the sun and surf.
The seals were having fun jumping and playing in the water today!
A gang of naughty seals.
Checking out the seals.
Geyser Rock on a windy day.
Most of the seals opted for a nap instead of taking on the sea today.
We had a competitive group breaching behind the island today.
It was incredible to watch these whales through themselves out the water!
These were all fully grown adults, and the orange you can see is barnacles.
Look at those beautiful, long flippers.
The back of one of the whales.
Some more breaching.
Whales do tend to breach more in windy weather.
Dyer Island.
The penguins of Dyer island.
The gravestone of Captain Powers.
Some more penguins.
What species did we see today?
Humpback Whale Humpback Whale
One of the best-known whale species, they are renowned for their acrobatic behaviour and complex melodious song as well as extremely long flippers and are a special favourite of Dyer Island Cruises guests and crew alike.
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.
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.
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.
