Daily Trip Update, 22 August 2019
Sharks, sunfish, whales and more
Written by August 22 2019
Today we enjoyed a nice day out on the ocean, riding over the smooth long swells to encounter some of our marine wildlife of the region. We had our work cut out for us with the whales, as it took quite a bit of searching before we found them. Nevertheless, during the last part of the morning tour we managed to spot some Southern right whales. We had a lovely encounter with two of the three individuals that we could see. They were calm and curious, rolling around in the swell and giving us some nice looks at their callosity-covered heads. At one point just before we were about to leave one of these whales even surprised us by surfacing close near the back of our boat, so we could all see it really well. Other sightings throughout the day included plenty of bronze whaler sharks, great white sharks and a couple of sunfish in the morning. African penguins were spotted on all our tours and we even saw one on Geyser rock together with the Cape fur seal colony. During the last few days we have been seeing some big male Cape fur seals in this colony, can you spot them in our photos below?
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.
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.