Fins, feathers and flippers! Marine Big 5 daily blog
Written by March 14 2020
A sunny Saturday on sea for the Dyer Island Cruises crew and guests. We left harbour just before midday and made our way along the coastline to start our trip and it was here that we encountered our first sighting, some Indian ocean Humpback dolphins. Such a stunning sighting as we watched the three individuals porpoising along, appearing to be enjoying the beautiful day just as much as us. We left the dolphins and moved away from the coast towards our sister company, Marine Dynamics, who were shark cage diving in the Shallows. They happened to have a 4.5m female Great White in sight at that time and spent some time watching this animal cruise around just under the waters’ surface. Moving on with the tour, we made our way towards the Islands to see the Cape Fur seal inhabitants on Geyser Rock and the African penguins on Dyer Island and after some time spent with both we made our way into the deeper waters in the direction of Danger Point before making our way back to land.
What species did we see today?
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.
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.
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.