Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 01 July
Written by July 1 2025
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa – Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 01 July 2025:
July started better than we could have hoped! Welcoming our guests aboard Dream Catcher, we made our way around the bay. Lucky us, our first sighting of the day was one of our seasonal visitors, the Southern Right whale! Together with several coastal and pelagic birds, we continued our way towards the island system, where we encountered an incredible pod of Bottlenose dolphins! Next stop, our colonies of Cape fur seals and African penguins. The seals on Geyser Rock left our guests in awe, as always. The critically endangered African penguins were spotted on top of Dyer Island. Last stop led us to our Shark cage diving hotspot, the Shallows, where we got amazing views of the Bronze whaler sharks!
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What species did we see today?
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.
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.
Bottlenose Dolphin Bottlenose Dolphin
At present there are two recognized species of bottlenose dolphin, and in some cases, both species can be found in the same area. The two species are the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (T. aduncus). In addition, there is a great deal of variation in colouration, diet and behaviour. The difference between the common bottlenose and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin are subtle, but the common bottlenose dolphin generally larger and more robust with a slight darker colouration.
