Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 05 May
Written by May 5 2026
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa – Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 05 May 2026:
As the wind has calmed down for today, here at Marine Dynamics, we used the chance to head back out to sea! Welcoming our guests aboard Dream Catcher, we left Kleinbaai Harbour behind us. Heading down the coastline, we spotted a small raft of the critically endangered African Penguins. Not far off, Slashfin, our Shark cage diving vessel, was anchored within the Shallows. Several Bronze whaler sharks were circling the vessel already. Due to great visibility, we were able to get some incredible looks at them just passing by our boat. We continued our trip through the local reef system and deeper waters until we reached the island system. Along our way, we were accompanied by numerous pelagic birds, such as Sooty Shearwater, Giant Petrels and South Africa’s largest seabird, the Cape Gannet. Entering Shark Alley, we were loudly greeted by our local Cape fur seal colony on Geyser Rock. Before making our way towards Danger Point and back to Kleinbaai Harbour, we stopped by Dyer Island, our local bird island and home to our African Penguins.
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What species did we see today?
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.
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.
Giant Petrel Giant Petrel
Around the Greater Dyer Island area we encounter both species of Giant Petrel, the Southern Giant Petrel and Northern Giant Petrel.
