Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 10 January
Written by January 10 2023

Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 10 January 2023:
An absolutely stunning day out on the sea with our trip encountering the Marine Big 5! Making our way along the coastline we came across a small pod of Bottlenose dolphins hunting in the swell before we made our way out to the Shallows to join our sister company Marine Dynamics, which was having a successful shark cage diving trip that allowed us to see the Bronze whaler sharks. The Islands were next on the agenda and we visited both sides of Dyer Island to have a closer look at the seabird colony including the Endangered African penguin, it was as we were making our way to the seal colony that our spotter saw the blow of a whale behind the Island, this was a single adult Bryde’s whale and after spending some time viewing the whale we made our way back towards the alley to have a closer look at the Cape fur seals. On our way back towards land we had another Bryde’s whale encounter, this one was a mother-calf pair!
Trip 1
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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.
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.
Brydes Whale Brydes Whale
The mysterious Bryde's whales visit the Dyer Island area throughout the year, with most sightings occurring during summer into winter.
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.