Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 11 June
Written by June 11 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 11 June 2024:
We got an early start ahead of us but that doesn’t hold our excitement back. Welcoming our guests on our whale-watching vessel we left Kleinbaai Harbour behind us. Throughout the tour we were accompnied by several different bird species such the Subantarctic Skua in shallows waters and a few pelagic birds in deeper waters. First, we headed to the natural estuary of the area before we made our way over to the Shallows. Stopping by our Marine Dynamics Shark cage diving vessel Slashfin we were able to get some nice views of the incredible Bronze whaler sharks. We continued our trip through the reef system into deeper waters. After quite a bit of time we successfully spotted two Humpback Whales! We did spend some time with the whales and even though they were moving around quite a bit one got quite curios and even came closer to investigate! Once we decided to let them be we moved towards, of course, the island system. The majority of the Cape fur seal colony was already wide awake roaming around Geyser Rock or cooling down in the cool waters of Shark Alley. The endangered African Penguins on Dyer Island were seen close to the beach enjoying the surprising warm temperatures. On our way back to Kleinbaai Harbour we were super lucky to have encountered several Penguins in the water close to the boat which allowed us some close up looks!
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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.
Humpback Whale Humpback Whale
One of the best-known whale species, they are renowned for their acrobatic behaviour and complex melodious song as well as extremely long flippers and are a special favourite of Dyer Island Cruises guests and crew alike.
