Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 13 April
Written by April 13 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 13 April 2024:
Guest and crew alike had a rather early start to the day. Welcoming two groups today on one of our boats Dream Catcher we left Kleinbaai Harbour behind us and headed towards the natural estuary. Cruising down the coastline we headed to an area called the Shallows. Within this area, the local Shark cage diving companies operate which gives us the possibility to view sharks close by. Unfortunately due to cold waters shark activity was rather slow around the vessels. After spending some time with the boats we decided to move on as we have more to cover! Passing through the reef system, we picked up some floating kelp for our guests. Moving further into deeper waters we were super lucky to have spotted a Bryde’s whale! The whale stayed with us for quite a bit and our excited guests got some great views of the gentle giant! At the island system, we stopped by Geyser Rock to see the Cape fur seal colony. The seals very much enjoyed the cold waters of Shark Alley today whereas others tried to soak in as much sun as possible. The endangered African Penguins were sitting on the beach of Dyer Island sunbathing!
Trip 1
Trip 2
Tripadvisor – https://bit.ly/2YZ0jDR
Google – https://g.page/r/Caej8uYZYnR8EBE/review
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WhaleWatchSA
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 Cormorant Cape Cormorant
One of the most famous species of Cormorant in the Western Cape, the Cape Cormorant is well known for it's beautiful turquoise eye and impressive size.
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.
