Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 14 March
Written by March 14 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 14 March 2024:
The early bird catches the worm! Leaving Kleinbaai Harbour rather early today, we were excited about what the early morning might bring. We headed further into the bay to Uilenkraal, the natural estuary of the area. After a short lookout, we continued further down the coastline. Reaching the Shallows, we approached Marine Dynamics Shark cage diving vessel Slashfin where we got some amazing views of the already active Bronze whaler sharks. Several sharks were investigating the divers in the cage and circling our boat curious about the situation. After spending some time with them we moved through the reef system, heading towards deeper waters. Out in the open, we encountered an Ocean sunfish and a small raft of African Penguins. The island system could of course not be missed. On Geyser Rock the Cape fur seals were watching our boat enter Shark Alley while some others were swimming alongside the boat excited about our visit. The penguins were ready to rise and shine and we were able to get some nice views of them sitting on the boulders close to the beach on Dyer Island. Before heading back to Kleinbaai Harbour we decided to head a bit further down the coastal area towards Pearly Beach. We got super lucky and spotted a pod of Common dolphins! We ended the tour with a quite big raft of African Penguins close to the harbour. Thanks again to everyone for joining our Marine Big 5 tours!
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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.
Sunfish Common Dolphin Common Dolphin
With an 'hourgalss' patch on either side and aerial activity the common dolphin is an agile and majestic species, that may easily reach a speed of 40km/h.
