Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 16 April
Written by April 16 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 16 April 2024:
Excited about what we might encounter at sea today, we welcomed our guests aboard Dream Catcher. We left Kleinbaai Harbour behind us. We started quite strong with two big rafts of the endangered African Penguins. After spending some time with the smallest members of the Marine Big 5 we moved on. We continued our lookout for other Marine wildlife and were soon rewarded with the biggest members, whales! Two different species were encountered out at sea today. Two Humpback whales and the two first Southern Right whales of the year! What an incredible surprise! Of course, some time was spent with both species individually before we decided to let them be and move on their way. We headed over to the island system where we visited the Cape fur seal colony. As always, several seals were super active or cooling down in Shark Alley whereas others enjoyed the sun on Geyser Rock. We quickly stopped by Dyer Island, home of the African Penguins before heading along the shallow areas back to Kleinbaai Harbour where we on top of all that got to see some Ostriches on the beach. Once again, thanks everyone for joining our Marine Big 5 tours!
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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.
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.
Southern Right Whale Southern Right Whale
Southern right whales attract thousands of visitors every year to experience these gentle giants off the South African coast.
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.