Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 16 July
Written by July 16 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 16 July 2024:
As the wind is picking up quite a bit today we had to head out to sea rather early today. As usual, we left Kleinbaai Harbour behind us excited about what we might encounter within our bay. Taking the opportunity of a still calm morning we headed into deeper waters first. Towards Danger Point, we were already met by several pelagic birds including a Shy Albatross and spotted Bryde’s whales, our all-year visitors, in between. We were super lucky to have encountered a Humpback whale together with some Sooty Shearwaters, Cape Gannets and a raft of the endangered African Penguins around a big bait ball, a gathering of fish. What an amazing encounter not just for our whale lovers but also for our birders! Once we decided to let the whales be we continued our trip towards the island system. To our surprise, we encountered a Southern Right whale coming even closer to the boat to investigate! As we were still not done yet and we still had a few stops to cover for our guests we decided it was time to say goodbye to the Southern Right whale and continued our ride to the Fur seal colony. Entering Shark Alley we were met by numerous Cape fur seals who did not hesitate to follow the boat or watch us cruising up and down off Geyser Rock. A brief stop at Dyer Island could of course not be missed. We made our way through De Clyde, the reef system before entering a more shallow area. We made our way along the coastline and stopped by the natural estuary mouth opening before heading back to Kleinbaai Harbour.
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What species did we see today?
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.
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.
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.
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.
