Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 18 March
Written by March 18 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 18 March 2024:
After two days of being unable to head out to sea, we are finally back and ready for today! Welcoming our guests on board Dream Catcher, we left Kleinbaai Harbour behind us. Shortly after, we encountered numerous Cape Cormorants. Not long after, several rafts of the endangered African Penguin were seen close to our vessel. After spending some time with them, we headed closer to shore where we made a brief stop at the natural estuary. Cruising down the coastline we spotted some Ostriches by the beach about to climb the dunes. We continued our trip further into the bay to an area called the Shallows. We approached Marine Dynamics Shark cage diving vessel Slashfin where we got some amazing views of the incredible Bronze whaler sharks. Leaving Slashfin behind we made our way through the reef system towards Dyer Island. At Geyser Rock the Cape fur seals were super active, watching our boat pass and were cooling down in the cool waters of Shark Alley. Heading into deeper waters towards Danger Point we encountered several pelagic bird species. Not being able to head back into Kleinbaai Harbour for today’s trip we had to make our way over to Gansbaai Harbour.
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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.
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.
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.