Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 18 March
Written by March 18 2025
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 18 March 2025:
Are you ready for another successful day with the Marine Big 5?! Leaving Kleinbaai Harbour behind us, we spotted numerous diving birds in the distance. Approaching the Terns a little bit closer, we encountered a big raft of critically endangered African Penguins in the open. Heading towards the Shark cage diving vessels we got a brief glimpse of a Bronze whaler shark passing the cage. Unfortunately, the activity was a bit slow. Moving on we headed through the kelp forest into deeper waters and spotted a Bryde’s whale! The whale came up several times which granted some great views of this elusive species. After spending some time with the individual we made our way towards the island system. We cruised up and down Shark Alley impressed by the numbers of the seals on Geyser Rock. We made another short stop at Dyer Island to bring the history of both penguins and the island itself closer to our guests. Last but not least, on our way back towards Kleinbaai Harbour we wrapped up the Marine Big 5 with a sighting of two of the endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphins looking for some fish close to the natural estuary, a nursing ground for marine fish species.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin
Humpback dolphins are an endangered species, with small populations living very close to shore, typically in water less than 25m deep and an average home range of 120km. Their proximity to land makes these animals particularly vulnerable to human influence.
