Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 19 December
Written by December 19 2022
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 19 December 2022:
A calm day on the sea with some fantastic sea conditions for our trips. Both our trips launched from Kleinbaai harbour and we took the route along the coast, during our first trip we were lucky enough to come across a small pod of Endangered Indian Ocean Humpback dolphins in the corner of the bay, made up of adults and juveniles. The shallow section of the bay appeared to be a popular choice for African penguins today with our morning and afternoon trips both coming across small rafts of these Endangered penguins at sea. We then headed away from the coast and met up with our sister company Marine Dynamics, who were busy shark cage diving. They had some great success today with shark encounters and we were able to enjoy the views of the Bronze whaler sharks before taking to the deeper waters surrounding the bay. We scouted around these waters keeping an eye out for any activity on both our trips and whilst there was some bird activity seen, the area was quiet and we, therefore, headed back toward the Islands. Both trips enjoyed visits to Geyser Rock to see the Cape fur seals and to Dyer Island to take a closer look at the Endangered African penguins. In the waters surrounding the island, there were also a high number of Giant Petrels to be seen.
Trip 1
Trip 2
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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.
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.
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.
