Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 20 August
Written by August 20 2024

Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 20 August 2024:
We had another wonderful day at sea with sunny conditions and some swell. Some of our tours were heading around Danger Point as we had to launch from Gansbaai harbour due to the spring tide and the rest launched as usual from Kleinbaai. We saw some beautiful Bronze Whaler sharks at our shark cage diving boat ‘Slashfin’. Around there we also saw the Kelp and Hartlaub’s Gull and some Subantarctic Skuas. Closer to Pearly Beach we spotted some southern right whales, what a delight to watch the active mating groups. The whales were not interested in the boat at all and were showing some great behaviour at the surface. We also visited the famous Shark Alley and got to see thousands of Cape fur seals. During the day there were also some penguins spotted at sea and one of the tours had the luck of seeing a white morph Giant Petrel, a lifer for many.
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What species did we see today?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.