Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 26 June
Written by June 26 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 26 June 2024:
We are ready for a sunny and exciting day out at sea! Leaving Kleinbaai Harbour behind us we headed towards Uilenkraalsmond, where the natural estuary is located. Cruising down the coastal areas we reached an area called the Shallows. Popular for its huge variety of different shark species we stopped by Marine Dynamics Shark cage diving vessel Slashfin, where the curios and active Bronze whaler sharks were getting real close with our cage divers! After we spent some time around their vessel and everyone got some good looks of the Bronze whalers we decided to get going. Making our way through the kelp forest we we spotted a raft of the endangered African Penguins close to Dyer Island. Passing the reef system over to Geyser Rock we were met by a very busy colony. Thousands of seals were filling the island, whereas numerous other fur seals were splashing around in the cool waters of Shark Alley. Once it was time to say goodbye to the colony we made our way into deeper waters. Along the way we encountered a Giant Petrel as well as a Shy Albatross! A little later on we also spotted a Humpback Whale! Also spending some time with the whale we decided to let it be and head back to Kleinbaai Harbour.
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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.
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.
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.
