03 February 2017 | Marine Big 5 Gansbaai

Guide Summary and Photographs

Today was a lovely day out at sea despite the wind picking up a bit from yesterday. Our first sighting was that of an Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin swimming alone very close to the shark cage diving vessels. This was a pleasant surprise as we had given up hope for any dolphins in the shallows and had started making our way towards Slashfin when it popped up. We had a lovely time with this individual who stayed with us for at least 15 minutes. We even got to see him beat his tail against the water a couple of times.

After he began to move towards Uilenkraalsmond, we moved towards Slashfin were we got to see one of my favourite Great White Sharks. Silendilo, a 3,5M male White Shark that has been in the bay for the last month, was around Slashfin today and decided to take a swim around our boat too. This often happens when we visit the cage diving boats as the sharks are very attracted by the vibrations that our engines give off, causing them to circle us a time or two before losing interest.

On our way to the island, we picked up a piece of Sea Bamboo, the most abundant kelp species that we have in the area. Although these plants are plentiful and plain in appearance, it is always nice to get a closer look and feel for them as they an integral part of the Dyer island eco-system, providing shelter for many little creatures who would otherwise not be able to withstand the force of the waves. Kelp is also used by man for various things such as cosmetics, fertilizer, vegetarian dishes and car tyres just to name a few.

When we arrived at Dyer Island, we took a look at the many Cape Cormorants and various species of Terns before trying to spot some penguins. Unfortunately, our penguins are being elusive at the moment so we made our way to Geyser rock to take a look at the seals. The island was particularly pungent today but this was not due to the seals alone. There are stagnant pools of water situated on Geyser Rock which also release quiet the stench into the air. We watched the little pups play amongst one another for quite a while before heading towards Danger point.

Out at sea we spotted many Cape Gannets, a White-Chinned Petrel, some Sandwich Terns and a Brydes Whale with her little calf. These sightings are always special as the calf cannot stay under the water for too long and so we get to see them a little more often – within the sighting- than in your conventional Brydes whale viewing opportunities. After this, we made our way back towards Kleinbaai for some soup and bread.

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