Daily Trip 01 May 2017

Guide Summary and Photographs

Although Today’s wind left us with some messy hair and a bit of a chill, we had a great time out on our smaller eco vessel, Whale Whisperer. We launched at 11:00 out of Kleinbaai harbour and headed for the shallows, spotting some Grey Headed Gulls as we left for the trip. We only really see these guys in the harbour which made for a nice start to the day.

As we moved along the coastline, we noticed both an algae bloom and a colour front in the bay which made for some fantastic contrasts in water colour, maroon through to a milky turquoise, it was a fascinating sight which continued all the way to Sandy Point.  The shark activity in the shallows has slowed down a bit recently so we made our way towards Dyer Island, moving parallel to The Clyde Reef System.

Just in front of the island, we spotted one adult African Penguin with two juveniles. This is always a nice sight as one gets to see the colouration difference between the drab little ones and their black and white adult counter parts. The juveniles will learn to fish from any adult bird, so it is not necessarily the parents who will show these aspiring predators the ropes.

After this, we made our way into the Alley where some of the shark cage diving companies were operating, when we passed by, they did not have a shark as of yet but we are hoping that the activity picks up soon again.

Geyser rock was full of our favourite pinnipeds, the Cape Fur Seals, with many basking in the sun, much like our clients on this chilly autumn’s day. We also had a couple of playful guys follow us in the water, popping up right next to the boat.

20 minute later, we made our way into the open ocean in search of the elusive Brydes Whale. Kira spotted one towards Pearly Beach and we managed to get a couple of views before this majestic specimen made its way in that direction. Earlier in the trip, we made many Cape Cormorants and a couple of Swift Terns returning from that general direction, one of the terns with a fish in his mouth, so it’s safe to assume that this Brydes Whale was following the food.

All in all, a great way to spend a public holiday!

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