28 April 2017

Guide Summary and Photographs

It was absolutely stunning out there today with great visibility, a flat sea and not a breath of wind. The sea was a brilliant shade of blue and we set out on our old faithful, Whale Whisperer to see what the ocean held for us today.

As we journeyed through the shallows, we spotted hundreds of mullets between the breakers. 3 different species of mullet may be found in the area namely; the Southern, Groovy and Flathead Mullet. All three species can be found close to shore and estuaries and are a favourite food of some of the dolphin species that occur in the area.

Next up, we spotted a free swimming Great White Shark in Jouberts Dam. The sharks have been gone for a couple of days so getting to see this large specimen was a real jackpot. The presence of this animal shows that they may be starting to reappear in the bay although activity may still be a bit slow for a little while longer. This large predator followed us to Slashfin where the decoy attracted his attention.

After this, we spotted some endangered African Penguins just in front of Dyer Island in a little raft. This group included some baby blues who have not yet undergone their moult into adulthood.  We also spotted some of our penguin rehabilitators from the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary on the island releasing some of our now “ex” patients. Whilst checking out 3 of the little guys on the other side of the island, we also managed to spot a Cape Fur Seal who had caught himself some calamari for lunch.

The seals, where, once again, very active as we came into the alley, springing out of the water and chasing each other to the delight of all on board. They were also particularly noisy today making their characteristic “sheep noises”.

In the deep sea, our videographer, Sean was on it today and managed to spot us a Brydes Whale! The whale came up a couple of times before disappearing for 10 minutes or so, changing his course towards Danger Point. Sean, spotted him once again and we were lucky enough to have this majestic creature pass right by the back of the boat, giving us a beautiful, close view.

We head back to the harbour with our hearts content, enjoying the stunning scenery filled with cirrocumulus clouds and some gorgeous cape fold mountains in the background.

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