Daily Trip 16 June 2018

Guide Summary and Photographs

We could not have asked for a better day out on the ocean with stunning whales and an adventurous ride.

We launched out of our small seaside harbour at around 13:00, moving skillfully through the swell and towards shallow water. We began our trip here in the hopes of catching up with our Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphins, who we often find moving along the stretch of beach between Franskraal and Sandy Point. About half way between the two areas, we caught up with a few individuals who seemed to be having some fun moving though the waves. We got a couple of views of them as they moved towards the breakers, but, after going a little too shallow for our liking, we moved out the sighting and on towards The Clyde Reef System.

Once we’d taken a quick stop over the kelp forests, we moved onwards towards Pearly Beach where we spotted some discarded rope floating in the ocean. Rope is one of the worst things that can be found floating in our seas, as it is exceptionally easy for our animals to become entangled in it. Animals such as whales and seals are often fascinated at first, which may lead to them doing some investigation and eventually getting caught up. Like many, we believe that prevention is the best cure, so we like to remove harmful stuff from the sea before it has a chance to cause any trouble.  Once we’d picked up this rope, we began to check out Pearly Beach for any signs of life.

Although a little quiet at first, the whales we found made a real entrance, breaching out the water fully to the excited screams of all aboard. We were very fortunate to have found 2 active Humpback Whales, who gave us a real show. I think that the pictures below definitely speak for themselves, with the whales breaching, giving a tail slap and evening opening their mouths so that one could see the baleen, which is the bristle like stuff you can see in the first picture below. We got to spend an awesome few moments with these whales watching them surface again and again, with the occasional fluke coming up when they’d take a deep dive.

After this, we made our way towards Dyer Island, spotting some Cape Gannets, Cape Cormorants and a host of Giant Petrels along the way. These large scavenging birds were doing what they do best, taking advantage of some seal carrion in the water and giving us some impressive views of their large wingspan.

Our seals looked really cozy today when we pulled up in Shark Alley, with hundreds of them bundled up on the rocks. We cruised past them a few times before trying to spot some African Penguins. After pointing out a few of these flightless birds on Dyer Island, we marveled at a flock of Cape Cormorants before moving to the leeside of the island where we spotted 2 groups of penguins in the water. After all of this excitement, we made our way back to the harbour, keen to escape the cold and see what photos we had in our bounty.

If you would like to get hold of your trip footage, please download the credit card authorization form here to complete and forward it through to bookings@whalewatchsa.com. Please be sure to mention the date and launching time with response. Our team will reply with a direct link to your video footage for download, please allow 72 hours to footage to be uploaded. Download link will be valid for 6 months.For more Whale facts and updates, also “Like” our Dyer Island Cruises Facebook fan page. If you would like to review your trip online to help others choose the right whale watching company, please visit our TripAdvisor page and leave your feedback