Daily Trip 21 December 2017

Southern Right Whales and a potential Elephant Seal...

Written by Jax, December 22 2017

Daily Trip 21 December 2017

Guide Summary and Photographs

Today was a super busy day here for the Dyer Island Cruises team, with us helping out at the first ever “March for the Penguins” and 2 trips. The march was a lovely 5km walk/fun run in aid of our endangered African Penguins, who face extinction within the next 20 years if something drastic is not done to save them. As a company, we’re doing our bit by providing rehabilitation, housing and research and simply by trying to keep our oceans free of waste. Today’s fundraising effort was in aid of our African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary, who are always in need of a little help in order to successfully rehabilitate our birds.

After this, at around 12, we launched our first trip of the day and made our way out towards Pearly Beach, hoping that our whales were still around! On the way, we were lucky to spot a group of African Penguins, which included a juvenile birds. These little guys will still have to undergo a catastrophic moult to get their adult colours.

Once we had past Pearly Beach, we found not one but 2 pairs of Southern Right Whales! This was absolutely awesome news for us, especially since it was the bosses’ birthday! Both moms also happen to be quite distinctive due to their markings. One mom had grey marking extending over her back whilst the other has a white spot the size of a tennis ball on her lower back. These guys seemed to be having a bit of fun, so we watched them paly around a bit, even getting a sighting of Mom’s tail before we moved off towards Dyer Island.

At the island, we did our daily YSI reading and watched our Cape Fur Seals, before returning to the harbour.

Our second trip, we moved straight towards Slashfin with the hopes of spotting a Great White Shark. Miraculously, as we arrived, Slashfin got their first White Shark for their trip! This was a large 3.5m female who’s been around for a few days. We got to watch this Great White launch itself at the bait before we went over to Pearly Beach.

We caught up with the whales in the shallows shortly after this, as they had moved out of the kelp and had started making their way towards the town of Pearly Beach. It is always awesome to see these guys through the swell, as it tends to life them up, showcasing far more of the whale than what you would see ordinarily.

Our last stop for the day was at Geyser Rock, where we watched the seals and got some exciting news! It seems as though an Elephant Seal has hauled out on Dyer Island but, more about that a little later on!

 

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