Daily Trip 29 January 2018

Guide Summary and Photographs

We were back on Whale Whisperer today, which made for an adventurous ride through the bay in search of some Marine life. We had a bit of a breeze blowing when we set out towards Uilenkraalsmond today, with the wind coming from the South East. This meant that we saw the water get a little cooler when we did our daily water reading, using a YSI to gage the temperature, oxygen and temperature levels in the bay.

Once we’d finished up the reading, we travelled slowly just behind the breakers, eager to spot an animal or two. Although the area is more renowned for the presence of dolphins and sharks, we get to see the entire Marine Big 5 along this pristine stretch of beach, with Southern Right Whales, dolphins, penguins, sharks and seals moving into close to shore for a variety of different reasons. Today, we got to see a Cape Fur Seal in the breakers, which might sound like a fairly common sight, but, it was actually pretty magical.

We had stopped in the hopes of spotting a dolphin, but this little seal really held its own. How you ask? By giving us a great show as she moved like a torpedo through the swell, which had raised just enough for us to see the effortless movement with which she propelled herself forward. Although it happened too quickly and it was a little far off for anyone to get a decent shot, the contrast between her dark shape and the turquoise ocean certainly left us all with a breath taking memory.

Once we had scoured the shallows, we stopped at Slashfin which was a bit quiet so we decided to move onwards along the Clyde Reef System. Here, we caught up with a few African Penguins who were going about their daily foraging. The Clyde is home to very many different species, who use the kelp as shelter from both the force of the ocean as well as predators. This means that it’s very typical for us to find some birds in search of food between the kelp forests, with your penguins and your cormorants being two of the most familiar faces.

We used The Clyde as a means to get to the island, travelling between the extensive systems of reefs, given away by the Sea Bamboo growing above. At Dyer Island, we moved into Sponge Bay which is a favourite for our African Penguins. After spotting a lone little guy on the guano covered pebbles, we hit Shark Alley for some quality time with the most abundant marine mammal in our area.

Our Cape Fur Seals were as playful and boisterous as ever, putting on a bit of a performance in the water as we cruised along the alley. after this, we moved into the deep sea and them back to the harbour as the wind picked up.

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