Marin Big 5 Daily Blog 17 July
Written by July 17 2024
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 17 July 2024:
Just before the cold front reaches our shoreline again, we were able to get the best out of a day that we could be out at sea! And it didn’t disappoint, we had some lovely sightings of whales, penguins and seals. On our first trip we headed straight into the deep to look for some whales and got lucky to encounter two different Humpback whales, with the second one giving us quite a performance, slapping its flippers right next to the vessel. On the second trip, we also saw some Humpback whales and even a sunfish! The 3rd trip got lucky with a Bryde’s whale, but it was brief. And a bit later on we were rewarded with some incredible activity from two Humpback whales, that were slapping their tails and even gave us a few breaches! All the guests were able to visit the island system, where we visited Geyser Rock full of playful Cape Fur seals, and Dyer Island, where we spotted quite a few African Penguins.
Trip 1.
Trip 2.
Trip 3
Trip 4.
Tripadvisor – https://bit.ly/2YZ0jDR
Google – https://g.page/r/Caej8uYZYnR8EBE/review
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WhaleWatchSA
What species did we see today?
Humpback Whale Humpback Whale
One of the best-known whale species, they are renowned for their acrobatic behaviour and complex melodious song as well as extremely long flippers and are a special favourite of Dyer Island Cruises guests and crew alike.
Cape Gannet Cape Gannet
Well documented for their aireal displays, experiences with with the famous Cape Gannet are always breath taking, and hold a special place in every photographers portfolio.
Cape fur seal Cape fur seal
With a local population of 60,000, it's no wonder our guests capture so many photographs of these wonderfully playful marine mammals.
African Penguin African Penguin
As one of only 17 penguin species left in the world (and the only one on the african continent), the african penguin often breed in offshore colonies, such as Dyer Island.
Sunfish Brydes Whale Brydes Whale
The mysterious Bryde's whales visit the Dyer Island area throughout the year, with most sightings occurring during summer into winter.
