Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 18 December
Written by December 18 2022
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 18 December 2022:
An overcast sky met us this morning as we launch from Kleinbaai harbour and made our way along the coastline and through to the Shallows where we met up with our sister company, Marine Dynamics, who had just started their first shark cage diving trip of the day. They already had a few Bronze whaler sharks around the vessel and we were able to enjoy the view of these sharks as they came up to the surface. We then moved through the vast kelp forest fringing the edge of the bay and out into the deeper waters behind the islands to keep an eye out for any feeding seabirds or perhaps some dolphins or whales, unfortunately, the area was quiet today and after some time of scanning around we started to make our way towards Geyser Rock. The Alley provided some calm, sheltered waters and we enjoyed multiple passes by the busy Cape fur seal colony before heading over to the other side to catch a glimpse of the Endangered African penguin colony of Dyer Island. It was here that we also encountered a number of Giant Petrels, both gliding on the winds and sitting on the water’s surface. The trip back to the harbour was made through the outer edges of the bay, again keeping an eye out for seabirds and marine mammals that could be passing the area. We made a stop by Danger Point before meeting up with the coastline and making our way back to land.
Trip 1
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What species did we see today?
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.
Bronze Whaler Shark Bronze Whaler Shark
The Bronze whaler (also known as Copper sharks) here in Kleinbaai are very curious and interactive. These sharks eat mostly fish, with sardines being one of their favourites.
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.