Whale activity, 15 September 2019
Written by September 15 2019
What a surprise! To start off our day we were treated to several breaching humpback whales out in the deep. We don’t know how many there were in total, but it seemed that everywhere we travelled offshore we saw humpback whales leaping out of the water. The sea was a bit choppy, which is probably why the whales were so active, as the two often go hand in hand. After moving between different individuals, we ended with one that we got to see breaching repeatedly, giving us a great show. Of course we cannot forget our Southern right whales which were also present on all our trips today. We saw the tail of one adult in the morning and for the rest of the day we encountered adult and juvenile pairs. They were close to shore and really nice to watch. We had some really nice shark activity today also, including a great white shark in the morning and bronze whaler sharks throughout the rest of the day. The African penguins on Dyer Island and Cape fur seals on the adjacent Geyser rock were also on our list of sightings, and it was nice to observe more penguins that we usually do on the island. Because of the wind we also had some really nice bird sightings, especially shy albatross and white-chinned petrels in the area of the humpback whales.
Photos from today
Humpback whale breaching
Another fantastic breach
umpback whale curving its back
Southern right whale tail
Adult Southern right whale close to Kleinbaai
Juvenile Southern right whale
Juvenile Southern right whale head
Two bronze whaler sharks
Shy albatross
Two black African oystercatchers
African penguins on Dyer Island
Cape fur seals
What species did we see today?
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.
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.
Southern Right Whale Southern Right Whale
Southern right whales attract thousands of visitors every year to experience these gentle giants off the South African coast.
Great white sharks Great white sharks
Gracious, beautiful, misunderstood - three words used by guests of Dyer Island Cruises after witnessing South Africa's most infamous marine species: The Great White Shark.
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.
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.
