Whales, Birds And More! Marine Big 5 Daily Blog 17 June
Written by June 17 2022
Whale Watching near Cape Town, South Africa Welcome to Gansbaai, home of the Marine Big 5.
Trip Summary 17 June 2022:
We had a spectacular day out at sea on whale whisperer with two trips launching from Kleinbaai harbour this afternoon. Our first trip started out heading towards Danger point, searching the deeper waters for some whale spouts and we were lucky to encounter a large raft of African Penguins and some diving birds. Shortly after, a Bryde’s made its appearance. On our way towards Dyer Island, we also had a few good looks at two Humpback whales! Making our way into shark alley, the colony of Cape Fur Seals were bustling on geyser rock while over at Dyer Island, the African penguins were soaking up the sun. The Shark cage diving boats did not disappoint as we saw the iconic Great White Shark dorsal fin cutting the surface of the water. Trip 2 was just as amazing with no less than 15 breaches from a single Humpback whale in the deeper waters! Shark Alley was busy with cape fur seals and their acrobatics around the boat and Dyer Island was scattered with penguins. Making our way towards the shark cage diving boats, we were thrilled to encounter a pod of bottlenose dolphins bow-riding and breaching too! A short stop at our sister company proved a lucky one as we saw a beautiful great white shark individual. Overall we had a beautiful day out at sea.
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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.
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.
Bottlenose Dolphin Bottlenose Dolphin
At present there are two recognized species of bottlenose dolphin, and in some cases, both species can be found in the same area. The two species are the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (T. aduncus). In addition, there is a great deal of variation in colouration, diet and behaviour. The difference between the common bottlenose and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin are subtle, but the common bottlenose dolphin generally larger and more robust with a slight darker colouration.
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.
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.
