September is proving to be one of the best months...
By Jake Keeton
Tuesday, 14th September 2021September is proving to be one of the best months for our full day Shark Cage Diving Tour.
During our last two tours to Bird Island which took place on Wednesday 8 September and yesterday 14 September we were blown away by the abundance and diversity of wildlife that we encountered. On both days we made it out the Harbour by 7.30am after a short briefing at the yacht club and a safety briefing on board. We encountered humpback whales breaching repeatedly on the deep route to Bird Island. These whales are starting to head back down South past us after mating and giving birth in the warm waters off Kenya and Mozambique.
At Bird Island we spent some time observing the seal colony on Black Rocks before anchoring close by and setting up for the shark cage diving portion of the cruise. On Wednesday we waited an hour for the first shark to arrive at our boat, but yesterday it only took 10 minutes and a female of roughly 4 meters in length arrived and provided us with some great viewing as she cruised under and around our boat and cage. Had 4 sharks sighted on Wednesday and 5 yesterday, with the 4 of the sharks being individuals that we did not recognize, we are very excited for our next shark cage diving tour. Once everyone had had their fill of seeing the sharks from the boat and in the cage, we headed for the lee side of Bird Island where we had some lunch while taking some shots of the 250 000 Cape Gannets that nest on Bird Island. Aside from the mass of birds on and above the island, hundreds were bathing in the shallows surrounding the Island.
After leaving the island we headed inshore to Woody Cape to admire the geography of the area and search for some playful bottlenose dolphins who like to surf in the shore break. We were lucky to find good sized pods on both days and a good size swell resulted in some good surfing behaviour from the dolphins. Staying close to shore we ended off the tour by spending some time with the migratory Southern right whales which are currently congregated near Sundays River mouth. Many of these whales have already given birth and others look like they are about to pop any day now. Once the calves are born these whales hang around for a few weeks to allow the calves to grow and build up the strength they need to make the long swim back to their feeding grounds in the South Seas where they spend the summer months. One Individual that stood out to us was a partially white adult. Only 3% of Southern right whales are born white making it a rare find for us in the bay. After making good time during both tours, we managed to make a quick stop at St Croix Island to view the penguin colony and spend some time with the dolphins that frequent the Western side of the island.
All in all, we had two special days with sightings of both species of migratory whales, bottlenose dolphins, Cape fur seals, African penguins, Cape gannets, other marine birds and great white sharks.
Based on our sighting records from previous years we are hoping to have the sharks at Bird Island until the middle of October, as well as the Southern right whales. Luckily the humpback whales have a longer season lasting until December. We look forward to sharing the Bay with you.
