As I lay in bed on Friday waiting for the alarm, I was listening to the wind outside and a little apprehensive about the weather for our whale- watching trip - Linda seems to have lost her sea-legs and was relying on some 'Kwells' to keep her well.
The wind had dropped a bit and it had turned into a bright sunny day with clear skies by the time we got to Dyer Island Cruises in Kleinbaai. However there was still a substantial swell running so we were fitted out with full oilskins and life jackets - after the coffee and muffins that were there to welcome us. Following a brief but effective briefing we were off down to the jetty to board 'Dream Catcher' in company with about 40 other visitors.
It was definitely a bumpy ride as we headed out of the harbour, but we encountered our first Southern Right Whales - mother and calf - withing the first few minutes. We spent the next 15 minutes or so watching her - 60 tons of whale and a 8-10 ton calf - as she made her way slowly round the bay - trying to stay in shallow water and to keep herself between our boat and the calf.
We stopped to see two other mothers and their calves before we headed for Dyer Island and 'Shark Alley'. They claim that this is the Great White Shark Capital of the world but there are very few of them around at this time of the year. I seem to remember that Neil was on a shark diving trip here - after a heavy night out in Cape Town.
Anyway - no sign of Great Whites today - so we headed around the island where we saw African Penguins and a huge colony of Cape Fur Seals - best to be upwind of these guys as they do pong a bit!
We also spotted a variety of sea birds before the fast bumpy ride pack to port -
glad to say that Linda didn't suffer from the motion at all and we were both more than ready for the hot bowl of soup that was waiting for us when we got ashore. All in all a good experience - would have been good to see a few more whales but that's always going to be pot luck - we were really lucky with the weather after all.
The wind had dropped a bit and it had turned into a bright sunny day with clear skies by the time we got to Dyer Island Cruises in Kleinbaai. However there was still a substantial swell running so we were fitted out with full oilskins and life jackets - after the coffee and muffins that were there to welcome us. Following a brief but effective briefing we were off down to the jetty to board 'Dream Catcher' in company with about 40 other visitors.
It was definitely a bumpy ride as we headed out of the harbour, but we encountered our first Southern Right Whales - mother and calf - withing the first few minutes. We spent the next 15 minutes or so watching her - 60 tons of whale and a 8-10 ton calf - as she made her way slowly round the bay - trying to stay in shallow water and to keep herself between our boat and the calf.
We stopped to see two other mothers and their calves before we headed for Dyer Island and 'Shark Alley'. They claim that this is the Great White Shark Capital of the world but there are very few of them around at this time of the year. I seem to remember that Neil was on a shark diving trip here - after a heavy night out in Cape Town.
Anyway - no sign of Great Whites today - so we headed around the island where we saw African Penguins and a huge colony of Cape Fur Seals - best to be upwind of these guys as they do pong a bit!
We also spotted a variety of sea birds before the fast bumpy ride pack to port -
glad to say that Linda didn't suffer from the motion at all and we were both more than ready for the hot bowl of soup that was waiting for us when we got ashore. All in all a good experience - would have been good to see a few more whales but that's always going to be pot luck - we were really lucky with the weather after all.
Love the outfit Richard. pleased to hear that you managed the boat trip without getting seasick. One would think that the two of you are used to this means of travelling. Glad it was a good day
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