Out and about in beautiful Walker Bay!

By Jax Bath

Happy New Year all! This week, we’re taking a break from the tropical waters of the Seychelles and talking about the awesome oceanic happenings of Walker Bay over the past few weeks. There are many different ways to access our corner of the Atlantic Ocean, and over this festive season I have tried to indulge in as many of these activities as possible. This week’s ocean update will contain tales of working on a whale watching vessel, what happens when you take the plunge and dive below, how you can walk the same stretch of coast a million times and still get lucky and, last but not least, sea kayaking!

Although the southern right whales have left Walker Bay for their feeding grounds, the bay has been a hive of activity! The fish have been favourable over our past few eco tour excursions at Ivanhoe Sea Safaris, so we have been having some incredible dolphin sightings. The common dolphins have been out and about more than any other species and are truly a delight. Common Dolphins are found in tropical and temperate oceans and can form super pods of up to 10 000 animals.

These dolphins love to interact with boats and upon discovering our presence, will rush on over for a closer look and a ride on the boat’s wake. Some of the pods have been scouting pods moving through the bay in search of fish while others have been larger, with our most recent encounter featuring several tiny calves. The little ones stay glued to their mother’s side and give away their newborn status by bearing fetal folds. These ‘folds’ are vertical lines running down the body of the baby caused by time spent very tightly packed in the mother’s stomach. The cow calf pairs are littered within the pod and one has to look closely to catch a glimpse, with the acrobatics of the other adults often outshining the youngest members of the family.

After spending two hours in the sun watching dolphins and our other magnificent mega fauna, there is nothing like cooling down in the Atlantic by taking a snorkel at the De Kelders drip cave. This snorkelling haven is protected from the South-easterly wind and boasts a myriad of life. Every dive presents the forest in a completely different light and with every change, a chance to discover something else in the crevices.

A prominent feature in the forest is the presence of these beautiful orange feathery-looking creatures known as the sinuous sea fan. They line the crevice walls and in between them one might spot the Cape rock crab or a camouflaged klipvis hiding out. Despite the cool waters, there are also purple soft corals to be found here, which add a touch of bright pink to the walls next to iridescent blue baby bait. If one ventures a little deeper out, there is a chance to spot a shy shark swimming along the bottom or, in the case of our last snorkel, a Cape fur seal looking to make a meal of an octopus.

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 17)