The Ultimate Marine Safari With Dyer Island Cruises

Posted in Charters | Tourism | Tourist Attractions | Water Activities | Whales, Dolphins & Marine

It was a bright, sunny day with a cool breeze blowing when the ShowMe Hermanus team headed to Gansbaai the Great White Shark capital of the world! There we would join up with the much loved, boat based whale watching team of Dyer Island Cruises for an unforgettable marine safari and tour through Shark Alley and Dyer Island. The beautiful area of Gansbaai is known to be one of the best places on the planet for whale watching, shark cage diving, bird, dolphin and seal spotting!

Whale Watching On arrival at the Great White House we were greeted warmly by the Dyer Island Cruise members, all of which would be accompanying us on the tour. I am pleased to say that this simple gesture made you feel like the president, seeing them all lined up in matching uniforms is almost an unspoken way of guaranteeing that you are with a group that aims to please and astound you on the trip, they definitely did just that.

The Great White House is a restaurant, bar, shop and guest Whale Watching house rolled all into one warm, amazing establishment, over and above all of this it is serves as the Dyer Island Cruises, Marine Dynamics and Dyer Island Conservation Trust headquarters. Guests are invited into a cosy, dining area where you are served hot tea, coffee and muffins before you embark. A short, to the point video presentation is given, while you joyfully nibble.

After the video we were ready to set sail, Dyer Island Cruises ensures the safety of each and every person on board, safety Whale Whisperer jackets are a must and supplied by them. Now I dislike wearing a life jacket as I always think it is going to be big and bulky and limit movement aboard a boat but theirs is a nifty life jacket, slightly more fashion forward than those traditional orange vests. Once clipped in and ready to roll we each received a waterproof jacket. This I found was a further “tick” for Dyer Island Cruises. A warm winter jacket does not stand against the sea air and spray and many people come ill equipped when boarding a sea boat.

Great White Looking slightly like the Oros men in our life vests and waterproof jackets we headed for the boat. Like celebrities we were greeted all the way until we reached the boat, our South African chests swelled with pride knowing the tourists would talk greatly of their visit to this town and our country! The Whale Whisperer was the first purpose built, streamlined whale watching boat specifically designed for whale watching. The boat seats 24 passengers comfortably with an observation deck and bathroom to boot. Our skipper, Dickie and hand picked crew are well trained and the Cape Fur Seals cruise feels s effortless and smooth, just how it is meant to be, especially for those without sea legs.

Our first stop of the day was to a pair of southern right whales lolling about in the shallows just off Pearly beach. A friendly calf gave a quick wave of his fluke and they headed off to deeper waters. The tourists aboard were thrilled and just beginning to get used to standing on two feet when we began to move again, we were promised that there would be far more memorable experiences just further on and what moments they were!
Comorant The unique thing about the crew members is that they are there to assist you and partake in your excitement; they aren’t over bearing and over informative. It feels like you are on cruise with good friends, those who you can laugh along with.

The incredible thing about Dyer Island Cruises is that your chances of spotting numerous marine animals are so vast you
permanently have your camera in hand, we loved it! The next stop was alongside a few of the shark cage diving boats.
Southern Right Whale There we had the opportunity to see the great whites in action. Our nerves where shot, even though we weren’t on the shark cage diving boat ourselves. Fear takes hold of you, along with adrenaline.

They are beautiful creatures; they move like ghosts in the water and strangely before they strike even the seagulls stop cawing. Elicia Du Toit our online sales consultant said: “Seeing them makes me feel like somebody is standing on me, I
cannot breathe!”
Dolphins Fueled on by adrenaline we moved on. After spotting some more Southern Right Whales we gradually headed in the direction of Dyer Island.

Then something absolutely magical happened, much to our surprise a very curious southern right whale popped up next to the boat. There were shrieks of surprise and sheer joy coming from each and everyone, even the crew.
This young whale spent so much time with us, close to an hour. He was so
close you could touch him! He took his time eyeing us all peering over the edge. At one stage he lay under the boat, almost bragging about his size compared to us. I really felt that he knew how excited we where to see him so near to us and that is why he hung around, like he could sense the excitement. Being so close to these majestic animals puts the world in perspective and your place on it as a human being.

To see the joy on the people’s faces is hard to explain, there is sincerity and a real need to try and understand the whale.

Eventually we had the chance to sneak away from him and let him be. The closer you come to Dyer Island the richer the marine life becomes. The 60,000 strong Cape fur seal colony on Geyser Rock, to the one side of Shark Alley is booming, smelly and noisy, a perfect family restaurant for hungry great whites looking to pop in for a bite to eat.

We cruised further around Dyer Island, our next stop the African/Jackass penguins. Sadly the population took a dive by 90 percent in the 20^th century mainly due to egg harvesting, guano scrapping and oil pollution. The male penguins will also only mate with the same partner; if the female had to die the male would no longer continue to mate. As of 2013 there are only 800 breeding pairs left on Dyer Island. The Dyer Island Conservation Trust was established in 2006 to deliver conservation and research programs to preserve and protect the marine life in and around Dyer Island.

Bird lovers will love being aboard the Whale Whisperer just as much as the sea lovers. While aboard we spotted cape cormorant, cape gannet, bank cormorant and white breasted cormorants along with various gull species. With one caw of a gull we were sadly on our way back to the harbour.

On our return to the Great White House we handed over our life vests and jackets and took a seat. Much to the delight of everybody, warm vegetable soup and buttered bread is served to all those joining Dyer Island Cruises for a marine tour. This time gives you a chance to warm your fingers and chat about all that you saw. On each tour a video is taken and can be purchased, this played in the background as we warmed ourselves.

Dyer Island Cruises is one of the best, well organized marine tour operators and I would highly recommend that you take the time to book yourself a trip with them!

Important Points:

Tours are suitable for all ages.
Trip lengths are between 2 to 3 hours long depending on sea and weather conditions.
Life jackets and waterproof jackets are provided.
There is storage aboard the Whale Whisperer for backpacks, camera bags etc…
Remember to use sunblock.
Bring along an extra warm jacket.
Please remember to use anti-seasick medication if you are prone to motion sickness.