The ocean is a noisy place, as, unlike light and other possible stimuli, sound can travel very efficiently in seawater. Anthropogenic noise pollution in the marine environment is becoming a large concern – underwater noise created by ships and other human-related sources can be detected many kilometres away, far beyond what would be seen or READ MORE
In Plettenberg Bay we are fortunate enough to have three species of dolphins that frequent the area, and one of these is the long-beaked common dolphin Delphinus capensis. As the name may suggest, this species has a long, narrow, pointed beak, while another diagnostic feature is a ‘criss-cross’ figure-of-eight or hourglass shape on the sides READ MORE
The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin Sousa chinensis is a resident species along our coastline, and is the iconic species of the Plettenberg Bay Hope Spot (www.sst.org.za/hope-spots/plett-hope-spot). The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin is a widespread and highly variable species. Humpback dolphins range from the east coast of Africa, northern Indian Ocean, along the southern coast of the Middle READ MORE
Dolphin Echolocation -by Steve Bebington While dolphins do have good eyesight, this is of minor use to them in an aquatic environment where vision may be limited by various factors such as light penetration or sediment in the water. As such, their primary sensory awareness relates to sound in what is known as echolocation or READ MORE
During our trips this week we found pods of Bottlenose dolphins along the Keurbooms beach. They were relaxing in the surf and some curious animals came to the boat for a closer look, putting smiles on the guest’s faces when they played in the waves. We also encountered a small resident group of between 4 READ MORE
In many animal societies a group member born with disabling deformities or having a severe wound becomes a burden to the group and is often left behind. If left behind they normally die of hunger, disease from their wounds or they get killed by predators, however some species of dolphins and whales don’t leave their READ MORE
This Sunday we had a good day at sea. On the 09h30 trip we had 3 Brydes whales off the point of Robberg Peninsula and one of them decided to come up 3 meters from the boat. On the 12h00 trip we found a bog group of Bottlenose dolphins paying in the surf at Keurbooms.
Dolphins can move their eyes independently from each other, enabling them to focus on two different objects at one time.
Dolphins sleep by resting one half of their brain at a time so that one eye is always open. This allows them to rise to the surface to breathe and to protect themselves from predators.
Whale Watching / Ocean Safari / Close Encounter Whale Experience – Picture of the Day  Yesterday on our 09h30 and we had this Brydes whale at Keurbooms Village. This whale swam alongside the boat for 10 minutes before moving off. En-route to Robberg, we encountered 9 Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins playing in the surf at Robberg READ MORE