Once again one of the world’s greatest migrations are in full swing, providing some of the most spectacular sights seen on this planet – that is if you have the privilege of entering the waters of the Indian Ocean where millions of sardines migrate north along the coast of Southern Africa – experience the Sardine Run.
Here is a report on the 2011 sardine run as it currently stands from the Blue Wilderness team:
The first team have completed their Sardine Run 2011 Expedition with Blue Wilderness and had a phenomenal trip after a slow first two days and a big wind on the third day which kicked the trip into life with non-stop baitball action for the next three days.
Day One: delivered good weather and calm seas for the boating team and good flying conditions for the spotter microlight with approximately 1000 birds and 300-400 common dolphin feeding off Kidds Beach (30km south of East London). The activity dissipated by 10h00 and the dolphins moved offshore with the birds following to chase surface dwelling fish (halfbeaks) for the rest of the day. This activity was too fast moving to have any chance of inwater success for the team. Visibility was between 5m and 8m.
Day Two: brought good weather for the boating team but very strong cross winds for the microlight with 35kts of wind at 1000ft. The team could find no consolidated action and the dolphin were spread out over a very wide area with the birds inactive. The team worked with a humpback whale (the first spotted in our time at sea in East London this year) and followed a big pod (100) of bottlenose dolphin along the breaking waves towards East London. Visibility was between 10m and 5m.
Day Three: the wind was howling 38kts when the team awoke and no launch was possible. The birds were working in front of the harbour wall for most of the day and the signs were good for the following day. The team went to the Mpongo Game Reserve where they saw a wide variety of Africa’s game including a few of the Big Five: Elephant, Lion, Rhino as well as Blesbok, Giraffe, Ostrich, Nyala, Impala, Tesebe, Wild dogs and a variety of bird species.
Day Four: started with an offshore breeze and tough flying conditions with the Westerly wind still blowing above 1000 ft. The team found the action off Kidds Beach again and baitball action was the order of the day with the team spending all of the morning in the water with the baitballs on Scuba and snorkel. The bird numbers had increased to about 2000 and the dolphin pod was around 2000 as well. Sharks were in evidence but seemed to stay under the baitballs for the most part. Twelve Brydes whales were spotted but none entered the fray close to the dive team. Just afte the team launched two killer whales were spotted close to the harbour wall but the team had missed them. Visibility ranged from ten meters to two meters
Day Five: was another phenomenal day with the activity having moved to the area just south of the harbour to a position just north of the harbour. Activity was close inshore. Brydes whales, seals, dolphins and sharks being the order of the morning. The activity dissipated by 10h00 and the team followed the dolphin to a position 11 miles offshore for the rest of the day. The bird numbers had increased to almost 8 000 and the dolphin numbers were in excess of 2500. The visibility inshore was poor with the big swell and proximity to the river mouth being the main cause.
Day Six: saw excellent weather conditions and awesome activity just south of the harbour with baitballs going ballistic as the teams approached the action. The team spent until midday in the water on scuba and snorkel. There were sharkballs, baitballs and some of the most amazing personel experiences any of the team could have hoped for. The shark activity was the best so far and the dolphin numbers were in the region of 1500. Four Brydes whales were spotted and a few passes were made through the balls. Seals were few but active and the dolphin activity awesome. The birds were more active but still wary of the divers. The best visibility was approximately 10 meters and worst about 3m.
Looking forward we have good weather and no sign of the main shoals so we are confident of more action to come.
Images courtesy of Blue Wilderness – www.bluewilderness.co.za
Helpful links:
South Africa Map
KwaZulu Natal Map
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