The Greatest "Shoal" on Earth!
Every year, a massive and indescribable occurrence takes over the eastern coast of Southern Africa. Billions of sardines spawn and begin to migrate which, as you can imagine, attracts a massive amount of oceanic predators. This feeding frenzy has been a tourist attraction of grand proportions and left many people in awe of the wonders of nature. You can also witness the sardine run up-close-and-personal with us!!
The Sardine Run Expedition is a unique wildlife encounter, following the annual Sardine migration along South Africa’s beautifully rugged coastline. Typically, the annual migration of the Sardines from their beginnings in the Southern Cape to being sighted off shore on South Africa’s Wild Coast starts in June each year. As the shoals of Sardines move northwards up the coast the size of the Sardines shoals tend to grow, ultimately forming the ‘greatest shoal on earth’. This amazing journey attracts a multitude of predators that track and follow the Sardines migration, exploiting this localized and abundant food source. It is hard to describe the excitement of the Dolphins, numerous bird species, Whales, Cape Fur Seals and Sharks as they ‘hunt’ the Sardines. You can actually hear the excited squeals of the thousands of Common and Bottlenose Dolphins as they travel in large breaching waves to pursue their prey, long before you see them. Attracted by the Sardines, game fish such as Shad and Garrick pursue the SardineShoals and provide another food source for the Dolphins. Contributing to the noise and surface action are the birds, Cape Gannets, Albatross (yellow nose and black-browed), Terns and Petrels, diving into the shoals of Sardines from a great height.
Humpback, Southern Right and Brydes Whales can also be seen in pursuit of this moving feast.
Below the surface, the action continues with the Sharks (Copper, Dusky, Blacktip, Whitetip, Bronze Whalers and Zambezi) feasting on the Sardines and other marine life. The Cape Fur seals actually sleep with one eye open, ready to react should they see a large shark in their vicinity.
The Dolphins and Sharks look for opportunities to herd the Sardines into balls, this is the Sardines natural reaction to feeling threatened as they perceive there to be safety in numbers. These ‘bait balls’ vary in size and frequency, with the action on some of the larger ones lasting hours.
After several weeks of migrating northwards, the sardines swim out to sea and are carried along the inner edge of the Agulhas current back to the southern Cape to spawn. It must be mentioned at this point that the Sardine Run is a natural phenomenon; therefore the exact timing cannot be predicted. Typically the best times to see the ‘run’ is June to July.
We spot the shoals of sardines by the telltale signs of Dolphins splashing at the surface or by flocks of birds diving into the water. From Mpame we are also able to use the elevated hills to look for miles to see the activity. We position the boat slightly in front of the action so that by the time you have entered the water the marine activity has drifted to your position in the water. From our experience we would recommend that the majority of your time in the water be spent on snorkel as this will give you the speed and flexibility to enter and exit the water easily and therefore not miss out on the fast moving action. If we do encounter activity that is of sufficient size you will have the opportunity to enter the water on scuba.
As the vast majority of your in water activity can be conducted with ease on snorkel this makes the Sardine Run an accessible and exciting marine expedition for non-divers and divers alike. As long as you are comfortable snorkeling you will not miss out on the action. This makes it a great adventure for the whole family.
We use 8m RIBs that are nimble but robust enough to tackle the typical surf launches we have as a consequence of the structure of our coastlines. The boats are fitted with storage for cameras. We recommend that only camera equipment that has a waterproof housing or water resistant cover be used on the boat due to the open nature of the boat.
Confirmed departure 2-11 June 2018. Limited Spaces.
View our itinerary here