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Rocktail Bay Dive Report - July 2007
Humpback Whales, Bottlenose Dolphins, Rays & Tawny Nurse Sharks.
Rocktail Bay Dive Report
July 2007
Yes, it is that time of the month again when you receive a newsletter from your favourite diving destination. The visibility over the course of the month averaged at 12m to 15m and the sea temperature also remained relatively constant at a refreshing 20 to 22 degrees Celsius. Overall this month’s weather has been very good. We only experienced four days with rain and rough or choppy sea conditions, but the rest of the month delivered good, sunny conditions with one day being spectacular.
On this particular day we had near perfect conditions. The sea looked as if it had the viscosity of oil, barely a ripple over the entire ocean. Before the first dive we spotted some Humpback whales out to sea and decided to go take a quick look. Our quick look ended up lasting almost 2 hours. We followed the whales as they travelled north and everyone with cameras got some very good footage of the whales as they swam alongside us. Different groups of whales were seen breaching further out to sea and landing on the water with a huge splash. It is truly amazing how they are able to lift that huge mass completely out of the water. After quite some time we decided to try get in the water and maybe catch a glimpse of the whales as they swam past. The whales obliged by circling the snorklers; both snorklers and whales enjoyed watching one another. It is truly amazing how these creatures weighing 40 tons and more can glide so effortlessly through the water! These sightings last only seconds, even though it feels like hours, with a swish of their tails they are gone, continuing on their migratory route northwards.
“You promised whales but never did we expect to be snorkelling with them! What an experience, a truly memorable day.”
- Derm, Jen and Yan.
On this same day we also got the chance to swim with Bottlenose dolphins, they were hunting garfish, which were frantically jumping out of the water to try and escape the fate that was waiting for them just beneath the surface.
We had quite a few more dolphin encounters this month. During a dive at Pineapple we heard dolphins; some of the divers were already busy doing their safety stop and managed to see them as they swam by. Another dive saw two bottlenose come in to play during the safety stop – always special to see them on scuba. Near the end of the month we encountered 2 separate groups of Bottlenose dolphins. These dolphins were playing in the waves, jumping around and they seemed to be having a wonderful time. We got in the water ahead of them and watched as they swam by. One dolphin from the first pod split off from the group and played and twirled around us before rejoining the rest of his mates. We have noticed a humpback dolphin that has joined up with the bottlenose dolphins. It seems as if they have adopted him as we have seen them together over a period of approximately one year now. This month we have seen a good spectrum of the Cetacean family, humpback whales, bottlenose dolphins, humpback dolphin and spinner dolphins.
There were four different shark encounters during the first half of the month. The first of the encounters was with a Tawny Nurse shark during a dive at Gogos. Tawny Nurse Sharks grow to approximately two metres long and are often found resting in caves or crevices during the day, as was the case with this one. Darryl noticed the tip of a tail and on closer inspection saw the big shark hidden under the ledge. Good thing he looked or they would have missed this wonderful sighting. Gogos also produced the other 3 shark sightings; a Grey Reef Shark and 2 White tip Reef Sharks.
Game fish were on the prowl, favouring the north south current as this is the best one for hunting in. Tuna, Sea Pike (Pick-handle Barracuda), Couta (Spanish/King Mackerel) and Giant Kingfish (Ignoblis) were all seen this month. There has been a huge school of Needlescaled Queenfish at Pineapple Reef. These fish grow to a length of 50cm and are a bright sliver with 5-8 small blue spots running down their sides. This shimmering cloud of fish hovers at the northern side of the reef, waiting for tit-bits to be brought in on the current. Every now and again they become the tit-bits as they leap out of the water, being chased by bigger predators.
Other creatures on and around the reef have been as plentiful as always. Potato Bass come in to inspect divers regularly, octopus hide away in their holes, geometric eels are seen snaking their way amongst the corals, black cheek eels pop out of holes and cheeky clownfish defend their anemones. We have seen juvenile Batfish, Paperfish, Razor wrasse, Scorpionfish, Firefish, Slinger, Angelfish and many more this month. Trumpet fish have been in abundance, especially at Regal Reef and Coral Alley. These fish are skilled at camouflaging themselves to blend in with their background. This ability enables them to be very effective predators while they hang motionless among larger fish, searching for potential prey.
Rays are always a favourite sighting for any diver. Winter time usually sees the big rays disappear, leaving the smaller blue spotted rays and electric marbled rays. We were lucky to see a small Black Ribbontail Stingray just before we ended our dive at Coachman’s Ledge. The Stingray was lying on the sand and as the divers approached to take photos it lifted up and circled everyone before swimming off across the sand; a great ending to a wonderful dive.
Congratulations to Megan Mackenzie on completing her PADI Open Water Diver certification – wishing you lots more wonderful dives!
And last but certainly not least, congratulations to Pieter and Gerhard for breaking their cycle of bad weather diving! See you again soon!
Yours in Diving,
Clive, Darryl, Michelle and Karin
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14 May, 2010
South Africa will re-introduce their transit visa from 01JUN10
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Increased UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) Effect 1st November 2009
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2010 FIFA World Cup™
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Iris recognition immigration system (IRIS)
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Migration Update September 2009
27 August, 2009
Lioness visits our South Luangwa office - 27.8.09
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