Dancing with seals

A few kilometres outside Plettenberg Bay, the beautiful Robberg Peninsula is a protected area pulsing with a cape fur seal colony of around 4000 individuals, gracefully twirling through the water and clumsily waddling around on land. Tourists come here to escape the human buzz of Plettenberg Bay, quietly admiring the rock pools, natural fynbos and myriad of other marine wildlife besides the seals, including dolphins, whales and sharks.

But adventure company Offshore Adventures offers a far more exciting way to experience this natural cornucopia, being the only operator granted permission to conduct snorkelling trips in the waters around Robberg. The seal swim is undoubtedly the star attraction, giving you the opportunity to become immersed in the underwater antics of these adorable and inquisitive creatures. Participants meet at the Offshore Adventures offices at Central Beach, where all the necessary paperwork is dealt with and you’re supplied with snorkels, wetsuits and flippers. Then you’re ready to head out on the Robberg Express rubber duck for a thrilling beach launch, before making your way towards the peninsula. On the 30 minute ride, you may well be accompanied by dolphins slicing through the water next to your boat, and in season there’s a good chance of encountering southern right whales too. While these sightings aren’t certain, swimming with the resident seals is guaranteed, so there’s no chance of disappointment on arrival at Robberg.
The qualified divemaster has many years experience conducting these outings, and will give you a thorough safety briefing beforehand. Hopping into the water, you’ll immediately be surrounded by dozens of seal adults and adorable pups, curiously watching you with their big brown eyes. The seals are quite used to humans, and are highly inquisitive, coming right up to you and sometimes playfully nudging you with their noses. These underwater ballerinas never fail to amaze with their torpedo-like speeds, twirls and dives, with their powerful flippers propelling them through the water at up to 40 km/h. The half hour you get to spend interacting with these creatures is touching and awe-inspiring, but over far too quickly. The tour is suitable for children over the age of six, with no previous experience required to swim with the seals.
For the more intrepid, Offshore Adventures also offers snorkelling excursions further out into the ocean, in search of blue and mako sharks. These trips last around four hours, during which you’ll also have possible encounters with dolphins, sunfish and various game and bait fish. During winter, you can experience one of the ocean’s great natural phenomena – the sardine run – spending five days out at sea tracking massive baitballs numbering into the millions.
While many would be content to simply view all of these natural wonders from the shore or a boat, Offshore Adventures is all about experiencing them to the full.

*This article was written by a TWNA journalist, Dale Hes for The Traveller magazine.