Some of the Unique Sightings We’ve Had This Season

We’ve now spent over 30 days on the Wild Coast for the 2025 Sardine Run — on the water daily from 7am to 3pm, scanning the ocean non-stop. It’s a rare opportunity, even globally, to spend this much time observing marine life in its natural state. Our guests get to join us on these expeditions, immersed in one of the world’s most dynamic ocean environments.

Despite our years of experience on the water, this season has produced some truly unique and unexpected sightings. Some were photographed, others simply witnessed in the moment — but all were memorable:

 • Dolphins and Bryde’s whales feeding on streepies (Sarpa salpa): This was a first for us — a coordinated feeding event on a species not usually targeted by large marine predators. Seeing them corralled into a baitball and attacked on the surface was completely new.

 • A moray eel in open blue water: Spotted by our snorkelers, this free-swimming eel was behaving unusually for its kind. The species is still uncertain, but seeing a moray in this setting was unexpected and remarkable.

 • A glimpse of a southern bluefin tuna: Spotted by one of our guests — a brief but unmistakable encounter. These fish are not commonly observed here.

 • Dorado (mahi-mahi) under the boat: A brief but clear sighting. While they’re not unheard of, it’s rare to see them in this area

 • Oceanic manta ray: Seen and snorkelled with by another operator, and later reportedly spotted in the Mkhambati Nature Reserve area. A very uncommon visitor to this coastline.

 • Kitefin shark: A deep-sea predator known for biting circular chunks out of whales and other large animals. One was seen at the surface — rare and fascinating.

 • Two separate Dwarf minke whale sightings: One individual surfaced right next to our boat; another was a mother and calf spotted clearly nearby. These are rare and very special encounters.

 • Southern right whale and calf: We see these maybe two or three times a season. This year we had one solid sighting.

 • Great white shark near a beached whale: While white sharks are known to move through this region, we rarely see them. This sighting was nearshore and linked to a whale carcass on the beach.

• One of the more bizarre sightings this season was a large sea goldie (Pseudanthias) —dead at the surface with clear signs of barotrauma. It appeared that a common dolphin had chased it up from the depths. I’ve never seen anything like it on the Sardine Run before

Although our focus is on the ocean, we also spent time exploring the estuaries and river edges during lunch stops — and one personal highlight for me was spotting an African Finfoot. It’s an elusive bird species, not commonly seen anywhere, and to find one while out with our guests on the rubber duck was a real treat from a birding perspective. A fantastic addition to our species list.

We’re always interested in sharks and rays, and this season we observed what I believe was a large marbled electric ray. I’m starting to get a feel for the type of inshore habitats they prefer, and I’m now finding them more regularly when conditions allow for good visibility.

We also had multiple sightings of loggerhead turtles, a few green turtles, and heard of reports from other operators of marlins — which we have seen on previous runs, though not yet this season.

All of this goes to show: when you spend enough time looking — watching every ripple, every bird, every change in behavior — the ocean always drjs