Scubareefing

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WHY

The ultimate feeding frenzy - dolphins, sharks, whales!

GETTING THERE

Fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town, then catch a domestic flight to Durban. From there it's a drive south along the coast to Port St. Johns.

WHEN

June through July

WHERE

Durban, South Africa

DIVE WITH

Blue Wilderness (bluewilderness.co.za)

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Sardine Run, South Africa

By Jason Isley (Adapted from "passport to diving the world")

Well Known For :

The "greatest dive show on earth.

What makes this such a spectacular show is not just the gigantic waves of silvery sardines, but the legions of predators that congregate en masse just off the east coast of South Africa in anticipation of the year's greatest feast. The Sardine Run also coincides with the annual migration of humpback whales, which move north for the season into warmer waters to mate and calve. The whales' spectacular breaches keep you entertained as you sit waiting on the Zodiac for that perfect baitball to develop. The "greatest dive show on earth," a baitball is when the sharks or dolphins, or both, corral a shoal of sardines into a tight ball, then dive into it in a frenzied attack to come away with mouthfuls of unfortunate sardines. Divers slip into the water, descend to about eight metres, and make their way toward the baitball with bronze whaler sharks, silk sharks, raggy sharks, common and bottlenose dolphins, and dive-boming Cape gannets everywhere, all the time.

(Ok enough with the stories, I'm itchin' for a dive)


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