Seal Snorkeling

25/10/2024

I love seeing my footage used for conservation media purposes. In this story by Carte Blanche, they highlight the plight of the African Penguin. Please watch and learn. See if you can spot a short clip of a penguin that I filmed quite a while ago. Great to see footage by Cape Town Freediving in the piece as well.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟮 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰.On Robben Island, the small colony of African Penguins is often dif...

17/10/2024

Whilst at sea recently in False Bay, I spotted this odd-looking cormorant amongst a raft of African Penguins. I think the association was happenstance, the coloring was still very odd. Does anyone know what is going on here, or see it before? Could it be "breeding rump patch genetics" gone wrong? Its eye colour also looks odd. Thanks

15/10/2024

Success - Animal Ocean Supports Elephant Seal Rabies Vaccination Efforts

There is growing concern that rabies, now endemic in Cape Fur Seals, may spread to vagrant pinniped species, potentially reaching the sub-Antarctic islands and even Antarctica. In response, authorities have decided to assess and vaccinate vagrant seals that could contract and spread the virus. To protect marine mammals in the Southern Ocean, Buffel the Elephant Seal, was selected for vaccination.

I had the pleasure of assisting Gregg Oelofse from the City of Cape Town’s Coastal Management division, Wildlife inspector John Friedman from the Cape of Good Hope SPCA, and the Two Oceans Aquarium team, including seal guru Claire Taylor and vet Dr. Ilse Jenkinson, in administering the rabies vaccine to Buffel. Jean Tresfon joined us and has put up a FB post about this day out. This challenging task involved getting close to Buffel and administering the vaccination via dart, in a spot where his blubber is thinnest. Drawing on our Duiker Island experience, we were able to support the team and help safeguard Buffel from potential infections.

Buffel has been on Duiker Island since early September and is becoming more active. He seeks contact while defending his territory, though his behavior can be unpredictable. He has been fighting with Cape Fur Seals, and unfortunately, these interactions often end in their deaths.

On the day we vaccinated him, Buffel spent time swimming up and down the channel, vocalizing with deep, guttural roars that echoed across the water. His enormous size was striking, especially when compared to the Cape Fur Seals. Buffel still bears scars, including an injured left eye, and other marks of the tough life he’s led in South African waters, but he remains healthy and active on the island.

Rabies has had a tragic impact, halting our seal snorkeling and affecting both tourism and marine mammal care. It was once thought that marine mammals couldn’t contract rabies, but we now know that’s not the case, shifting our understanding of virus transmission in these species.

Rabies in Cape Fur Seals is also affecting water users in South Africa, from swimmers to spearfishermen and beachgoers. People are slowly realizing that the virus is here to stay, posing an ongoing risk. With that in mind, it was meaningful to help protect Buffel and reduce his chances of contracting the virus.

01/10/2024

OCEAN SAFARI's - This Friday and Saturday look great for an adventure on the ocean. We are running our Ocean Safari trips, Ill be there to show all our guests the coastline. We still have space on the Friday 1pm and Saturday trips 9am and 1pm - Please join us.

Bookings through the website - https://www.animalocean.co.za/ocean-safari-cape-town-hout-bay-animal-ocean

13/09/2024

Ocean Safari ***** - Our First 5 Star Google review for Ocean Safari's ! With > 1000 5 star reviews for Seal Snorkeling over 15 years, this new review on a new product feels special.

Turns out changing the names on all the various platforms from Seal Snorkeling to Animal Ocean Safari, is not simple and will take some time (if its possible at all)

4.9 ★ · Tour agency

12/09/2024

Although we've said goodbye to Seal Snorkeling. Animal Ocean is by no means closed. In fact we strongly believe this is just the beginning of a new incredible chance for us to share our passion of not only the seals, but all the marine life that calls the southern peninsula home.

11/09/2024

VIS FOR DAYS! -

Our vast Atlantic Ocean isn't shy when it comes time to show off. Our wonderful guests enjoyed some delicious snacks and hot chocolate on their ocean safari today, all while enjoying all that our incredible coast line has to offer!

10/09/2024

The biggest killer of our seals?

PLASTIC!

Did you know that plastic and pollution are some of the biggest causes of death and injury in Cape Fur Seals. No matter where it is left, plastic will always find it's way back into the ocean and harm not only our seals, but thousands of other marine life that we so desperately need to protect.

Details on a Hout Bay clean up day coming soon!

09/09/2024

Ocean Safari's - Animal Ocean's new trips are off to a great start as we show visitors our amazing coastline in a new way. the trip is designed to allow curiosity, personal connection, and exploration. We adapt each trip to the interests of our guests and the conditions on the day. With so much spectacular coastline and wildlife to experience, this allows guests and guides to indulge our adventurous nature, outdoor lust, and ocean passion.
Snorkel if you feel like it, swim through Kelps forests or view the scenery of the world-famous Cape Town. We are developing this tour all the time so watch for some additions soon. Safari is coming to the ocean for the first time.

Look, Touch, Feel, Explore.

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12/08/2024

Seal Snorkeling closes down selling the house - as part of the change, we can no longer keep the snorkel center.

This is a way for you to help, please share to interested home owners. Hout Bay, Cape Town by the beach!

The buisness was designed for a huge turn over of snorkelers, which will no longer be the case. The biggest asset is our property near the beach in Hout Bay, and we need to release the growth over the 9 years of owning it.

It’s a lovley house, full of great memories and well positioned. You’re welcome to ask me questions about it personally.

Have a look and please pass on the details to your friends 🙏

The Beach House *Exclusive Sole Mandate* Capture the tranquility of this charming beach house that embraces the very essence of coastal living. A mere 2-minute stroll down to the beach and a stone's throw away from popular restaurants. Imagine the convenience of strolling to the sandy shores or dini...

09/08/2024

Appreciation Post - As we try to navigate a new future for Animal Ocean. I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to all those who got hold of me, chatted, and offered advice, memories, thoughts, tears, and concern! It's been amazing to hear all your thoughts and connect over what is a shock to all of us, me and you as it turns out. Thank you !

Animal Ocean (Lara-hailey Caine, Samantha Sivewright, Rob Caine, Jami Marnitz, Lauren van Noort, and too many more too name but I'm thinking of you) created a unique thing, we gave a massive value to living healthy Cape Fur seals, seeing them not as a fishing annoyance, fur or ecosystem disruptor ... but as curious personalities trying to live in a wild ocean. I think that attitude will stay on, as we separate the sick individuals from the normal ones, but we can't snorkel with them as we used to.

I wanted to write, anything, something to track this quick change we are going through and move forwards. So after the big decision to close seal snorkeling, we have had to close the Snorkeling Center, the overheads were just too high to keep it. You will see it on the market soon. We are moving the boats and equipment to another facility where we will organize ourselves from.

We are shifting to Ocean Safaris with a Cape Point Route or Atlantic Route, depending on the best ocean conditions on the day of booking - think Safari vehicle on water. The aim is to go slowly with an enquiring mind, looking and learning. This is a longer trip where we snorkel in multiple places, explore the kelp forests and all their wonders, explore all wildlife opportunities, and make the trips broader and more adventurous. We'll only do 1 or 2 trips a day, with more freedom to go wherever the best vis and wildlife is. This does make the trip more expensive, but it will be massively worth it.

Yes, I would still snorkel with individual seals in the kelp forest, one on one, not all seals have rabies. If a seal is acting normally and we are away from a dense colony, we will continue to enjoy the underwater presence of Cape Fur seals, but it's not the focus of the trip like Fur seals used to be. Viewing the dense colonies of Fur seals is still amazing, but snorkeling there at the moment is the highest chance of finding a sick individual, which we want to avoid.

It will take us some time to get all the media in line with this new offering, so things will be confusing or a while, but that's the process of changing direction. I want to get back to the post-Sard Run excitement, so I may post about that soon as well.

Thank you for all the support and messages, this platform really did let many many friends from around the world get in touch and connect during a tricky time for me / us here at Animal Ocean, and for that I'm grateful.

Cheers for now

04/08/2024

It's with great sadness that we are no longer offering Seal Snorkeling in Cape Town due to the recent Rabies outbreak.

We are in the process of moving out of the Seal Snorkeling center and resetting the entire business. More posts to come but at least you know why you cant book Seal Snorkeling with us in Cape Town.

The outbreak may be the first ever documented in marine mammals.

20/05/2024

Art Exhibition

My first-ever prints for exhibition are up at for their ocean-focused collection of local ocean-inspired art. I chose three images that I'm in love with, and I hope they will bring joy to someone's home. Please take a moment to go visit the exhibition. James Lowe also has some of his beautiful Cyanotype prints exhibited.

Blue Tide - A portrait of the nudibranch Glaucus atlanticus (Blue Sea Dragon), known for feeding on jellyfish and using their nematocysts to sting its would-be predators! Created with Tony Wu at home in Kalk Bay.

Between Worlds - An image crossing the barrier between mountains and the kelp forest. This image stands at the entrance of the Two Oceans Aquarium, welcoming guests to enter a new world. It's one of those unrepeatable ocean moments that live on in this image.

Ocean Calm - In all my time at sea (15 years) on the Wild Coast, I have NEVER experienced a day like 29 June 2022. There wasn't a single drop of water out of place on the ocean. Pure glass as Common dolphins rode on our bow. Single droplets from the boat caused perfectly circular ripples as they landed on the surface. I couldn't photograph enough. It felt like this moment was about to end; when a light breeze arrived, the glass was gone.

18/05/2024

Sardine Run 2024 - It's all about the hunt and trying to understand the movements of millions of animals as the weather and ocean currents change daily. It's what keeps me obsessed with the process of getting to sea and experiencing the massive event. Moments from the start of this year run in the southern range of its start. Where will it be on the 16th June when we start our trips in the lower middle of the Sardine Run event range. Will those cyclone eddies come down the coastline allowing the fish up into KZN ? The latest SST map (17/5/24) is showing more cold water moving up and past East London, perfect to keep that flow of fish coming up the coastline.

15/05/2024

Sardine Run 2024

I've just completed an amazing week at sea in the East London area, and the timing could not have been better. On the 5th of May, the first massive shoals of sardines arrived, shimmering on the surface as we snorkeled with them, and the fish kept coming through all week. Between the 6th of May onwards, the predators arrived en-mass with a peak in Cape gannet activity on the 12th of May as a Southwesterly wind picked up and brought them in. I have never, in 15 seasons, seen such numbers of gannets feeding at one time. I’ve seen impressive white waterfalls and tornadoes of these bird in action before, but this day was ridiculous with up to 8 massive swirling tornadoes of birds diving us at any one time. It felt like all the gannets on Bird Island had arrived and were feeding. The next day last the North Easterly arrived the gannets had dispersed.

As the week progressed we saw more and more Dusky and Copper sharks active on the sardine baitballs. Often we find a mixture of bait fish being eaten (Round-Herring, Anchovy and Saury) but not this year, all the fish we found had spotted sides and spotted dorsal flanks, the poor lost terrified sardine.

This year Sardine Run has kicked off with an amazing start, I can't wait for the northerly seconding of the Run to kick off, and we will be there at Mdumbi from the 16th of June, you should join us, we still have a few places.

https://www.animalocean.co.za/sardine-run

16-23 June - 6 places left
2-9 July - 3 places left

15/04/2024

A must-watch for anyone interested in the South African Shores. Beautifully presented with gems of knowledge you can't get anywhere else by the rocky shore legend Charles Griffiths. I've watched every episode back-to-back and loved it.

Well done guys, I know it takes a lot of work to film and edit a series like this! many people's lives, beach walks, and rocky shore strolls will be richer for it.

Discover amazing animals, bizarre behaviors and the fantastic features of our coastlines, every fortnight with Prof. Charles Griffiths, his son Matt, and Ben...

18/03/2024

An adult Southern Elephant seal hauled out on Strandfontein Beach last night and hauled itself up the beach and into Badenpowell Drive. At about 10pm the unsuspecting seal was hit by a Volkswagen Polo, as it lay across both lanes of road at night. The seal died from the impact. This morning all authorities were alerted to this and I headed to the scene to see if it the casualty was Buffel, our well-known Elephant seal, it was not. Buffel is currently on Onrus Beach, Hermanus. What a tragic way for such an incredible creature to meet its end !
Shark Spotters were manning the site while onlookers asked questions and the City Solid wast disposal unit waited for equipment to move the carcass.

11/03/2024

Sardine Run & Yoga - 16-23 June - places available
Looking for the ultimate adventure on the Wild Coast, this is it ! Join Monique Benjamin and me for a week at Mdumbi spending time at sea and doing yoga in the evenings overlooking the bay.
Get in touch for more details