The lower south coast was reported in quiet for tsontwsanes(Pondo word for sardines) this morning. But Jay Steenkamp reports plenty humpback whale activity. The migration is in full swing.
But the big news was dialled in by Robbie van Wijk who reports masses of sardines with wild activity, off Mapuzi right close to Coffee Bay!
Photos please Robbie!
Up and down the coast preparations are being made and bookings filling up as the eternal flame of hope for a good sardine run burns bright in the souls of the millions of die-hard sardine freaks. The Sardine Run 2015 is almost upon us!
This imagery by Rob Nettleton reminds us exactly of why we yearn and yearn, year after year, beer after beer…for the sardines. The chaos of it all. The sharks. The dolphins. The birds. The whales. The fish. The action!
Contact Offshore Africa in Port St. Johns here…http://www.offshoreportstjohns.com/ to reserve your place in the water for 2015.
Confirmed reports have filtered in about shoals of sardines passing by Coffee Bay in the Transkei, birds diving and dolphins chasing.
The area is inundated with holiday folk chasing after what hopes to be the start of ‘the greatest shoal on earth’. And fisherfolk chasing fish.
The ocean out front of White Clay Resort was where most activity was observed.
Conditions are currently ideal for the shoals of sardines to make their way up north, and hopefully into Natal waters.
http://whiteclayresort.co.za/ can arrange these views and more…
Although conditions are real good for the sardines, we have yet another no show, so far the year.
On Friday, the Natal Sharks Board plane flew south but returned with to report, again. Port st. Johns and back…
Maybe the fleet of boats hauling sardines in net after net, offloading at Port St. Francis, has something to with it…?
There is no point posting any sightings of the humpback whales on their sojourn up the east coast of Africa- there are just so many of them!
Travelling north in random patterns and formations, the whales are having a blast, jumping clean out of the water often times.
As far as the sardines are concerned, it’s only the red eye version of the sardine, to report. Shoals moving north were being hustled by dolphins and gamefish…a similar scene to normal sardines but on a very small scale.
The water has cooled over the last two weeks, to about 19 degrees some times and places, which is great for the sardines, if they decide to come this way!
