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Sardines off Coffee Bay!

Sardines off Coffee Bay!

HITW hike
Hikers on the trail skirting the cliffs and views on the walk to Hole in the Wall, from Coffee Bay, in the Transkei would have seen all the action. Notice the alow in full bloom – traditionally a precursor to the arrival of the sardines.   Pic by Gareth Sparg (c)

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.

Garrick caught next to the Hole in the Wall
Gareth Sparg shot this photo of a spearo with his catch of the day, in the good weather last week. Garrick are always around when the sardines arrive.

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.

The Transkei Wild Coast - (in)famous for so many things...(c) Gareth Sparg
The Transkei Wild Coast – (in)famous for so many things…let your imagination run wild over this spot(c) Gareth Sparg

http://whiteclayresort.co.za/ can arrange these views and more…

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Red eye Sardines

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Submitted by: Sean Lange

Report:

Small baitballs of Redeye Sardines (Etrumeus teres) were reported by the Natal Sharks Board spotting plane. They seem to have moved northwards to the Waterfall Bluff area, and are confirmed not to be regular sardines, by a dive operator at sea at the time.

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Searching for Sardines with The Sardine Airborne Unit

Searching for Sardines with The Sardine Airborne Unit

Taking to the skies in search of the sardines down Transkei way, thesardine.co.za team shot this rad video, of the trip from Margate Airport, to Port St. Johns and then around Mgazana and back home. Captain John Marshall provided the kite and the thrills – the landing strip experience at Port St. Johns features on the clip – overtaking a renegade VW Golf after negotiating a 200m cliff face, a troup of cows and the usual potholes we encounter in the Transkei.

What I am sure will impress surfing viewers, is the endless stream of right hand point breaks. Wave after wave, all turned on and cranking in the solid 3m ground swell. In fact, on the way back, in the middle of nowhere, a tow surf team was operating?! Wonders…a good 20kms into the Kei!

We flew over a number of whales, travelling in all directions, in groups of two or three, the odd solitary soul too.

Then the shoal of sardines appeared. Tightly packed and being marauded from all sides by dolphins and other predators. A tourist boat, presumably out of Port St. Johns, was close by, cameras rolling. There were many birds active at this spot, Lupitana, but as we went further south, the many birds were just sitting on the water, as if to be waiting. It did seem as though there must have been some sardine action in this area in the last day or so.

Enjoy…