After being in the Azores with an almost certain chance of sighting several dolphin species every day, it was quite different off the coast of South Africa where whale sightings are common but dolphins much rarer. A few different species can be seen off the South African coast, but encounters were low at least for the winter months that I spent off the Western Cape. This made it all the more special for crew and passengers alike when dolphins were encountered.
Indian Ocean humpback dolphins are resident and always present in key areas, but their critically endangered status and small group sizes in the shallows means that sightings were rare and treasured. Common dolphins were not commonly seen, despite their name, but this is a species I saw almost daily in the Azores. The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins I saw in South Africa was a new species for my list.
In total in the winter months I spent in South Africa we encountered Indian Ocean humpback dolphins 19 days, common dolphins 4 days and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins 4 days. Below are a few photos I managed to snap of these slightly more rare encounters:
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