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SARDINE RUN (June/July only)
Prices from:
£1187 excluding flights, based on 2 people sharing accommodation
Day 1:
You will be met at Durban Airport and transferred to overnight accommodation.
Spend the rest of the day meeting the other members of the group and sorting
out dive equipment.
Day 2:
Transfer to accommodation on the Wild Coast at Port St. John for 5 nights,
afternoon launch to start to adventure depending on updated information
received during transfer.
Days 3-6:
Early morning starts and
following the latest information, the boats are launched to spend the day
out at sea. Return to shore late afternoon to relax or go on a local
excursion
Day 7:
Another early morning start to make the most out of the last day on the
Sardine Run. Transfer north to overnight accommodation.
Day 8:
After breakfast, transfer to Durban airport
Includes: all
road transfers;
fully guided tour; 7 nights accommodation (bed and breakfast bases); 6 days
diving
Fast becoming a well-known
phenomenon through nature programmes such as the Blue Planet, the Sardine
Run us no longer a local event. Millions of sardines make their way from
the nutrient-rich, cool waters off the Cape using the Agulhas current
which sweeps them past the Ytanskei (Wild Coast). The shoals of sardines
which are sometimes kilometres in length, attract thousands of predators:
birds, dolphins, game fish, seals, whales and sharks all joining in this
amazing feeding frenzy.
There are 2 ways to
experience the Sardine Run:
1. Go diving at Aliwal Shoal
and Protea Banks - this is where the run traditionally dissipates and in
some years they have seen amazing action with bait balls and predators, in
others the run has not made it that far north so the spectacular is missed
however there are still phenomenal numbers of dolphins, whales and sharks
in the area who are also waiting for the sardines to arrive.
2. The second and more
reliable way is to go on a Sardine Run organised trip. These are run out
of Port St. John on the Wild Coast and the boats spend most of the day at
sea searching for the sardine action. Spotter planes radio information
back to the shore bases and this information is shared between the
operators so they can target the action. There are only a handful of dive
operators who run these trips. Divers must be fit as there is a lot of
getting off and on the boats in the thick of the action! |
