Fish Eagle Restaurant

Debbie at Offshore Africa recommended the Fish Eagle Restaurant in Port St. Johns for lunch. It didn't look like much from the outside but once inside, it had a beautiful view of the river. And a pizza oven! And the pizza was really, really good!

Thanks Debbie!

looks can be deceiving

we entered to find ...

... a very welcoming deck

with a pizza oven!

our pizzas were almost ready! yum!

Solstice on the Indian Ocean

Cape Hermes lighthouse in Port St. Johns

I changed oceans for this year's Solstice celebration. Salutations to the Sun!

Indian Ocean

Help Wanted @ St. John the Baptist

Port St. Johns had its own little Roman Catholic Church for our Sunday Mass. How convenient!

And when we walked into the early morning Mass at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, the greeter told us she was looking for lectors for the First and Second Readings. Jackpot! Both Vince and my niece Jill are experienced lectors. Vince could have even sung the Responsorial Psalm too if necessary.

First Reading, Job 38:1, 8-11

Second Reading, 2 Cor 5:14-17

The readings were followed by Mark's Gospel which told the story of Jesus calming the storm at sea. It was pretty apropos considering our wild ride along the Wild Coast the day before. I sure could relate to the terrified Apostles in the Bible story!

They don't call it the Wild Coast for nothin'!

You will find South Africa's Wild Coast between East London and Port Edward in the Eastern Cape. It is probably called the Wild Coast because it is the most undeveloped and unpopulated part of the southern coast of South Africa. It is wild and pristine. But I called it the Wild Coast because of the wild Zodiac ride we took going out and coming in from from the Sardine Run. It was like Mr. Toad's Wild Zodiac Ride.












We went out into the Indian Ocean from the Offshore Africa launch on the Umzimvubu River in Port St. Johns.

In order to get out into the open ocean, you first have to go through a series of breakers where the river meets the sea.












These breakers may not look like much from up on the hill overlooking the shore, but from down below on the water and inside of a Zodiac, they look fierce!








Crossing the breakers was the only time we were required to put on our life jackets. Rob, our skipper, told us if we fall out, we have to ride the waves back ashore and catch a bakkie ride with Debbie back to camp. He won't be coming back in the Zodiac for us! I gritted my teeth, held on to the hand ropes for dear life and kept my feet buried in the floor straps. There was no way I was going overboard!

We made it out and I managed to stay in the boat. Woo hoo! I figured the worst part was over as coming back in would be like surfing on the waves. And once we made it past the breakers, it was smooth sailing out to sea. But alot depends on the wind and the chop and the currents and the location of the sardines.

Up at the airstrip, scouts take off to look for the shallow sardine schools offshore from high above in the sky. Rob kept in touch by radio to find out where the sardines were. And then he'd zoom out to find them based on their spotting.

scout overhead

By the end of the day, in order to follow the action, we had driven about 40 km southwest from Port St. Johns off the coast of the Hluleka Nature Reserve. And the wind had changed too sometime during the day.

When it was time to return to port, I strapped my feet back in and grabbed onto the ropes for what I though would be a smooth ride ride back to camp. It took a full two harrowing hours over choppy water to get back to the mouth of the river. We only stopped when necessary to change gas tanks. I told Vince afterwards it was like the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, only for a whole two hours. Brutal!

Thankfully we all had complete confidence in our skipper Rob. He is the best skipper on the Wild Coast and there was no doubt he'd get that Zodiac home safely. I was just happy to still be on board when he got there!

One good thing though. I was right about the breakers. We just surfed right on in.

Underwater with Greg Lecoeur

We were so very lucky to have Greg Lecoeur on the Zodiac with us to chronicle our Sardine Run experience on film!

Greg is a professional nature photographer and diver who specializes in underwater photography. He has an extensive publication list and I am looking forward to seeing his photographs of the 2015 Sardine Run in upcoming scuba and nature magazines.

Offshore Africa

me and Debbie

We chose Offshore Africa as our dive outfitters for the 2015 Sardine Run. They are simply the best!

Offshore Africa is run by Rob Nettleton and Debbie Smith, both highly experienced and qualified dive masters. Their resumes are quite impressive!


 

Offshore Africa is based in Port St. Johns in the center of the action on the Wild Coast. The closest airport is in Mthatha.

They are running special Sardine Run dive trips from June 20 through July 24 for the 2015 season. This is supposed to be the best Sardine Run in years so don't miss it!

And thank you Tracy Woodland for putting together our 2015 Sardine Run trip. You too are the best!

Offshore Africa is across the river from the Ntaba River Lodge

we stayed at the Ntaba River Lodge

our thatched cottage

Sardines for Father's Day

It took me three years but I finally got Vince to dive the Sardine Run! 

Theoretically, the Sardine Run happens in South Africa every June and July when the sardines migrate from Antarctica. They swim along the southern coast of the Indian Ocean along the Wild Coast to Durban through a trough where the continental shelf steeply drops off into the deep ocean.

I say "theoretically" because during some years, the sardines are a no-show. Apparently the sea temperature needs to drop below 21 °C because sardines prefer water temps between 14-20 °C. If not, the sardines do not run. 2013 and 2014 were dismal, but the sardines started running this year by mid-June in KZN. By all accounts, 2015 is gearing up to be a great year for the Sardine Run!

surrounded by dolphins

I have to admit I had never heard of the Sardine Run before Vince mentioned it to me three years ago. I am not a scuba diver and really have no interest in meeting a shark face to face underwater without a cage to protect me.

But the Sardine Run happens to coincide with something I do care about - the return of the Humpback Whale to the Wild Coast - and I was told there would be a good chance to see whales from out on the boat.

And we would definitely also be able to see dolphins since they are the key to making a sardine "bait ball."

This is the way it works. Once dolphins find a large school of sardines, they circle around part of the school, cutting off a large number from the rest of the school. They create a whirl pool around the sequestered sardines who spin around and around in circles until they form a tightly packed ball of bait. Then the crafty dolphins feed on the captive sardines. This phenomenon does not go unnoticed by others however. Out of the sky come gannets and cormorants who dive deep into the bait ball and eat their fill as well. Then there are the whales and the sharks who come in for some sardines too.

Humpback whales, like sharks, are feeding opportunists. If the dolphins take the trouble to make a bait ball of sardines, the whales are more than happy to join in and take advantage of a free meal served up by their friends.

circling dolphins

Jill watching the diving gannets

Vince getting ready to go overboard.

there he goes!

I brought snorkeling gear with me on the boat, but I wasn't sure if  I could actually go into the water if there were confirmed sharks swimming around. And in fact, Vince saw two sharks just swimming around the boat almost as soon as he entered the water. He said one actually circled back to get a better look at him before heading out to catch some sardines instead. No thanks!

I didn't need to snorkel like Jill to see the sardines anyway. The sardines were visible from above the water swimming around and under the boat. Besides I didn't come for the sardines; I came for the whales and dolphins. And I could see so many of both from the safety and security of the boat! They were putting on quite a show too. The whales were peduncle slapping the water with their tails and pec slapping with their fins, rolling on their backs like a puppy dog and clapping their fins together like a seal, breaching, lunging and spy hopping. And we saw a ridiculous number of common and bottlenose dolphins all swimming around and under the boat. We even saw a couple of loggerhead turtles!

humpback peduncle slap

I didn't take many photos of the Sardine Run though for a couple of reasons. First of all, Vince was busy with the GoPro and took hours and hours of footage of the sardines and sharks below the surface as well as the dozens of frolicking whales and dolphin pods all swimming around us in the boat. I had only brought my little Canon on the Zodiac and not my 35mm Nikon. (I didn't have a waterproof casing for it.)

Secondly, we were so lucky to have a world famous underwater photographer on board. I gave him precedence and a wide berth in our little Zodiac. (Between the diving equipment and the people, we were packed in like sardines!) No matter how good my photos might have been had I elbowed in for a better vantage point, they would never have been as good as his. I sure hope he got a photo of a dolphin breaching too!

Photo by Greg Lecoeur

photo by Offshore Africa

photo by Greg Lecoeur

photo by Offshore Africa

Vince surely earned his Sardine Run tee shirt

For his next adventure, Vince wants to dive with the fur seals and sevengill sharks off of Simonstown in the Western Cape. He can do that in July when I am safely back in the United States for the month. Have fun honey!

All in all, it was a great Father's Day. And as a result, we now have a new Father's Day tradition. From now on, Vince will remember and celebrate his Father's Day Sardine Run by eating a sardine sandwich for all his future Father's Day lunches.

Happy Father's Day, Vince!