Sardine time!

The annual great Sardine Run is a natural phenomenon which usually occurs during the months of June and July, when massive schools of sardines migrate from the colder waters around the Cape to the warmer waters of Kwa-zulu Natal to give birth to their offspring. Once they've layed their eggs, they return to the Cape, closely followed by thousands of dolphins, birds, fish of prey, whales and sharks. The ocean awakes and the thrill is simply indescribable.

In the olden days it was said that as soon as the Aloes bloom on the South Coast, the Sardines will start running. Funny enough, nobody gave the Sardine Run much notice. The ocean is buzzing with life, yet only the locals used to get drawn into this unbelievable spectacle of Mother Nature. There are hundreds, sometimes thousands of Common Dolphins along the coast hunting the sardines and there are whales everywhere. Cape Gannets (Toelpel auf deutsch) cruise in flocks of several hundreds above the sardines and dive from 20m into the water to catch as many of the silver fish as they can. At the end of a good day, the Gannets are so full that they just sit on the water unable to take off.

From underneath the sharks and dolphins round up a large number of sardines and form what is known as a bait ball. Once the bait ball is formed, the sharks and dolphins swim through and through and through that ball until not one sardine is left. As divers, we first approach the situation carefully and watch from the boat what is going on. Then we slide into the water just on ABC and when a bait ball is formed or a large shoal of sardines approaches, we don equipment and watch the incredible scene from a depth of approximately 5-7m. Then it's back on the boat and off to the next group of sardines. This can go on for hours or even the whole day with a short lunch break in between.

When the Sardine Run starts, it starts just north of Port Elizabeth and moves up the coast pretty quickly. This year ADA will be waiting for the Sardines on the Wild Coast. For those unlucky ones who cannot join us this year, keep reading this post for all the updates!