Meet the locals before you paddle

• 1Blunt, rounded headNo beak at all — very unusual for a dolphin, and the easiest way to recognise a Heaviside’s.2Triangular dorsal finA neat, upright triangle rather than the curved-back fin most dolphins have.3Pectoral flippersUsed for steering and braking during their fast, tight turns around the kayaks.4Tail flukesDolphins beat their tails up and down — fish sweep side to side. Watch for the difference.Year-roundDrag to spin · tap the numbers

  Heaviside’s dolphin

  Cephalorhynchus heavisidii

  Size~1.7 m — one of the world’s smallest dolphinsEatsJuvenile hake, squid and octopusBest timeCalm early mornings, all year

  Did you knowThey live nowhere else on Earth but the Benguela coast of South Africa and Namibia — and they love surfing kayak bow waves.

• 1Short, dark beakA stubby beak compared with most dolphins — good for snapping up small shoaling fish.2Falcate dorsal finCurved back like a sickle and two-toned — dark at the front, pale at the back.3CountershadingDark above, pale below: camouflage from predators looking down and prey looking up.4Muscular tail stockThe engine behind those famous somersaults and high leaps.Year-roundDrag to spin · tap the numbers

  Dusky dolphin

  Lagenorhynchus obscurus

  Size~2 mEatsAnchovies, sardines and squidBest timeSummer mornings, in pods that can number hundreds

  Did you knowThe acrobats of the bay — duskies are famous for somersaults, back-flips and leaping clean out of the water beside the kayaks.

• 1Long, slender beakThe long beak that names the species — ideal for snapping small fast fish out of a spinning bait ball.2Falcate dorsal finTall and curved back like a sickle, slicing the surface when the pod porpoises at speed.3Hourglass flanksA golden-and-grey hourglass pattern along each side — no other local dolphin has it.4Tail flukesBeating up to three times a second, they drive bursts past 35 km/h — fast enough to keep up with any sardine.Summer & autumnDrag to spin · tap the numbers

  Long-beaked common dolphin

  Delphinus capensis

  Size~2.5 mEatsSardines and anchoviesBest timeSummer and autumn, when the bait fish run

  Did you knowThey travel in pods that can number in the hundreds — when one sweeps through after sardines, the whole bay seems to boil.

• 1CallositiesRough white patches of thickened skin on the head — each whale’s pattern is unique, like a fingerprint.2Twin blowholesTwo blowholes angled apart produce the V-shaped blow that gives right whales away at a distance.3No dorsal finA smooth, finless back — the quickest way to tell a right whale from a humpback.4Tail flukesUp to 5 m across — often raised clear of the water before a deep dive.Jun – NovDrag to spin · tap the numbers

  Southern right whale

  Eubalaena australis

  SizeUp to 15 m and 40 tonnesEatsKrill and copepods, filtered through baleenBest timeWinter and spring, when they calve in Cape waters

  Did you knowThey swim ~2 500 km from sub-Antarctic feeding grounds to breed here. The white callosity patterns on their heads are as unique as fingerprints.

• 1Five-metre pectoral finsThe longest fins of any whale — up to a third of its body length — used to steer, herd fish and slap the surface.2The humpThe small dorsal fin sits on a fleshy hump that shows as the whale arches to dive — the reason for the name.3Knobbly headGolf-ball-sized bumps called tubercles, each with a single sensory hair — like whiskers for feeling the water.4Tail flukesThe black-and-white pattern underneath is unique to each whale — researchers identify individuals by it.May – DecDrag to spin · tap the numbers

  Humpback whale

  Megaptera novaeangliae

  SizeUp to 16 m and 30 tonnesEatsKrill and small shoaling fishBest timeSpring, at the peak of the migration

  Did you knowThousands stream past on migration between Antarctic feeding grounds and tropical breeding waters — and no whale breaches more spectacularly.

• 1External ear flapsFur seals have little visible ears — true seals don’t. That makes them close cousins of sea lions.2Whiskers (vibrissae)Ultra-sensitive — they can track the wake a fish left behind in dark or murky water.3Long fore-flippersFur seals ‘fly’ underwater with these, like penguins — true seals paddle with their back ends.4Double-layered furA dense underlayer keeps them warm in the cold Atlantic — the reason for the name ‘fur seal’.Year-roundDrag to spin · tap the numbers

  Cape fur seal

  Arctocephalus pusillus

  SizeMales up to 2.3 m and 300 kgEatsFish, squid and octopusBest timeAlmost every trip, all year

  Did you knowThe bay’s official welcoming committee — curious young seals often swim upside down beneath the kayaks to get a better look at you.

• 1Tall dorsal finIt sculls with this fin — and when it breaks the surface, it’s often mistaken for a shark.2Clavus — no tail!Instead of a tail, a frilled ‘rudder’ made from leftover fin rays. It steers, but doesn’t propel.3Anal finBeats in sync with the dorsal fin — the sunfish’s odd but effective way of swimming.4Beak-like mouthTeeth fused into a small beak that can’t fully close — perfect for slurping jellyfish.Nov – AprDrag to spin · tap the numbers

  Ocean sunfish

  Mola mola

  SizeUp to 3 m fin-to-fin and over 1 000 kgEatsJellyfish, mostlyBest timeWarm, still summer days

  Did you knowThe heaviest bony fish on Earth. It drifts on its side at the surface to warm up after deep dives — which is how it got its name.

• 1The bellPulses to swim, and carries the compass markings. A jellyfish is about 95% water.2Oral armsThe frilly central arms that move captured food up to the mouth under the bell.3Stinging tentaclesTrailing tentacles armed with stinging cells catch plankton — best admired from the kayak.Year-roundDrag to spin · tap the numbers

  Compass jellyfish

  Chrysaora spp.

  SizeBell up to ~30 cm acrossEatsPlankton and tiny fishBest timeClear water, with summer blooms

  Did you knowNamed for the brown compass markings on the bell. They drift with the current — and they’re the sunfish’s favourite snack.

• 1Flipper wingsWings evolved into stiff flippers — penguins ‘fly’ underwater at up to 20 km/h.2Pink eye patchBare skin above the eye sheds heat — it flushes pinker as the penguin warms up.3Chest spotsThe black speckles on the chest are unique to each bird — researchers use them like fingerprints.4Tuxedo countershadingBlack back, white front: camouflage from above and below while hunting at sea.Year-roundDrag to spin · tap the numbers

  African penguin

  Spheniscus demersus

  Size~65 cm tallEatsSardines and anchoviesBest timeOccasional visitors, commuting past the kayaks

  Did you knowThey breed nowhere but South Africa and Namibia, at about two dozen colonies — five of the most important are along this coast.

• Critically Endangered since 2024

  Where African penguins nest

  Fewer than 10 000 breeding pairs were counted in 2023. Five key colonies, from west to east:

  1. 1

     Dassen Island off Yzerfontein

     An estimated 1.45 million birds in 1910, about 30 000 by 1990. Egg collecting was a major cause.

  2. 2

     Robben Island Table Bay

     The closest colony to Three Anchor Bay. Penguins returned in 1983, passed 8 000 pairs in the mid-2000s, then crashed to around 1 000.

  3. 3

     Boulders Beach Simon’s Town

     A mainland colony in Table Mountain National Park. It started from just a few birds in the 1980s.

  4. 4

     Stony Point Betty’s Bay

     One of the largest colonies left, in a CapeNature reserve. Visitors watch from a boardwalk.

  5. 5

     Dyer Island near Gansbaai

     Teams rescue chicks abandoned when their parents start to moult. They’re raised at a Gansbaai sanctuary, then returned to the island.

Sightings are never guaranteed — they remain wild and free. We keep a respectful, legal distance from whales, but seals and dolphins make their own rules and often come to us.