Sardine Run Bait Ball Expedition, Wild Coast

Wild Coast, Port St Johns, Eastern Cape · South Africa

Challenging7 daysAfrica~£2,600 est.

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Overview

Each June the inshore water cools along South Africa's Wild Coast and billions of sardines push north, dragging the entire food chain behind them. When it goes off, it is the greatest wildlife event you can witness underwater: common dolphin super-pods herding bait into panicked silver spheres, Cape gannets hitting the water like tracer fire around your head, bronze whaler sharks slicing through the ball and, on the big days, a Bryde's whale removing most of it in one lunge. Honesty matters here: this is expedition wildlife work, not guaranteed diving. You launch a RIB through the surf at the Umzimvubu River mouth at Port St Johns, run the coast behind the spotter plane, and some days the ocean is simply empty. Snorkel skills matter more than scuba — kit is donned fast for the minutes a ball stalls. June and July are the season. A week with launches, skipper and spotter flights runs about £2,600, staying in Port St Johns lodges. Bring a 5mm suit, seasickness resolve and patience; then the gannets start raining and you forget every blank day.