Seal sighting at the Robberg peninsula marine sanctuary on the Garden Route, South Africa

I was fortunate to catch a brief sight of the local seal colony that resides here on this Robberg Bay marine sanctuary and nature reserve. This is perhaps the gem of the entire Garden Route on the south coast of Africa. The town of Plettenberg Bay hosts numerous whales annually during their calving season over the southern winter.

You can glimpse part of the seal colony below in the water, with RObberg beach in Plettenberg Bay in the distance

Besides that, the beautiful bay of Plett is also home to a large seal colony just on the shores of the peninsula, out to sea. By hiking on the peninsula trail, I was able to spot the seals in the water way down below. The footage is rather humble, but it works as a reminder of the immensely inspiring experience altogether.

The seals do, of course, also attract Great White sharks at certain times of year. They are sometimes seen by surfers who love to catch the epic waves just off the peninsula as it meets the landmass of the beach. In unprecedented fashion, this year two separate shark attacks led to both people dying from their shark bites.

You can see one of the boats taking sight seers to the peninsula shoreline for observations

I know it’s a rather tragic statistic and sheds a concerning light on the safety of this blue flag world class holiday beach area. The beaches were closed to swimming for a while, though now that spotters have less sightings and the shark season dwindles, beaches are opened up under strict life-guard supervision.

Of course, if you want to, you can swim anywhere along the vast empty stretches of shoreline further along the coast, though I don’t see anyone trying it lately. A dip in the shallow waves is fine so there’s no loss really, I’m not a surfer. Others may reconsider their sea sports and take them to the awesome lagoon and river nearby.

The charter boat arriving near the shores of the peninsula, taken from the cliff side above. 

One further inspiring sight is of the dolphins who are also permanent residents of this bay. It’s exhilarating to see them under the water just behind the breaking waves – if you are in the right place at the right time. It’s like a dream moment which I have yet to catch on camera.

The hike around the entire peninsula takes about two hours and it’s relatively easy for most people, with dunes to climb and rock paths with occasional climbing. The paths are well maintained and wooden walkways really make the entire route easy to navigate.

This team was organized to do an eco clean-up after a container of small plastic "nurdles" fell of a ship in Durban harbor some time back and spilt several tons of little plastic pellets into the sea, which has now washed up on many of South Africa's beaches, including this one.

The region is a sensitive nature reserve thanks to the efforts of the government to preserve and maintain the ecology around the shoreline. Several birds live on this peninsula and its nearby beaches as a breeding colony, like the Black Oystercatcher. This is an endangered bird currently due to human encroachment on their ground-built nests with time.

Besides that, the seals live happily on these shores, far from human intrusion way down below the cliff side paths. You can also hire boats to take you out on whale watching cruises, say of about ten or more people at a time. I’ve seen them occasionally pass by to inspects some activity in the marine world, including whales.

A beautiful scene on the Robberg peninsula - a magical place for all who reside around her.

All of this is done with respect for the marine life and from a distance, though you can get quite close to the sea mammals on occasion without any inconvenience to them. Although I only have one chance photo to show you of the seals in the distance, I hope it can inspire you to come and see the place for yourself if you get the chance.

(photos my own)

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