Coast KZN

We need to plan ahead and sell The Greatest Shoal on Earth to a global audience. The Sardine Run in South Africa is recognised as one of the world’s most spectacular marine events.

The winter months along the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast are characterised by the annual sardine run, known as The Greatest Shoal on Earth. When the waters are cool enough, visitors to the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast are treated to a spectacle which is believed to be the planet’s greatest biomass migration, taking place just inshore. Annually, from May to July, vast shoals of sardines migrate from their temperate-water home off South Africa’s southern coast and travel north-east into the sub-tropical coastal waters of the Wild Coast.

Following the shoals is an unparalleled concentration of marine predators including seabirds, sharks, game fish and marine mammals.

We need to package tours to the industry and make sure that we are ready to roll out a global campaign once the international visitors are allowed to travel. In the interim we are packaging domestic tours to the rest of South Africa and kicking off our winter marketing campaign.

The excitement of seeing millions of the silver sardines move along the coastline, bringing with them a feeding frenzy that attracts all manner of marine species, including bigger game fish, dolphins, sharks, whales and overhead seabirds that torpedo themselves into the mass is something to behold. This is a must-see event that is entirely unique to the area, with activity tracked from the Wild Coast through to the North Coast.

When predators meet prey, a feeding event of unmatched proportions begins. Thousands of common dolphins charge after the shoals, separating them into densely packed bait balls and driving them to the surface. Watched by the omnipresent Cape gannets, an aerial assault on the sardines occurs when tens of thousands of gannets begin their spectacular plunge diving displays.

Below the birds, the bait balls are easy pickings not only for dolphins, but also for bronze-whaler, dusky and blacktip sharks.

The final player, is the behemoth Bryde’s whale. Its huge mouth can decimate an entire bait ball in a single lunge.

Our marketing roll-out needs to be strategised with the rest of the world in terms of selling must-see attractions, three to six months ahead of them taking place. If you are a Southern Explorer member and would like to participate in our packaged tours please mail me at director@thesouthernexplorer.com.