The Sardine Run Experience:
The Sardine run is one of the world’s top wildlife spectacles and is on par with events like the Serengeti Wildebeest Migration. Each year during June and July, vast shoals of sardines leave their normal cold-water home in South Africa’s temperate seas and travel northwards into the sub-tropical seas of South Africa’s Wild Coast. Following the shoals is a caravan of predators, seabirds, sharks, game fish and marine mammals with little else but sardines on their mind. Tens of thousands of common dolphins charge after the shoals, separating them into bait balls densely packed. Easy pickings not only for them but also for schools of hundreds of bronze whaler, dusky and blacktip sharks, which attack the bait ball from below. The aerial assault on the sardines begins when ten thousands of cape gannets begin their spectacular plunge diving display. You will experience this wildlife spectacle from a ringside seat, either viewing from the boat, snorkeling on the ocean surface or diving beneath the waves on scuba. This is marine wildlife watching at its most spectacular, a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of something that many of the worlds top marine biologists, wildlife photographer and filmmakers consider the most intense and spectacular marine wildlife event in the world.Animal Description
A 20 –30cm silver fish, bluish colour on top. Distinguishable by the row of 10 – 15 black spots on the flanks. These fish form vast shoals off the Agulhas Banks.
Predator Caravan (inter alia):
Sharks:
Copper sharks, Carcharhinus brachyurus
Spotted ragged tooth shark, Carcharias taurus
Black tip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus
Dusky sharks, Carcharhinus obscurus
Cetaceans:
Common Dolphin, Delphinus capensis
Indian Ocean Bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops aduncus
Killer whale, Orcinus orca
Bryde’s whale, Balaenoptera edini
Pinnipeds:
Cape fur seal, Arctocephalus pusillus
Birds:
Cape Gannet, Morus capensis
Petrels and Shearwaters,
Blackbrowed Albatross, Diomedea melanophris
African penguin, Shpenicus demersus
LocationSubject to animal activity.SeasonalityJune - July
Dive DepthSurface – 20 metres in water column 50 – +100 metres
Dive TypeSurface drift dive
Snorkelling / scuba/ Nitrox/ rebreathers
Boat based viewing opportunities available for non-divers.
Typical Visibility
Old Transkei Coast and East London 6 – 30m / 20 – 100 ft Average 12 meters / 50 ft
Water Temperature
June - July 15 – 22C 5mm wetsuit or dry suit advised
Travel
Non-direct international flights into East London
Accommodation
Accommodation is subject to animal activity. Accommodation is set to be in East London, but final confirmation on accommodation will only be set the week before client arrival
Kennaway Hotel: R 600.00 p/p/sharing or R 700.00 p/p/n single
Kennaway Hotel has the benefit of being on the East London beach promenade, which is within walking distance of many restaurants, and the local gym.
Costs:
R 27440.00 per person sharing, this price includes:
• 6 Boating days (weather permitting) with packed boat lunches.
• 7 nights accommodation.
• Daily transfers to and from the launch site back to the guests Hotel of choice within 15km of launch site
• Return airport – hotel transfers.
• Shared aerial information,
• Booking essential, terms & conditions apply.
• Cylinder, cylinder fills and weighted belt per scuba diver,
• Dive Guide
Nitrox mixes available upon request at an additional R45.00 per cylinder per day.
Additional Expenses
• Flights in and out of East London
• Sardine Run Merchandise
• Dinners and soft drinks
• Dive kit (BCD’s, regulator, mask, snorkel, fins, wetsuit) Sardine Run is traditionally remote, with little to no dive facilities in the adjacent areas in which we work. Dive kit is provided as a service to guests on Sardine Run, and need s to be booked in advance, ad the kit will be sent in ahead to your location to be ready for your arrival. Dive kit costs R 65.00 per item per day or R 350.00 per complete set per day.
About Blue Wilderness
Mark and Gail Addison own Blue Wilderness Dive Expeditions and are pioneers of the African marine wildlife viewing industry. They were the first team to dive and guide clients on sardine run nearly 2 decades. Today they are the undisputed leaders in sardine run expeditions. Everybody from National Geographic to the BBC rely on them for putting them in the right place to obtain world-class images.
General Itinerary
Arrive Saturday 11 June 2011
Boating days: 12-17 June 2011
Depart Saturday 18 June 2011
06h30 – 07h30 Breakfast
07h30 – 07h45 Clients collected from hotels, transferred down to launch site
07h30 – 08h30 Clients kit up, Boat Launch (river or beach, tide dependant)
14h00 – 15h00 Boats return home
17h30 Dive Planning / evening presentation on specified evenings.
18h00 Evenings at leisure.
Booking Terms and Conditions
In order to secure your booking a 50% deposit is payable to Blue Wilderness by the 15 Jan 2011. This deposit is payable per person and is non-refundable and non-transferable.
The outstanding balance is to be settled on or prior to the due date of arrival.
Booking agents receive commission on Sardine Run packages booked through Blue Wilderness on the proviso that the booking terms and conditions have been met. Please see the costing document for the commission breakdown
Any additional expenses are to be settled prior to the clients’ departure
No credits will be given for cancellations beyond our control.
The prices quoted are subject to change without prior notice. In as far as possible we will inform the client of any outsourced pricing increases.
All the above are applicable unless agreed otherwise by both parties.
Terms of Payment
The quoted prices are for cash payments.
Tele-transmission payments are required to clear into the Blue Wilderness account at the invoiced amount.
All prices are quoted and invoiced in South African Rand, which is the accepted currency of payment.
Sardine Run 2011 
