Epic "Sardine Run"

10 days / 9 nights

tour price on request

According to National Geographic, the "sardine run" – is the most amazing underwater spectacle in the world.
What is this phenomenon that delights divers?
From May to July each year, on the eastern coast of South Africa a mysterious event occurs when a current of cold water heads north from the Agulhas Bank up to Mozambique where it then leaves the coastline and goes further east into the Indian Ocean. Millions of sardines are moving from South to North. Sardines swim over long distance, from around the city of Port Elizabeth to the province of KwaZulu Natal, forming a shoal 7km long, with a width of 1.5 km. and a depth of up to 30 meters. In spite of all the obstacles and dangers they encounter on their way, they swim quite close to the shore and sometimes groups of them are washed up directly on the beaches, to the great joy of the population. People collect whole buckets of sardines from the ocean.
This huge show involves not only the sardines. For other important participants are the sharks, the sea lions, the killer whales and most importantly, the dolphins, who follow the sardines in a feeding frenzy along the coastline. The chased sardines come up to the surface, forming great shimmering silver balls. The dolphins feed on them and you can see the silver balls melting before your eyes.
Between Port Edward and Durban the sardines come even closer to the shore, because of their preference for the band of colder water that flows along the Natal coast. After the attacks of predators, the shoals have now become smaller and the dolphins no longer have to send them to the surface of the water. The smaller swarms continue their run to the North.

  • Cape Town
  • Durban
  • Port St.John
  • Durban
Cape Town

Africa welcomes you, dear friends!

After border formalities you will be met by a representative of the company Alpha-Zulu, transferred to a 4 B&B hotel, with free time for rest.
In the afternoon you will meet your guide from Alpha-Zulu Africa in the lobby, for a 4-hour excursion to one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Cape Town. Table Mountain, the symbol of the city, will be the starting point of your excursion. You will go up to the mountain in the cable car (payment is made on the spot, for whether it operates depends on the weather) and from the top you will have a bird’s eye view of this unforgettable city. After that you will visit the Cape Town Castle of Good Hope, which was the first stone structure on the peninsula, and from there you will see the Grand Parade, dominated by the Town Hall building. Continuing the journey, you will visit the Company’s Gardens, built at the time of Jan van Riebeeck, founder of Cape Town. You can buy peanuts to feed the squirrels, who will eat from your hand. Next to the Gardens you will see St. George’s church, famous for having the largest stained-glass windows in the Southern hemisphere. Nearby are also the Houses of Parliament and the National Gallery of art.

Cape Town

Today you will relive the days of the discoverers and of the colonial conquests and you will spend the day on the Cape of Good Hope, which you have heard about in school. In 1488 the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias landed on the Cape and called it the Cape of Storms, because he had survived a terrible storm that nearly cost him and his crew their lives. Portuguese King João II, having great expectations for a new Eastern sea route, renamed it the Cape of Good Hope. Here tourists often look forward to seeing large families of baboons. These animals are very cute, but be careful not to feed them, for you might get hurt when they fight for their food. After passing the entrance gate your bus will follow a level road and then drive down to the famous promontory. Here you can make a souvenir photo against a panel that has the coordinates of the Cape of Good Hope. Then you can climb to the highest point of the Cape Peninsula, where you will enjoy the extraordinary beauty of the ocean and the bay. We now say goodbye to the Cape and we are on our way back. The road runs along the coast of False Bay and goes through the small town of Simon’s Town, near which is the largest South African naval base and Boulders Beach are situated. On that beach you will meet the famous Cape penguins. These wonderful animals chose this beach once long ago for hatching their offspring and they live there year-round, delighting local and foreign tourists. You will stop for lunch at a restaurant well known for its seafood recipes. Return to the hotel around 17h00.

Cape Town

There are only two places on earth where you can snorkel with the dangerous great white shark and one of those is near Cape Town (1h 50 min. drive), in the town of Gansbaai. Upon arrival you will be instructed on how to behave with these predators, and then you will take a boat especially equipped with a Lander protective cage. Out in the open ocean you will wait for the sharks. They will swim toward the boat, for the skipper lures them with meat bait on a hook. Now you must decide if you want to dive under the water in the cage and add adrenaline to your bloodstream. In this case you must wear a wet suit, which the company will provide for everyone. If you do not want to dive, you can observe the sharks from the boats, which is also interesting. After the dives you return to shore and you will be offered a light lunch, during which you can discuss the adventures of this unforgettable trip. You can also order a video of your diving with the sharks. Lunch and transfer to hotel. Free time

Cape Town – Durban – Port St.Johnс

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for flight to Durban (2 hours), where you will wait for a shuttle transportation (4 hours) to Port St Johns. Accommodation in a 3 lodge with three meals a day.
After a short rest, instruction in English by an experienced diving master who will accompany you on your dives.

Port St.Johnс - Day 5 to Day 9
Port St.Johnс

Diving. Early rise and breakfast at the hotel, with access to the ocean you will enjoy your lunch on the zodiac, and dinner will be served at the hotel. After returning to the hotel in the afternoon you can arrange additional tours.

Port St.Johnс – Durban

After breakfast, transfer to Durban airport.

what is included:

Included:

  • Cape Town accommodation with breakfast at 4 – 3 nights
  • Accommodation during a race full of sardines in a Lodge Guest House 3 – 6 nights
  • Transfers programme
  • Cape Town tours with guide including the necessary tickets
  • Group dive white shark cage, including light lunch
  • Cylinders with air and cargo
  • Paramedical services

Not included:

  • Tickets
  • Visas
  • Insurance
  • Tip tour guides, drivers, restaurants
  • Additional excursions and transfers