Big 7 Safaris, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Bird Island lighthouse, Algoa Bay
Gannetery on Bird Island
Playful Bottlenose Dolphins
Whale Watching South Africa, Algoa Bay
Cape Fur Seals on Black Rock Island
Great White Shark viewing South Africa
Humpback Whale off Bird Island, Algoa Bay
Woody Cape Dune Field section Addo Elephant National Park
Addo Safaris with Alan Tours
Addo National Park, Eland Herd
Addo National Park Safaris
Kudu crossing in front of the tour vehicle
Cape Buffalo, Addo Elephant National Park
Red Hartebeest , Addo Elephant National Park
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The Big 7 Safari – White Sharks and Black Rocks
(Code OV33) – A 2 Day Tour

Where else in the world can you board a boat in the morning head out to sea view Dolphins and Whales on your way to a group of islands where we find Great White Sharks at the Black Rocks fur seal colony before viewing Africa’s Big 5 and so much more in the nearby Addo Elephant National Park.
Welcome to the unique Big 7 Safari.

Black Rocks, one of 4 islands in the Bird Island group of islands, is home to an amazingly dense population of over 7000 Cape Fur Seals that breed on this fragmented fortress against the seas. The presence of these seals is the key that attracts a population of Great White Sharks to this part of the bay. The first permit to watch these sharks from the safety of a boat was recently issued to local whale watching and eco cruise operator in Port Elizabeth. This has opened a welcome activity in our bay in the form of Great White Shark viewing and cage diving at these pristine islands.

Alan Tours in collaboration with the local charter company offers this marine safari of a lifetime.

Algoa Bay itself has a huge diversity of marine life, Seasonal Great Whales in the form of the Southern Right and Humpback Whales with the permanent resident, the Bryde’s whale forming the back bone of the whale watching, while the bay has become known as the “Bottlenose Dolphin Capital of the World” with an estimated 22 thousand Bottlenose Dolphins using the bay as well as a permanent population of the endangered Humpback Dolphin and at certain time huge pods of the common dolphins can be seen harvesting the rich bait balls that are formed when the pelagic Sardines and Pilchards arrive in our autumn months.

Rates:

   2 persons on tour: R 18 150.00 per person sharing
3-4 persons on tour: R 15 950.00 per person sharing
5-6 persons on tour: R 14 850.00 per person sharing

Minimum 2 persons

Tour includes:

• 2 day professional guided tour, fuel, vehicle, guide
• 1 night accommodation as per itinerary
• Boat trip
• Entrance/conservation fees Addo National Park
• Activities as per itinerary
• Meals as per itinerary
• Bottled water in the tour vehicle

great white shark south africa

Day 1, Night 1
Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay, Bird Island

With this diversity in mind, we meet you at your place of residence at 6:45 am and drive you to the small boat harbour in Port Elizabeth. Here we prepare for an exciting day on the waters of Algoa Bay. After the safety briefing, we set sail in a south easterly direction passed Cape Recife and its Lighthouse.

Our route is designed to take us into the seasonal migration path of the Humpback Whales as they make their way either further north when they first arrive or on their return journey after they leave the northern extent of their migration to return back into the waters of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica itself. 

These Whales will often be seen breaching, tail and fin slapping or simply cruising passed our boat providing us with amazing sightings of these gigantic creatures. Once we get into the path of the migration, we change course and head north east, following their path as we set course for Bird Island. It will take about 3 hours at sea to arrive at the islands, taking into consideration time spent stopping to watch the wildlife en route.

whale watching alan tours

On arrival at Bird Island, we set anchor in the lee of Black Rocks and the seal colony for this is where we are likely to find the Great Whites lurking in wait for any unwary seals. It will take around 30 minutes for the sharks to scent the presence of the boat and come closer to investigate the intruder to their waters. While we wait, we take a light lunch and refreshment on board the boat.

Once the Great Whites arrive, there is a sense of excitement, intoxicated by the presence of these apex predators, we watch, as they circle the boat sometimes coming right up and touching the vessel; there is a focus, a sense of being drawn in, to the primordial power of these predators that find themselves at the very peak of the evolutionary scale.

cape fur seals great white shark viewing
great white shark viewing with alan tours

We spend between an hour to two hours here before packing up and running back home along the incredibly beautiful Woody Cape dune fields, a vast expanse of aeolian or shifting dunes, as we make our way parallel to the coast to the largest Island in the Bay, St Croix. It is while running along the coastline that we can anticipate spotting a pod or two of Bottlenose Dolphins surfing the shore break along the coast. There is a good possibility of getting some great photo opportunities with these playful marine mammals breaching through the back of the sunlit swells. We soon arrive at St Croix with its breeding colony of African penguins and in most cases a pod of Bottlenose dolphins.

After staying at this island for a while, we make our final run back to the harbour after an exhilarating day on the ocean in one of the wildest places left on this planet.

After getting your shore legs back we board the tour vehicle and return to your overnight accommodation.

Overnight Port Elizabeth guesthouse b&b, packed lunch on the boat. Dinner is for own account.

St croix Island penguins

Day 2
Port Elizabeth to the Addo Elephant National Park

Pick up at 7:30 am at your accommodation and depart for the Addo Elephant National Park, a mere 35 minutes’ drive from the city to the southern entrance. After check in and a comfort break, we immediately start the game viewing experience.

The park is home to close to 700 free roaming Elephants and we can look forward to viewing many other species including the Big 5 which includes the Cape Buffalo, Black Rhino, Lion and the shy Leopard amongst the many species of antelope such as the elegant Kudu, the males with the great spiralled horns, the huge but gentle Eland, Red Hartebeest and others as well as the unique Zebra and Warthog. 

Addo Park, Alan Tours Port Elizabeth

Many colourful species of birds will entertain as well as tortoises and other reptiles.

Making our way through the park from south to north we stop at mid-morning for a cup of fresh coffee or tea and to stretch our legs at the picnic site in the park.

After the comfort break we head back out passing a few of the popular waterholes as we head north for the main camp where we enjoy a light lunch at the park restaurant before once again heading south, game viewing all along the way in this world class facility before return to Port Elizabeth and your accommodation at approx 18:00 – 18:30 hrs an end of Alan Tours services.

Tour includes:

• 2 day professional guided tour, fuel, vehicle, guide
• 1 night accommodation as per itinerary
• Boat trip
• Entrance/conservation fees Addo National Park
• Activities as per itinerary
• Meals as per itinerary
• Bottled water in the tour vehicle

Tour excludes:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Activities not mentioned in the above
• Tips/gratuities

Rates:

   2 persons on tour: R 18 150.00 per person sharing
3-4 persons on tour: R 15 950.00 per person sharing
5-6 persons on tour: R 14 850.00 per person sharing

Minimum 2 persons
Single supplement applies

Wamkelekile iAfrika

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