The Sardine Run, off South Africa’s rugged Wild Coast, has been called one of the ocean’s most dramatic events. Each year from May to July, scores of sardines (Sardinops sagax) move away from their feeding grounds off the Eastern Agulhas banks and begin a dangerous spawning migration that leads them to the Kwa-Zulu Natal coastline. The fish use a cold finger of water that moves up the coast to facilitate their movement. They can travel up to 60 km a day and are highly affected by the oceanic conditions.
Some of the ocean’s top predators follow these rich, oily fish – and their presence makes for awe-inspiring underwater encounters. Long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus capensis) travel in groups numbering up to 5000 individuals and ten’s of thousands of Cape Gannets rain down from the skies above. Copper (Carcharhinus brachyurus) and Dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus) are found closer inshore, hungrily searching for those shimmering shoals …
This year Animal Ocean will be providing two ways for you to access this amazing event. The first is a 6 day diving package that includes accommodation, breakfast and lunch. For those who just want to come for a single day, we will make that happen for you at short notice.
The day with us
6 days dive package – Sardine Run Package
Join us for a 6 day diving adventure as we rise each morning in the Outspann Inn on the banks of the Umzimvubu River in Port St John’s. Head out each morning in search of the shoal of sardines. This package includes accommodation, lunch and breakfast. You will also be provided with a weight belt and a dive cylinder. This does not include transport to Port St John’s. The experience is breath-taking … and you will soon find yourself fully immersed in the adventure!
Cost : R17,500 p/p sharing
Dates available for packages
Arriving 9th June – leaving 16th June – 5 places left - Special : R9990 p/p sharing
Arriving 17th June – leaving 24th June - 2 places left
Arriving 25 June – leaving 30th June – Fully booked
Arriving 1th July – leaving 8th July – Fully Booked
Arriving 9th July – leaving 16th July – Fully booked
Sardine Run on a budget
If you are passing through Port St John’s or want to take it easy without any commitments, then book a single day or 2 on the Run. If you are willing to roll the dice and gamble on hitting the action of your chosen day, we can book you out the best boat to get you on the action. The cost is the same for surface viewing or diving. The trip includes lunch, tank and weight belt. Dive equipment can be hired and the accommodation is your own choice.
Dates for a single day’s sardine run access are anytime between 15th June to 15 July
Cost : R1600
Full dive equipment hire : R350 p/d
General Info
Location -
We will be based in the quaint Eastern Cape town of Port St. John’s, historical home of the proud Pondo nation and peppered with influences from its Portuguese and British settlers. Daily travel to dive locations is dependent on animal activity and weather conditions.
Diving and water conditions -
SCUBA diver experience: advanced SCUBA divers only. A high level of physical fitness and competence in the water is expected.
Snorkeler experience: novice snorkelers are welcome, but a high level of physical fitness and swimming competence is expected.
Dive rules: no bright equipment colours (especially yellow and silver). No touching of animals. Follow skipper’s instructions at all times.
Depth: surface to 20 m. Type: snorkeling, SCUBA and boat-viewing.
Visibility: 0 – 20 m (minimum 5 m visibility for bait-ball dives).
Water temperature: 17° – 22°C.
Comments from past clients on the Sardine Run -
Ed Scott – Director - AVIVA – Volunteering in South Africa
When I first heard that a short notice slot was available for a week on the Sardine Run with Steve Benjamin and Animal Ocean, little prompting was needed. A few nanoseconds later I chatted with a very good friend…she quoted Nike, so I just did it.
That week launching through the surf from Port St Johns turned out to be the best of my life, and one I will repeat often. I will never forget our first bait ball…kitted up and ready to slip into the water, trying to remember breathing routines, willing my pulse to slow down, and finally giving in as my heart threatened to beat its way out of my chest with excitement.
Finning towards the bait ball was an adventure in itself, with glimpses of common dolphins torpedoing past, and numerous dusky sharks gliding purposefully below, then finally a thousand flashes of silver up ahead as the real stars of the show tried in vain to escape their fate. The ocean quickly worked its calming magic, and before long our pulses were back in the safe zone, with everyone watching in awe as one of nature’s most amazing spectacles unfolded before us.
So began a week of unforgettable memories, searching for diving gannets on the high seas, untold hours below the waves in a state of complete bliss, and the incredible gains in bladder control that come from living in an open cell wetsuit for nine hours each day.
With so much happening around you, the reality of what you’re seeing takes time to sink in, and even now I have to remind myself it wasn’t a dream. Freediving below a bait ball with the sardines silhouetted above, dusky and copper sharks circling around you, gannets sounding like mini explosions as they hit the water, and dolphins smashing into the sardines within a few feet of you…it’s a little like meditating, just more interesting. And as the maelstrom of whirling dolphins and sharks clears, a few hardy sardines band together in a cloud of glittering confetti, a million floating fish scales being the only evidence that the sardines were there at all.
As with all things in nature, timing is everything. During our five days at sea we were fortunate to freedive with three species of dolphin, four species of shark, a graceful humpback whale, and on one bait ball, a surprise visit from two stunning sailfish that proceeded to put on a dazzling display as they sliced through the sardines with rapid turns and incredible bursts of speed.
As fortunate as we were, none of this would have been possible without a skilled and knowledgeable skipper, a boat equal to the task, and sandwiches that somehow taste much better at sea than they do ashore. As if that wasn’t good enough, a boat full of virgins that got on well together was a real bonus, as are the friendships that were made during this incredible week. If you’re not tempted already, try imagining what it’s like to be pinged by a dolphin, and feeling those clicks vibrate in your lungs as they swim up to investigate you…as Steve would say…’Epic!’
