Sardine Run tours on the Wild Coast

You arrive at East London Airport and are welcomed by the Offshore Adventures team. The group transfers by road to The Dunes Beach Resort. After check-in there is time to settle before a full welcome and orientation briefing. It covers the Sardine Run, the week's programme, boat and snorkelling safety, wildlife interaction guidelines, environmental practices, emergency procedures and daily departure arrangements. You are fitted with a wetsuit, mask, snorkel and fins, then it is dinner and a briefing for the first ocean day.

Airport transfer, accommodation, equipment fitting, welcome briefing and dinner.

After an early breakfast you transfer to the launch site for a detailed beach, boat and surf-launch safety briefing. The crew searches the coastline for activity by watching dolphins, diving gannets, whale movement, currents and water conditions. When suitable activity is found, the skipper and guides assess visibility, currents and animal behaviour before anyone enters the water. Possible sightings include dolphins, humpback whales, Bryde's whales, Cape gannets, sharks, seals and sardine shoals. Afterwards it is back to the resort for lunch, rest and a review of the day's sightings.

Expected ocean time is about 4 to 6 hours, depending on conditions.

Marine activity can move a long way overnight, so the skipper may travel north, south or further offshore depending on recent sightings and conditions. You stay ready all day, because the action can develop quickly. When a feeding event or bait ball is found, the guides brief you before each water entry and help with safe entries and exits. Back at the resort you relax, go through photographs and talk over the day's behaviour.

Another full day at sea, focused on finding active feeding events. Sardines may form tightly packed bait balls when pursued by dolphins, sharks, whales, gamefish and diving seabirds. Some encounters last only minutes and others much longer, so you may do several short snorkelling entries rather than one long swim. In quieter moments the guides talk through the Sardine Run, dolphin hunting strategies, shark identification, whale migration and Wild Coast marine ecology.

After breakfast and the daily safety briefing, the boat launches for another day of exploration. Depending on where the activity is, the expedition may travel further offshore or cover a longer stretch of coastline. A quiet stretch of ocean can change fast when dolphins start feeding or gannets gather over a shoal, so be ready to enter the water when the guides say. If you would rather sit out a particular encounter, you can stay on the boat and watch from the surface.

The fifth ocean day combines wildlife exploration with observation and responsible-tourism education. You can help the guides record species seen, approximate numbers, feeding behaviour, locations and weather or water conditions. Marine students and interested guests may take part in more detailed observational or citizen-science activities, depending on the programme and sea conditions. The boat keeps searching for dolphins, whales, sharks, sardines, diving birds and other wildlife.

The last ocean day. After breakfast the group travels to the launch site for one more full day at sea. The crew uses the sightings from the previous days, current weather information and local reports to choose the most promising search area. After returning to shore you wash and return your equipment before a farewell dinner and a review of the week's highlights.

Final ocean expedition, accommodation and farewell dinner.

Breakfast, then check-out. The group transfers by road to East London Airport for onward flights. Book a later departure if you can, to leave enough time for the transfer and check-in.

Breakfast and scheduled airport transfer.