The marine life in Plettenberg Bay is absolutely astounding. Sharks and seals, whales and dolphins, and reefs teeming with fish, shysharks, nudibranchs and every colour of soft coral imaginable. Making waves recently are the incredible sightings of Great White sharks off Robberg Peninsula. Although this is nothing new, fortunate hikers and trail runners have been treated to excellent sightings these magnificent, but vulnerable sharks.
Robberg quite literally means “seal mountain” in Dutch and is home to a colony of around 3000 Cape Fur Seals. Robberg. An excellent hiking spot in Plettenberg Bay – with three different circular hikes: 2km, 5km and 11km – it is also a national monument and nature reserve, and is a part of the recently formed UNESCO Garden Route Biosphere. There’s a stretch of coastline on the leeward side of the peninsula that is home to the seals and its this stretch that is patrolled by the Great Whites in the hopes of snagging a seal meal.
Local seal swimming operators, Offshore Adventures, offer an unforgettable experience of swimming with the seals in the shallow waters off Robberg. You can read about our experiences here. They have recently introduced free-diving with Blue & Mako sharks further offshore. It seems Plettenberg Bay has everything to offer the marine-life enthusiast.