Cape Town - Swimming with sea lions in Hout Bay

We were especially looking forward to today, because we had chosen swimming with sea lions as an activity.

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The small town of Hout Bay

In the small town of Hout Bay, about 20 kilometres from downtown Cape Town, the animal ocean seal snorkeling agency offers an extraordinary snorkeling experience. Here you can find out about South African seals. Booking is easy and easy via the Internet. The meeting is right at the port of Hout Bay. Small tip: Since the weather conditions can often change quickly, you should call again if the snorkeling really takes place. It can happen that no boats go out if the weather is too bad and the swell is too high.

Map, Swimming with Sea Lions, Hout Bay, South Africa, Seal Snorkeling, Africa, Travelreport, On Your Own

Duiker Island with the sea lions in Google Maps

Swimming with sea lions in South Africa

After a short briefing at the harbour, after a few minutes we started with a total of ten snorkelers.

A brief briefing

The start of the tour

The boat trip in Hout Bay

The trip to Duiker Island, where up to 5,000 South African sea bears romp in the South African summer, takes only a few minutes by boat. On the passing cliffs and rocks you can already see the first sea bears lying lazily around and let themselves go well in the sun.

Seal Snorkeling

Duiker Island in der Hout Bay

As soon as the engine was switched off, the first curious heads were already seen lurking out of the water. The animals here are neither fed nor trained – they are in their natural environment and behave naturally. This also includes really eyeing all snorkelers when they were in the water. You couldn’t look so fast, the sea bears had swam so fast past you – up and down, right and left. They were all very playful and curious. With the 11 degrees cold water (and this is really sau kalt despite the wetsuit!) we were in the water for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Snorkeling with sea lions at Duiker Island

Swimming with Sea Lions, Hout Bay, South Africa, Seal Snorkeling, Africa, Travelreport, On Your Own

Snorkeling with sea lions at Duiker Island

Our video of swimming with the sea lions

Afterwards we were able to warm up to a hot chocolate on the boat and review what we had just experienced. What an extraordinary and unique experience! Here is a little video with our impressions: