Zwem met zeehonden
Beschrijving
Geniet van een mooie boottocht naar het natuurreservaat Robberg en beschermd zeegebied en Snorkel tussen de bundels speelse pelsrobben !! Plettenbergbaai, Tuinroute, Zuid-Afrika. Geen ervaring vereist!! We leveren alle benodigde apparatuur, inclusief wetsuits in verschillende maten. Geschikt voor kinderen vanaf 6 jaar.
Rondreisopties
Reisroute
Zwem met zeehonden: "Sluit je aan bij het ervaren team van Offshore Adventures voor een ervaring van je leven. Dit avontuur van anderhalf uur begint met een adrenaline-pompende strandlancering in zee, gevolgd door een geweldige boottocht langs de schilderachtige kustlijn naar de Kaapse pelsrobbenkolonie. Daar kunt u snorkelen en communiceren met de meest geliefde karakter van de oceanen en ze spelenderwijs zien zwemmen in hun natuurlijke omgeving. "
De activiteit zwemmen met zeehonden vindt plaats in de zeehondenkolonie in het beschermde zeegebied van Robberg.
Hoogtepunten
Wat is inbegrepen
Beoordelingen van reizigers
Belangrijke informatie
- Niet aanbevolen voor reizigers met ruggengraatletsel
- Rolstoeltoegankelijk
- Baby's en kleine kinderen kunnen in een wandel- of kinderwagen mee
- Opties voor openbaar vervoer zijn in de buurt aanwezig
- Kinderen moeten bij een volwassene op schoot zitten
- Niet aanbevolen voor reizigers met een slechte cardiovasculaire gezondheid
- Geschikt voor alle condities
- Op de dag van de reis is een geldig paspoort vereist
Beoordelingen(133)
If I had to summarize this experience in one word: unforgettable. Swimming with the seals was clearly one of the highlights of our stay, if not the best. Everything was perfectly organized from start to finish, and one immediately feels at ease. A huge thank you to Angelo, our guide, who truly made all the difference. He was able to create a great atmosphere, both fun and relaxed, while reassuring us at every step. One can feel that he loves what he does, and that changes everything: he transformed an already incredible activity into a magical moment. Seeing the seals move around us in their natural environment was just amazing… a feeling of freedom and connection to nature that is hard to explain. Honestly, if you are still hesitating: go for it with your eyes closed. It is a unique experience, filled with emotions, laughter, and memories that remain etched long after. An essential activity of your trip.
The experience has been amazing. There are hundreds of seals. The guide has been very friendly and was giving us instructions not to be in danger while swimming. I'd do it again.
The 15 minute speed boat ride is choppy and you sit on the side of the boat and hang on to a rope and put your feet in foot straps. You wear a life jacket in the boat but take it off when you get in the water. They provide a float if you need it. The seal colony is on the rocks and inevitably the sea is quite rough. It’s fine if you are a reasonably good swimmer. The website says the trip is good for age 6 plus and no experience needed. I would disagree and say you need to be confident and competent in the water to be safe on this trip. The website needs more information about what to expect and risks so that potential customers can make an informed choice about whether it is suitable especially if there are younger children involved
Thank you for sharing your experience. We appreciate you highlighting the choppy conditions and seating setup, as well as the importance of water confidence and safety. - Safety and clarity are a priority.We will review our site to provide clearer guidance on: - Required swimming ability and water confidence. Keeping in mind that the conditions at the colony is generally calm and protected from swell. - Typical weather/sea conditions and potential risks - Age suitability and experience recommendations. With the floats and in water guides we can assist people that aren't strong swimmers. - Your feedback helps improve the experience
Awesome experience ! Angelo was very knowledgeable and a fantastic guide. Everyone was super nice and helpful
After changing (a wetsuit with anti-bite sleeves and shin guards below) you soon get into the boat. After about 15 minutes you arrive at a place where there are a lot of seals. Time to get into the water. The water was a bit cold (November) but quickly settled through the wetsuits. The water was very green/murky. You could see +- 3 meters underwater, this made sure you didn't actually see anything. You are not allowed to swim towards the seals and you are kept very close together as a group. Above the water you could see the seals quite close at times (5-10 meters away). But because of the murky water you could see snorkeling only shadows or nothing. After +- 15 minutes there was already a shout that time was up and we had to get back in the boat. Perhaps I had romanticized the experience a bit but for me it was disappointing.
The picture attached to the ad gives a distorted picture, because you don't get that close to the seals. This may also have been kept the same by the organization because of some recent incidents with biting seals on people. The organization does point out the dangers of biting seals in advance and provides gloves and arm pieces in addition to wetsuits, so they are aware that there are incidents. Per boat there is also 1 person who has to sign a document that shifts all responsibility from the organization, so that is also a bit strange, especially with the recent biting incidents. But you get to see a lot of seals and the guide tried to put some fun into it (including with the arrival back on the beach).
The professionals are very friendly and attentive. The experience is very cool, however I do not recommend it for people who are medrose, as it scares a little by the amount of seals that stay swimming next to you. But the experience is worth it.
Experience was ok. About a 15 minute boat ride each way with 15 minutes in the water. Was amazing to be close to the seals and see the huge colony but was a bit annoying to constantly be told to be closer to one another - as in, basically touch everyone else! - as it meant you couldn't actually swim or properly snorkel as you just had other people in your face. I understand you need everyone to be close together but it was a bit extreme and ruined the experience somewhat. Wetsuits were old and worn out.
What has happened to me during the “Swim With Seals” experience is, in my opinion, unacceptable. Together with some friends, I decided to take part in the organized trip, as it had been described to us as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It did indeed turn out to be that, but not for good reasons. Once in the water, everything was going well until a seal approached me from behind and bit me on the shoulder. I immediately informed the guide, who replied that he would check on me later, but he did not seem particularly concerned. What I did not know at the time is that I would later have to undergo a total of 6 injections: two to clean the wounds and four rabies vaccines. I had no idea that rabies is such a big problem among the Cape Fur seals. Before leaving the office, the guide only briefly told us not to touch the seals because they “could” have rabies, without explaining that the seals often approach people and may bite them without any provocation, and that even a small bite would require such a serious medical procedure. When I checked the Off Shore Adventures website, where I booked the experience, there was no mention at all of the fact that the Cape Fur seals you interact with have tested positive for rabies in recent years. Nor was there any warning that participation carries a high risk of infection requiring multiple vaccinations. In my opinion, this is a serious case of misinformation, which is unacceptable. Instead, the website proudly claims: “We pride ourselves with an excellent safety record” which was not reflected in my experience. It also promises: “you will get to snorkel and interact with the oceans most loved character and see them playfully swimming in their natural environment.” Reading this one would never expect to be bitten and injured without even attempting to interact with the animals. To the company’s credit, after the bite, they did call a private doctor, who treated me well and helped me arrange the second dose of the vaccine. However, my holiday was effectively ruined, and I am now returning to my home country with a negative experience, further vaccinations to complete, and significant medical expenses to cover.
Thank you for taking the time to provide your detailed feedback. I’m truly sorry that part of your experience did not meet your expectations or our safety standards. Addressing your points Rabies information and warnings: We strive to clearly communicate risks related to interacting with wildlife. In addition to the advisory emailed at booking and the in-person briefing, we display information in our facilities and provide pre-trip reminders to guests about wildlife interaction risks, including rabies risk. If you felt any of this information was unclear, we will review how it’s presented to ensure it’s explicit and easy to understand. Indemnity, briefing, and cancellation: Guests sign an indemnity and receive a briefing as part of the booking process. We also offer the option to cancel free of charge if concerns arise before the trip. If you were not aware of this option, we will re-evaluate how those options are communicated during booking and pre-trip. Wildlife safety and medical response: Cape fur seals are wild animals, and interactions carry inherent risks. We maintain on-call medical support, and our team follows established procedures for bites or scratches, including Rabies post-exposure protocols with access to medical professionals. We also provide additional safety measures such as gloves and enhanced supervision. Medical expenses: You may submit eligible medical expenses for consideration through our insurance program. Please send us copies of receipts and your booking reference so we can process promptly. Event outcome: I’m sorry that the experience affected your holiday. We take all incidents seriously and will review the incident to identify any improvements in training, briefing, and response times. What we will do next 1) Incident review: We will conduct a thorough review of the incident, including training, briefing materials, and safety communications, to identify any gaps and implement improvements. 2) Safety communications: We will consider clarifying wording on our website and in booking communications to ensure guests understand the potential risks and the availability of medical support. 3) Compensation process: If you provide receipts for medical treatment or vaccination costs, we will assess them under our insurance-based compensation process and respond with next steps. 4) Ongoing transparency: We will keep you updated on the outcome of the review and any changes we implement to reduce risk and improve guest experience. Again, we are sorry your experience did not meet your expectations. Your safety is our priority, and we are committed to learning from this incident and improving our processes. Sincerely, Jaco Kruger
What an amazing day swimming with seals! Our trip got postponed because of a storm (a wise decision!), but we easily rescheduled for the next day. Angelo, our guide, hooked us up with great gear and gave clear, friendly instructions. Swimming with the seals was such a cool experience — even with my 12- and 13-year-old daughters! Angelo kept a close eye on everyone and made us feel super safe. Definitely a must-do if you’re around Plettenberg Bay!
