500 Adrenaline Adventures (Frommer's) - Lois Friedland [227]
When it comes to seeing marine mammals in their natural habitat, Scotland’s west coast offers some of the best viewing and greatest diversity in the world. Base yourself in Tobermory on the Island of Mull, which is part of an island chain called the Hebrides in Argyll-Bute. From Glasgow, Tobermory is about 4 hours by car and ferry, and it’s well worth the ride. The area is revered for its mountains, forests, and beaches—on a coastline that stretches for more than 483km (300 miles).
After you arrive in town, stop by the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (www.hwdt.org) on Main Street to get current information about what’s been most recently spotted at sea. According to the organization, “Of the 83 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) currently recognized in the world, 24 species have been recorded in the waters off the west coast of Scotland in recent years.” Sightings often include harbour porpoises, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, white-beaked dolphins, killer whales, minke whales, humpback whales, and northern bottlenose whales.
To improve your chances of seeing these highly intelligent and communicative creatures in the wild, look for splashes—or waves that look like they’re breaking the wrong way. Also keep an eye out for extremely flat patches of water, which could be a sign that a cetacean just dived in there. Finally, pay attention to feeding seabirds. If lots of them are diving in one particular spot, it could mean that fish have been rounded up to the surface by a larger predator such as a minke whale, making it easy for the birds to dive in and enjoy a good meal. Meanwhile, you should have plenty to feast your eyes on as you scan the waters. —JS
Scotland Tourism Organization, 94 Ocean Dr., Edinburgh ( 084/52-255-121;www.visitscotland.com). Welcome to Scotland, Station Rd., Inverness-shire ( 014/79-841-900;www.welcometoscotland.com).
Tours: Sea Life Surveys, Leoaig, Tobermory ( 016/88-400-223;www.sealifesurveys.com). Silver Swift, Raraig House, Raraeric Rd., Tobermory ( 016/88-302-390;www.tobermoryboatcharters.co.uk).
When to Go: Apr–Sept.
Glasgow Airport.
$$$ Glengorm Castle, Tobermory ( 016/88-302-321;www.glengormcastle.co.uk). $$ Failte Guest House, Main St. ( 016/88-302-495;www.failteguesthouse.com).
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Seal Island
A Smorgasbord for Great White Sharks
South Africa
If you’ve ever tuned into Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, chances are you’ve already seen Seal Island. Sixty thousand cape fur seals inhabit this rocky outcrop near Cape Town, and that constant supply of fresh red meat is a honey pot for the ocean’s most fearsome predator—great white sharks. Their spectacular hunting behaviors, which involve those aerial feats so often shown on sensationalist nature programs, are not found in any other white shark habitat in the world—bad news for the seals of Seal Island.
The great whites that feed in False Bay, which surrounds Seal Island, are especially famous for their surface breaching: The sharks launch their entire bodies out of the water in order to snatch an unlucky seal from the surface. Whales normally leap all the way out of the water like this, for reasons unrelated to killing prey, but breaching takes on a whole new terrifying dimension when it’s a menacing 2,000kg shark doing the deed. Air Jaws became the most successful shark show in history when it introduced TV audiences to the unique shark breaching off Seal Island. What’s also striking is how close to shore these shark-on-seal attacks take place—almost within sight of Simonstown harbor in some cases.
For those who care to witness this extremely violent link of the food chain in person, there are plenty of charter outfits along False Bay, near Cape Town, that operate boat excursions to Seal Island—though the boats seem alarmingly small and flimsy given the size and acrobatic capabilities