Duiker Island

Duiker Island is a flat granite rock a short way out of Hout Bay, and it is covered - genuinely covered - in Cape fur seals, with numbers usually given in the low thousands and rising in the breeding season. Boats run from the harbour every hour or so, circle the island and come back; nobody lands, which is why the colony is as dense as it is. What you get is noise, smell and constant motion: bulls holding territory, pups in creches, animals porpoising around the boat. Great white sharks patrol seal colonies along this coast, so the water around the island is not a place to swim, though supervised snorkel trips with the seals do operate from the harbour on calm days. Hout Bay harbour itself is a working fishing port, and the trip out passes the Sentinel, the peak that guards the bay mouth.

What you actually see

• The seal density - several thousand Cape fur seals on one low rock.
• The no-landing rule - boats circle only, which is why the colony is undisturbed.
• The Sentinel - the peak at the bay mouth, passed on the way out.
• The working harbour - a fishing port rather than a marina.

When to go

All year; November to March has the calmest seas. One hour for the boat trip.

Honest expectations

The swell in Hout Bay makes many people seasick even on a short trip. The smell of the colony is strong and surprises people. Boats can be crowded and the stop is brief. Trips are cancelled in wind. Persistent hawkers work the harbour car park.

Nearby

Chapman's Peak Drive starts at Hout Bay; the harbour market is at the quay.