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Welcome to the home of Angie's Dolphin Diaries. Here you will find the in-water records of encounters had with the local Dolphins of Ponta during January 2022 in the Maputo National Park (MNP).. Please scroll down to find your encountour date. We would like to say a heartfelt thanks for joining us on the Dolphin Boat in Ponta! Without you we would not be able to do what we love most. Thank you for your support which helps us keep track of the local #DolphinsofPonta. 310122 - At just after 6am, we located a tiny pod of only three dolfriends chilling in the bay. We soon found ourselves sharing dolphin space with local Ginger, Freddy and another slightly older female who were socialising both amongst themselves and us! It was time for a bout of object interaction as can be seen @00:40 when our unidentified female dives to pick-up seagrass, play with it before depositing it back down on the seabed below, after which a guitar fish, in the company of a queen fish comes in to inspect! Thereafter it was time to visit the snorkelers as both Ginger and her friend, together with Billy stayed to engage before heading offshore seemly on the hunt. 270122 - This morning found us in the company of a nursery pod who were with males Elvis and Theo. In-water it was however Ritz @00:14 who slowed for a circle swim and bout of conscious interaction while most of the pod passed through. Shortly after female Silva joins in @00:32 - and round and round we went until something caught their attention down below! It was a Guitar Fish - a beautiful bottom dweller that looks a lot like a shark, but is actually a ray! The two girls @ 02:00 decided to go and check out the activity, not before seemingly nudging or nipping the Guitar fish’s tail before it sped off into the distant blue! Freya too was amongst the ladies and kids and at 02:44 slowed for a visit before Ritz returned again, this time in the company of a calf and young female. She defiantly looks to have some swelling on the belly and we are very excited to keep you posted during her pregnancy! Dolphin Diary 250122 - After nearly a week of being land bound we were overjoyed to get back out to sea again today with our volunteer Samara and a small group of dolphin seekers. The swell however was large to say the least and we were thankful that we observed a Pod of the local Dolphins of Ponta in the bay, away from backline. The pod of some 25 dolphins included a mixed pod of males and females, with whistler Herme the humpback @ 00:23 and adult males Rob, Tik and Dylan who were escorting Bo and Freya with their babes. Dolphin Diary 160122 - Our encountour this morning found a socialising dolphins in Ponta Bay, as we approached the group could be seen surfing and cavorting in the waves and surf. Not long after we had slipped into the water, were we approached by some females that included O2 and Silva who were keen for a visit before being ushered off by some adult males. @01:40 adult male can be heard popping before coming in to chase a female who was circle swimming with Candice, needless to say the female escaped and resumed her circle swimming, with the band of boys closely watching over @02:10. While visiting the reef we were fortunate enough to encounter a number of rays, two guitar fish and numerous turtles. What an epic launch! Dolphin Diary 140122 - A light onshore greeted us tis morning as we pushed into the Bay with a small group of enthusiastic dolphin seekers. Some 30 minutes later we found ourselves in the company of a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins. Local Dolphins of Ponta ADot, Tatti, Freya and 2Bar were observed with their babes in the company of young female Lucy and others who spent time socialising amongst themselves and us! Dolphin Diary 110122 - Dolfriends in the Bay! Just as we started cruising north after we launched, we observed dorsal fins heading our way. It was with much excitement that Bo was seen with her latest calf 00:43 amongst the small nursery pod heading south and in-water we shared a special moment as she slowed for a bit of conscious interaction with her new babe! Shortly after, Ritz appeared STILL in the company of Elvis, Theo and Snap, however today Pluto and some other younger males were in their company too! Theo 00:15 was seemingly the one responsible for keeping us occupied while the rest of the pod slowly meandered south along the coastline. @ 03:50 female Ritz, in the company of Pluto and two others approach for a bout of conscious interaction While snorkelling on the reef, we has a pretty cool encounter with a friendly Raggie Shark too @05:36. Dolphin Diary 100122 - Dolphin Diary 100122 - An interesting morning spent in search of the local Dolphins. Today the action was slightly offshore with two pods of bottlenose dolphins observed heading inshore. The two distinct pods comprised of a nursery with mums Slide 01:17 and Freya in the company of some youngsters followed by female Ritz 00:17 who was in the company of mature males Elvis, Theo and Snap. Watch Theo break rank @ 01:58 to join Ritz for a couple of rounds of circle swimming before heading off with Snap and Elvis. Damn these boys just don’t want to let her go😂. Dolphin Diary 070122 - A great morning spent in the bay with local lads and gals! It was one of those days….super flat seas, sparkling clean seas and multiple pods of dolphins in the bay! Our first Encountour saw young male Freddy together with with a pod of 5 same aged dolfriends who where cruising with but not WITH Herme and other mature males including Theo, Elvis and Snap who were ‘escorting’ Ritz and Sheshy. The second Encountour of the morning found the same pod still milling in the bay, this time however between surfing the occasional wave INTO Ponta Bay; were now resting. Dolphin Diary 060122 - This mornings sunrise Encountour found local Dolphin of Ponta Gilly @01:33 with her son in the company of another mom and babe; Adot and Tatti together with their babes and young male Freddy @01:09. Mums Tatti and Freya @ 02:56 joined for a bout conscious interaction followed by mum Beetrix @05:45. Our Second Encountour of the morning @09:00 saw a direct approach from a sub-adult male with some interesting lesions in the company of female Ritz and males Elvis, The and Snap. It was a great morning at sea! Dolphin Diary 040122 - Another great sunrise Encountour awaited us this morning with a visit from local Dolphin of Ponta Gilly @ 00:25 who was in the company of another mum and a collection of young kids; both boys and girls! The socialising kids were keen for a bout of circle swimming and conscious interaction #01:28 while mums overlooked and occasionally joined in. Dolphin Diary 030122 - Our first Encountour of the day found us observing Gilly and Adot, in the company of their babes right at the top of our norther range. The small nursery pod was traveling north through the crystal clear waters, offering up a good view of mums and babes travel resting. Our second Encountour @03:52 of the morning found very little dolphin activity - however whilst snorkelling off Mamoli Point, Gilly, now in the company of another female and a newborn came cruising past.

Welcome to the home of Angie's Dolphin Diaries. Here you will find the in-water records of encounters had with the local Dolphins of Ponta during December 21 in the Reserva Marinha Parcial Ponta do Ouro now known as the Maputo National Park (MNP).. Please scroll down to find your encountour date. We would like to say a heartfelt thanks for joining us on the Dolphin Boat in Ponta! Without you we would not be able to do what we love most. Thank you for your support which helps us keep track of the local #DolphinsofPonta. Dolphin Diary 311221 - Today’s heavy and overcast skies did not deter us from heading off to check in on the Local Dolphins of Ponta! Calm seas with a slight offshore made it easy to spot our finned friend! Our sunrise Encountour found us in the company of the boys once more, however this time round, Beever, Thunder and Chucky were seen escorting mums Rocha and Freya with their daughters. In-water, after the majority of the pod passed through, Beever stayed, and stayed, and stayed, visiting each and every snorkeler independently. Our second Encountour of the morning found a pod traveling resting in-shore, it was rest time and although they passed through silently - there was no bout of conscious interaction being offered up. And with that said, we closed off 2021 a little wiser as we acknowledge the lessons dolphins teach our team every day! We are truly grateful to them for allowing us the opportunity of sharing their magic with you. Dolphin Diary 301221 - Sunrise Encountour 5am This morning the on-shore was up early and dolphins were hugging the coastline as they could be seen socialising. Slipping in we were engulfed in popping male dolphins as they made their way through and around our snorkelers meaning that there were some females in the pod of mixed aged males. Notable observations include 00:16 adult male with shark bite, 00:22 adult males popping; 00:32 adult female SheyShy approaches for a bout of conscious interaction with Sarah-Leigh. Dolphin Diary 301221 - The second Encountour of the morning found some males traveling North off backline between surfing 00:08, followed by a trailing pod of younger males that included Freddy 00:26 also traveling north. Dolphin Diary 291221 - Sunrise Encountour 5am. After 5 days of no launching between Xmas and gloomy weather we were stoked to head off in search of our finned friends. With three Encountours lined up for the day I was particularly looking forward to a full morning at sea recording just who was around. Our first tour of the day saw Rocha and her daughter Rona hunting in the bay, after which we found ourselves in the company of transient males Beever and Chucky who were with a larger ‘band of brothers’ that were travel resting heading south. Some notable observations included: 00:09 Chucky with what looks like a shark bite; 00:22 Adult male coming in from bottom of frame - jaw clap; 00:39 Adult male approaches with a very LARGE shark bite and 01:54 Adult males slowing for a belly rub on the sand Our second tour of the morning found Rocha and Rona still in the bay, however this time they had another juvenile in their company. Some notable observations included: 00:10 Direct approach by Rocha and Rona, 00:40 Circle swimming; 01:50 Traveling just above sand seemingly scouting; 04:10 Rona and her pesky remora! The third Encountour of the day sadly did not have any dolphin sightings; however a pod was sighted in-shore already in the company of another operator. Code of Conduct stipulates a one boat no queue policy in the area. Dolphin Diary 231221 - This mornings Encountours found dolphins though-out the morning milling in Ponta Bay. The first sighting of the day included a small group of youngsters who were slightly offshore while a large pod was milling inshore. Seemingly the four were on shark watch as in -water we had a large ‘jonny’ come in for a look! The second tour of the day observed a pod of some 25 bottlenose dolphins traveling through Ponta bay. The mixed pod of males and females of various ages included numerous mums and babes with Bo and her firstborn Rocha, Gilly, Freya and Sabby identified and in the company of males Elvis, Theo, Snap, Rob, Tik and Dylan! Our last tour of the day found three different groups of dolphins; a small socialising pod of 5 bottlenose dolphins and one humpback together, followed by a mum and her offspring long diving, followed by the large nursery pod again - STILL in Ponta Bay! Thank you to all our guests for your support today! Dolphin Diary 201221 - Our sunrise Encountour found beautiful conditions with calms seas, clear blue waters and local @dolphins of Ponta milling in the Bay. In-water we were treated to some seagrass interaction with a sub adult female who was super stoked to show of her dolphin toy! The video is in two parts due to size and length.. Part 1 Part 2 Our second Encountour of the day found two pods in the bay, however visiting time with humans was now over as they travel north on backline. Thank you to all our guests for joining us the morning. Dolphin Diary 191221 - Local Dolphin of Ponta Rocha was spotted this morning in the Ponta Bay. together with her daughter Rona, Ginger and one other. A little while later we were joined by Gambit and some other friendlies! Our second Encountour of the day found us having a great visit with Ginger who was in the company of a small mixed pod that included Gambit, this time round Rocha and Rona were no-where to be seen. While snorkelling on the reef we had some great turtle sightings! Thank you to all our guests for joining us the morning. Dolphin Diary 161221 - Gambit @02:41 in the company of Freddy @ 00:25 and Lucy @02:05 visited us this morning just as we were leaving our snorkelling reef! Thank you to Matthias and his group for joining us this morning. Dolphin Diary 141221 - Sunrise encountour - Local dolphins of ponta were spotted heading north along vaccine this morning. The pod of mostly males, two dyads (mom and offspring) and some young females were traveling, in between socialising and surfing. As the pod passed through, it was mums and tots first, followed by mature males including Nemo, C.02 bdm and then the immature boys passed with Gandalf @01:28 being the ‘poked’ in the ‘pokipod’ - a little male on male social sexual behavior! A young male had a run in with a shark as can be seen @00:35 Our second encounter of the morning found us observing some of the same males milling in Malongane Bay, this time however TwoBar and her son @01:44, together with SheyShy and her daughter @00:16 were in their company. Thank you to all our guests for joining us this morning on the dolphin boat. Dolphin Diary 101221 Another great morning at sea today for the Dolphin Team By 6am we had located a small pod of bottlenose heading north through Malongane Bay. The small pod with mom and daughter Rocha and Rona who were in the company of young female Jagger and a bunch on young immature males including Gandalf, Pluto and Jupiter. Thank you to Herman and Japies girls for joining us this morning. Our second encountour of the morning found us locate a small pod of immatures, both males and female heading south towards Ponta Bay. In-water it was Frey’s offspring who stole the show with a delightful bout of conscious interaction in the coastal shallows. Thank you to Cheryl and her family for joining us once more. Your support is much appreciated. Dolphin Diary 091221 Dolphins never fail to delight, especially when they occur in pristine conditions. We were blessed with fantastic visibly and dolphins both aplenty and asocial! This morning found two pods of dolphins in the bay - first up some bottlenose dolphins were spotted while the crew was dropping the boat, and when we were out there we came across a pod of socialising and bow riding Spotted dolphins! It's not often we get to have a bout of conscious interaction with spotted - but just check out this friendly soul @03:30. A little later we observed Rocha with her daughter who is now around 14 months old milling off Malongane point. Little Rona still has the pesky remora and now she not only has one but two. Thank you to Sandy and her team for joining us on the dolphins boat. Dolphin Diary 051221 Dolfriends chillaxing in the coastal shallows of Ponta Bay this morning. Once more great sea state and visibility allowed for an amazing in-water encounter with a sociable nursery pod who were in the company of some mature males and Gandalf and his gang. Thank you to our guests and Gala Gala for the support this morning. Dolphin Diary 041221 Great conditions and clear waters greeted us again this morning. By 05:50 we had launched and located a pod of bottlenose dolphins who were making their way inshore. Slipping in - excitement mounted as three adult males could be heard popping @ 00:25, then when they came into view sped up @ 00:38 for a mock charge and highly charged circle swim! Once they had passed a small mostly female pod including Switch, O2 and her daughter (who was absent yesterday) @00:57 milled in the bay while taking time out engage with the small group of human observers. Adult male escorts were observed belly on sand @ 08:31 / 09:23 and @12:24 O2 and her offspring were spotted belly on sand too! Towards the end of the encounter, dolphin guest Anchen @14:49 was honoured with a circle swim. It is not often that first time dolphin snorkelers get to engage at this level:-) Thank you Anchen and her man for joining us this morning. Dolphin Diary 031221 As we launched this morning a mixed pod of bottlenose dolphins were spotted in our bay. Local Dolphin of Ponta Gandalf @00:17 and O2 09:21 were sighted amongst the group who in water were very accommodating. Their dozy milling in the bay found the group of 9 dolfriends coming and going in-between bouts of circle swimming, pec petting and other interesting behaviours. Thank you Francois and family for joining us this morning!

Welcome to the home of Angie's Dolphin Diaries. Here you will find the in-water records of encounters had with the local Dolphins of Ponta during November 21 in the Reserva Marinha Parcial Ponta do Ouro.. Please scroll down to find your encountour date. We would like to say a heartfelt thanks for joining us on the Dolphin Boat in Ponta! Without you we would not be able to do what we love most. Thank you for your support which helps us keep track of the local #DolphinsofPonta. 27 November 2021 Sunrise Encountour Today found small pods on both our sunrise and midmorning Encountours. At 6:45 we saw sub-adult female Jagger in the company of Gandalf and a couple of other youngsters. The pod was very distracted by something in-shore - possibly a school of fish, a manta, shark - whatever it was I could not see it, however judging from Gandalf posturing and rotating pectorals @00:54; something defiantly was up! Thank you Jens and family for joining us together with Morne! 27 November 2021 Midmorning Encountour Launch 2 Our second tour of the morning found us enjoying a snorkel on the shallow reef off Ponta Mamoli. It was here that we encountered some eagle rays in the crystal blue shallow waters. A small group of the local @dolphinsofp were observed heading south across the border - this time the hunt was on with one of the dolphins seen down below with what was left of a fish! Thank you to Claudia and Co for joining us together with Michaela! 21 November 2021 Sunrise Encountour This morning our local @dolphinsof ponta were on a mission. A small pod of bottlenose dolphins including Shiva together with Herme the humpback were observed heading south along some reef. In-water we were engulfed in dolphin whistling @00:37, however the busy boys seemingly had more important things to deal with! 20 November 2021 Sunrise Encountour This morning local lad Shiva @00:50 was observed off the point in the company of a young female who has a very distinctive lump on her tail stock together with a couple of other youngsters. Slipping in we found ourselves in around 10 meters of water, just being able to make out the bottom below. The water visibility had dropped somewhat and there are many marine organisms floating around! In-water the dolphins were behaving erratically and although they were keen to engage 02:30, something was distracting them and not too long afterwards did we discover what. That grey shadow coming up from the bottom was indeed not a dolphin but a rather large shark - approaching fast to have a look! Needless to say one very load shout or shout I say scream found the surprise visitor bolt off in the other direction @03:19 in video. Needless to say quite thrilling fro those of us that saw Mr Jonny! Thank you to Tania, Monika and the rest of our guests for joining us this morning! American International School Maputo Both the weather and dolphin Gods smiled kindly on us today for the 10th graders from AISM! We were treated with great dolphin encountours throughout the morning with multiple sightings of our resident bottlenose dolphins. Herme the Humpback dolphin was spotted in their company surfing on the second launch and then resting on the third! Gala Gala Eco Lodge once more made the prefect presentation and accommodation space for this school tour and we look forward to welcoming AISM back on board next year! Thank you to AISM and the students for joining us. 17 November 2021 3rd Encountour 17 November 2021 2nd Encountour 17 November 2021 Sunrise Encountour 13 November 2021 Sunrise Encountour Although a little wet, windy and bumpy we headed off early bells in search of the local Dolphins of Ponta. It was not long before we observed a band of boys in the surf south of Ponta Point! In-water it was not long before their curiosity got the better of them and they made their way towards us, out of the surf. Today the boys were very accommodating as we found ourselves in the company of Gandalf @00:45, Shiva, Freddy and Pluto. Thank you to our dolphin guests that joined us this morning to learn more about the resident dolphins 11 November 2021 Sunrise Encountour When Dolfriends stop you right in your tracks and our volunteer is right in the mix of it @00:34. It was interesting to note that the oldest of the males in this pod, Rob, Tik and Dylan did not display any aggression; this was left up to the younger males. 00:45. Right at the end it was Pluto, the son of Peewee who came back one last time to ensure there was no following the pod who were tightly grouped together. Our second sighting was far gentler with a short bout of conscious interaction with three young bottlenose dolphins. Thank you Alex and Stella for joining us this morning. 06 November 2021 Sunrise Encountour A large pod of some 50 bottlenose dolphins were observed in the next bay. The tightly grouped pod were milling in the coastal shallows and composed of mums babes, mums to be and a whole bunch of adult males including Elvis, Theo, Cholo, Viking and Wilson. Here the Humpback dolphin was in the mix too @01:30! In-water it was clear that the silent pod was resting and no interaction would be had, given the open jaws shown to us by two adult males, that was the signal was clear ‘back off’ @01:35 It was so cool to see Herme again. The last time we had him visiting our area was in June! Herme is now 15 years old and we can’t help but wonder about where he goes and who he hangs out with while away! Does he find some of his own kind down in South Africa, or maybe up north close to Maputo Bay - one thing is for certain, when he visits our area he is normally seen in the company of the local Bottlenose Dolphins of Ponta. Thank you to our dolphin guests that joined us this morning to learn more about the resident dolphins. 01 November 2021 Sunrise Encountour Beautiful calm seas greeted us this Monday morning. By 06:35 while traveling north, we observed a pod of some 20 bottlenose dolphins slowly traveling. Slipping in we were greeted with great visibility and sociable dolfriends including some of our mums to be, Freya and SheShy whom I think may be with child the next time we encounter her. Check out some pec petting - or should we say pec slapping @ 01:04 And a VERY pregnant SheyShy @ 04:40. Pause @ 04:54 to see her belly!!!!! Thank you to Anya and her small group for joining us this morning on the dolphin boat.

Welcome to the home of Angie's Dolphin Diaries. Here you will find the in-water records of encounters had with the local Dolphins of Ponta during October in the Reserva Marinah Parcial Ponta do Ouro.. Please scroll down to find your encountour date. We would like to say a heartfelt thanks for joining us on the Dolphin Boat in Ponta! Without you we would not be able to do what we love most. Thank you for your support which helps us keep track of the local #DolphinsofPonta. 31 October 2021 Sunrise Encountour After two days of being land bound the Dolphin Team was keen to head back out to sea. Although the wind had dropped off substantially - the swell was large and today was seemingly a day of rest for the local Dolphins of Ponta! On our Sunrise Encountour a pod of 15 adult bottlenose dolphins were observed up in the next bay traveling south towards Ponta do Ouro. In-water it was clear the pod of mostly males including Nemo and Zig were travel-resting as the silently passed through down below @00:15. On our return to Ponta we observed a small pod of youngsters heading south. The group approached our boat and slipping in were were greeted by some friendlies @00:45 who were keen to socialise while waiting for the main pod to join, which now had grown in number and included adult males together with some of our local mums and pregnant ladies including Bo 02:03! It was one of those encountours that found us teetering in the surf zone making for a little bit of wave excitement @01:25 while enjoying a moment with a youngster who came to visit. Launch One Sunrise Encountour 31 October 2021 Midmorning Encountour (Launch 1) Our second Encountour of the morning observed a mixed pod of bottlenose dolphins milling-resting in Malongane Bay! Males Theo and Elvis @00:26 were amongst the pod of mums and bases that included Adot and a female with a severely deformed dorsal fin @00:38! One can only wonder what would have caused such a drastic change to her fin; boat propeller, fishing line??? Leave your comments below! In-water it was the littlies @00:22 that came to briefly visit while the adults glided quietly past. Thank you to our guests, both return and new for joining us this morning. 28 October 2021 Sunrise Encountour The beastly easterly was up early this morning and we were grateful that not too long after we launched did we pick up a pod of dolphins traveling south. The group was split in two with local ladies Gilly and Rocha and their offspring @ 00:28 amongst the nursery pod leading the travel - followed by a small group of varying aged sub adults @00:58 who were in the company of Ritz. It was great to connect, albeit briefly with Rocha and her two-year old offspring! Thank you to our guests for joining us this morning! 27 October 2021 Sunrise Encountour After yesterdays flatness, today was a little bumpy. None the less we headed off in search of our finned friends and located a small group of three bottlenose dolphins just north of Madajanine Point. The pod of three comprised of mum Danny with her son together with five year old female Lucy who is the offspring of Lolly! In-water we were graced with their presence as the three of them slowed for some circle swimming and conscious interaction before heading off on the hunt. A little later Lucy was seen with a huge fish - breakfast time! Thank you once more to Charmain and the ladies and Belinda for joining us on the Dolphin Boat. 26 October 2021 Sunrise Encountour A calm and conducive ocean awaited us today. After yesterday rough ride and the past few days being land bound due to high winds, it was great to be back on the water again with our enthusiastic dolphin ladies. We encountered two pods this morning. The first a group of three youngsters heading south; in-water we were visited by ±5 year old Ginger @00:20, daughter of Gulliver. Our second observation found us in the company of Gilly and Adot, both with their boys @02:05 as well as pregnant females SheShy (has some interesting scratches) and Jabu. It was these two sociable souls that stayed to engage while mums and babes headed south along backline. Thank you to Charmaine and the ladies for joining us on tour! 19 October 2021 Sunrise Encountour After few of days being land-bound, we were thankful to get a gap in the wind to finally get out there with our small German team and volunteers Shiran and Nathalia! Although a little bumpy with some swell running, we did locate a large pod of some 35 dolphins in the adjacent bay. The mixed pod of males, females, calves, juvie’s and sub-adults were mostly resting, however Dolphin of Ponta Savanna @01:43 felt up for a bout of conscious interaction and circle swimming followed by Beijo and two young females, one of which pried out live pansy shell from the sandy sea floor @05:31. 07 October 2021 Sunrise Encountour A small pod of three females were observed in Ponta Bay this morning. In-water we were offered a short but very sweet encounter with the ladies before they headed off north with speed.

Welcome to the home of Angie's Dolphin Diaries. Here you will find the in-water records of encounters had with the local Dolphins of Ponta during September in the Reserva Marinah Parcial Ponta do Ouro.. Please scroll down to find your encountour date. We would like to say a heartfelt thanks for joining us on the Dolphin Boat in Ponta! Without you we would not be able to do what we love most. Thank you for your support which helps us keep track of the local #DolphinsofPonta. Today we welcomed the Grade 12’s from the American International School. Heading off early we were treated with dolphin and whale observations on all the encountours - conditions we a little bumpy with the onshore wind that blew from sun-up, however we were awarded by crystal clean waters and very friendly dolphins on the first two encountours. By launch three the pod had increased in size and was resting! Thank you to AISM students, teachers and parents for joining us as well as Gala Gala Eco-Estate, the perfect school and student tour venue! 01st October 2021 Sunrise Encountour 01st October 2021 Midmorning Encountour 01st October 2021 Late morning Encountour

Welcome to the home of Angie's Dolphin Diaries. Here you will find the in-water records of encounters had with the local Dolphins of Ponta during September in the Reserva Marinah Parcial Ponta do Ouro.. Please scroll down to find your encountour date. We would like to say a heartfelt thanks for joining us on the Dolphin Boat in Ponta! Without you we would not be able to do what we love most. Thank you for your support which helps us keep track of the local #DolphinsofPonta. It was a great morning at sea with the grade 11’s from the American International School. Pushing in at sunrise, we did three consecutive launches with enthusiastic teenagers who were keen to experience nature at it’s finest. The morning was spent observing dolphins in their natural environment as well wowing at great and graceful humpback whales! Thank you to AISM teachers and students for joining us as well as Gala Gala Eco Lodge which made the prefect presentation and accommodation space for this school tour! 29th September 2021 Sunrise Encountour 29th September 2021 Midmorning Encountour

Welcome to the home of Angie's Dolphin Diaries. Here you will find the in-water records of encounters had with the local Dolphins of Ponta during September in the Reserva Marinah Parcial Ponta do Ouro.. Please scroll down to find your encountour date. We would like to say a heartfelt thanks for joining us on the Dolphin Boat in Ponta! Without you we would not be able to do what we love most. Thank you for your support which helps us keep track of the local #DolphinsofPonta. 27th September 2021 Sunrise Encountour Dolfriends IN the bay as we launched! A large pod of some 30 dolphins were observed socialising in Ponta Bay this morning. Amongst the usual suspects were SheShy and her babe, together with a number of other mums and some of the biiiiggggg boys including Avalon, Skelletor, Sickle and Toto! In water the local dolphins were very accommodating as they allowed us to gently watch their comings and goings while some of our closer dolfriends slowed for a human visit. @01:01 Lisa, who has been visiting our finned friends with me regularly for many a moon can be seen having a circle swim with local lady and mum Sheshy who is around 15 years old. A little later adult male Avalon @01:35 slowed for a bout of conscious interaction. A whistling Sickle comes into frame @ 02:20 and gives expat Mark a check out before joining up again with Avalon. @03:18 Skelletor passes through before SheShy arrives back with her babe for a bit of circle swimming amongst a cacophony of whistling before catching in a wave! After their surf, the pod - now closely grouped made their way offshore before bolting of north - something was up and just like that, in a flash they were gone; a smaller group of youngsters were then observed offshore heading south! 26th September 2021 Sunrise Encountour The wind was up early this morning and the Dolphins of Ponta, well they were hugging the coastline living it up in the surf! The large pod mixed pod of some 25 bottlenose dolphins were observed heading north in Ponta Bay. With a number of tail slaps and chuffs (loud exhalations), calves and infamous males like Skelletor and Avalon we decided it best to just observe from the boat! 25th September 2021 Midmorning Encountour Our second tour of the day was filled with multiple humpback whale sightings and a quick, pass though in-water encounter with a small pod of 5 bottlenose dolphins. Local lads Gandalf and Shiva were amongst the group of young males who were resting. Although the encounter was brief Gandalf and co surfaced for a breath next to us, and he, together with a younger male slowed for a quick hello before joining up with the rest of the pod. 25th September 2021 Sunrise Encountour Today we received a visit from a young female in-water who was very content to spend some time engaging. About a minute and a half into the encounter, sub-adult male Jagger arrived on the scene@01:28. The direct approach was with purpose and when he slowed and started head wagging and open jawing me - I knew something was up! What followed @01:50 was a tail swish and wag and then further open jaws, indicating the end of the encountour. Jagger is around 9 years old and like Gandalf, these boys are now starting to assert their dominance. It’s interesting to watch the young males develop these behaviours after knowing them since they were little. 19th September 2021 Mid Moring Encountour Our second tour of the day found us re-sighting the same pod in pretty much the same area as earlier. Young female Beijo @00:22 was the first to join in for a bout of conscious interaction and circle swimming, followed by a bunch of youngsters, with one little one seemly practicing some belly up circle swimming @01:34 between his observers. Half way through the encountour, @03:09 some immature males arrived including Shiva and Gandalf @ 03:16 who slowed for a bout of interaction. We finished off the launch with some great humpback whale viewing that included a tail slapping, lob tailing sub-adult. 19th September 2021 Sunrise Encountour After a couple of days of rough sea's it was great to get out there as the sun rose on Sunday morning. With a fairly calm sea, and still a bit of a swell running we found some bottlenose dolphins surfing up in Malongane Bay. Local Dolphins of Ponta Bo and Gilly were amongst the mix pod that was heading north and once we slipped into the water, we were greeted by friendly dolfriends who made their way out of the large surf to come and visit. A young adult male approached belly up @00:33 seemingly coming to show off his new wound. The almost sickle shaped cut has us scratching our head as to what may have caused it, with our closest guess a fishing hook, what do you think? Lady Bo was spotted with a swelling belly @ 01:30 - it looks like she will be gracing us with another babe soon! A little heart stopping moment occurred when Jack came charging in @ 02:14 belly up towards Angie; this pretty much indicated the end of the snorkel. 12th September 2021 Sunrise Encountour The wind was up early this morning - however we were able to get our Sunrise Encountour out before is really started ruffling up the seas surface! Offshore it was all about the whales while inshore about our local Dolphins of Ponta! A small pod of bottlenose dolphins were sighted in Ponta Bay and in-water we found ourselves in the company of Ritz and another young female. It was breakfast time for our finned friends as we observed Ritz trying to catch a small fish that was trying to find protection amongst us snorkelers. 9th September 2021 Sunrise Encountour In-shore two pods of Bottlenose dolphins were observed, with local Dolphins of Ponta Theo, Elvis and Snap sighted accompanying some mums including Tatti and Gilly and a bunch of kids! 6th September 2021 Sunrise Encountour Sunrise Encountour with local Dolphins of Ponta Rocha and her new babe, the cutest little girl ever! She still has her pesky remora and just like mum is a super sociable soul. 5th September 2021 Mid Morning Encountour Our Mid-morning Encountour was full of active Humpback Whales and three species of Dolphins with Spotted and Spinner dolphins in the company of each other with the Spotted hunting flying fish. We also had a re-sighting of the same pod of Bottlenose dolphins who were by this time tightly bunched together and resting. 5th September 2021 Sunrise Encountour A great time spent in the company of a large mixed pod of our finned friends who were socialising in the bay! 4th September 2021 Sunrise Encountour Dolphin and Whale Saturday. It was a beautiful start to our Let it Flow Dolphin Retreat with Charney and the ladies together with Annare and her group of Dolphin seekers. We had some great humpback whale viewing and a beautiful in-water encountour with local Dolphins of Ponta Elvis, Theo, Ritz and Switch.

Gotta love it when a plan comes together! With a cranking onshore predicted mid week, we were thrilled to get our small tour group out for an Encountour at sunrise before the wind set in. It was the proverbial humpback whale highway out there with blows been seen all along the horizon. Heading offshore we were (those of us that caught it) wowed by a single humpback whale that breached close to the boat. Interestingly enough this seemed to be a warning and as we slowed, stopped, observed and listened we found ourselves in the company of four great leviathans who circled once, before returning on their southern journey. Check out the video below of the Whales AND Dolphins! Once back in the bay the wind was already up as we started to trek our way north. It was not long before we picked up two bottlenose dolphins heading south. Although they were keen for some bow-riding; in-water it was a miss as they seemed hellbent on reaching a destination, he, he… Curiosity and I suppose a little bit of intuition found us following the two fast travellers and voila, there was a large pod just off backline. With the on-shore winds picking up and a rather strange angled swell, we were thankful that without too much wait a small pod broke off and headed towards us. Our brave dolphin seekers, some of whom have never swam in the open ocean before slipped in and found themselves in the company of some very sociable souls who were content on swimming between and around our observers before heading off and leaving Beijo and Switch; two young females who were babysitting the kids and teaching them the art of circle swimming! The one little one had an infestation of Xenobalanus Globicipitis aka the Stalked Barnacles; with one of the guests saying they looked like beautifully placed jewels; these interesting little critters are a parasitic organism and only attaches to the host for transportation purposes. In Ponta do Ouro, we have had many observations of dolphins who have this particular barnacle. You can check out a recent poster put together by students from the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Portsmouth where they looked at the occurrence of this specific species on the local #dolphinsofponta. Images: Xenobalanus Globicipitis aka the Stalked Barnacles; Bottom L: Calves of the year coming for a circle swim Bottom R: Eye to eye with Switch and Beijo.. Thank you to our guests and Meet Extreme Adventures for your support. We look forward to making more dolphin dreams come true with your guests in future! Today is also the last launch for Bulgarian volunteer Violeta who has spent the past two weeks with us. It was great to spend time with her and give her the first Bulgarian volunteer title. Bon Voyage dear Violeta, thank you for joining us and assisting with the various projects undertaken in the Reserve. Did you know you can adopt a Dolphin of Ponta through the Society for Dolphin Conservation - Germany www.delphinschutz.org. By adopting a family line you directly assist in research and conservation of the local dolphins!

It was a great weekend spent in search of dolphins and whales with Michelles and Antoinette's friends and family who were visiting from SA. After a years ‘deadly’ delay their group finally arrived (by car and by plane) and settled in at Mar e Sol which offered up sea-views, beautiful appointed rooms and healthy, hearty brunches created by Tarragons. Saturdays sea’s were still on the large side; the past days cold front left a frostiness in the air and some heaving swell that we had to contend with. All was not lost though as we observed a large of some 40 dolphins surfing the swell down south. Due to their proximity of the waves, this made it impossible to enter into the water safely and we all had to be content with observing our finned friends from the boat. All was not lost though as we had some great observations of humpback whales that seemingly enjoy it rough with multiple breaches seen. Images: Top L; Whales ahoy! Top R: Dolfriends at sunrise Bottom L: Belly up circle swim with O2. BR: Rob and his big white spot! Sunday morning however we were greeted with calm and soothing sea and it was not long after we launched out the bay that we located a large mixed pod milling. Unlike yesterday when the pod of dolphins did not approach at all, today members of the pod made their way directly to our boat Avalon and seemingly waited for us to slip in. In-water we were engulfed in friendly, vocal dolfriends and had the opportunity of watching local Dolphins of Ponta Rob (white patch), Tik and Dylan popping! This has to be one of the most interesting vocalisations the dolphins have with only the males that produce the almost mechanical sound - the purpose of which is to keep the ladies or pod in tow @03:45. This trio of males were first spotted together in 1997 and remain close allies today! Female Dimple @09:35 was amongst the mature females in the pod, she has sadly had a run in with what looks like a shark and given the amount of lesions and scarring we are happy to report she is looking strong and healthy! Images: Female Dimple left and right, covered in scars It was however Jagger, Switch and O2 (E.02b bdm) @5:54 who were keen to engage and approached multiple times for circle swims and bouts of conscious interaction. Images: Local Dolphins of Ponta, including Jagger, Switch, Pluto and Gandalf in Ponta Bay Our second Encountour of the morning, found the same pod - this time heading north in Malongane bay. By now the group was resting and offered up no interaction as they passed silently by through the water. Video: in comparison to our sunrise encountour this time our finned friends were noticeably quiet as they passed through... Images: Screen grabs off the pass though.... Thank you Michelle and the rest of your group for joining us. It was a privilege to share the local dolphins and our work with you. Did you know you can adopt a Dolphin of Ponta through the Society for Dolphin Conservation - Germany www.delphinschutz.org. By adopting a family line you directly assist in research and conservation of the local dolphins!

6:30am Encountour Hey, hey its Sunday and it’s the 8-8. A special day considered by many and for the Dolphin Team it ended up being a very spacial day too! Our fist encountour of the day found calm and flat sea that greeted us as we pushed in. By 07:34 we had located a small mixed pod in Ponta Bay that were gently heading north. Once in the water we were submerged in YIKES super lumo green waters. Lucky for us Elvis and - who we thought was Cholo (ended up be Theo) were keen for a bit of a visit and slowed to engage while the rest of the pod moved through. The boys were escorting Freya and Marilyn with their babes through the murky green waters. Image: Above: Freya and her babe Below: Marilyn with some interesting rake marks (caused from other dolphins teeth). Image: Left: Elvis Right: Theo - best mates Theo who has undergone a dramatic dorsal fin change is often seen in the company of his mate Elvis, both these boys have shown aggression to swimmers in the water before, so it was with much relief that the encounter was seemingly one of joyous reunion after not seeing each other for a while. Video from our Sunrise Encountour 9am Encountour By the time our second Encountour was briefed and ready to go, the onshore had picked up slightly. With eager children and parents on-board, we headed off in search… Not long after we made it through the waves, a pod of bottlenose dolphins was observed again in Ponta Bay, this time the group numbered around 30 and were slightly offshore in some 15-20m of water. Image: Little peeps listening well to instructions and slipping into the water with our wild dolphins! Images: Local Dolphins of Ponta young and old came to visit Behaviour was erratic with long dives as the dolphins were seemingly checking something out below - was it a ray, was it a shark, hard to say with such poor visibly. We were however engulfed in dolphins when we slipped in with close and tight circles swims as the friendly group of both young and old slowed to visit before bolting off into the greenness. Video from our 9am encountour 11:30am Encountour By midday the north easily was really puffing, making sightings of those small dorsal fins a little more difficult. On our northern in-shore run up towards Madaganine no bottlenose dolphins were sighted, however when making our way back south offshore we observed a pod of some 20 beautiful spotted dolphins in the company of two humpback whales who were slowly traveling south. Video from our third encountour - whale watching at it's best in Mozambique. It was a great day at sea and we are very thankful to all our guests who supported us on this day! Please feel free to post your comments below, like and share. Did you know you can adopt a Dolphin of Ponta through the Society for Dolphin Conservation - Germany www.delphinschutz.org. By adopting a family line you directly assist in research and conservation of the local dolphins!

Welcome AuGust! Circle swimming with the local #dolphinsofpopnta! This morning the onshore was already starting to puff by the time we pushed in for our first encountour of the morning and although pleasant, the wind was set in for the day! On our sunrise encountour - after a quick sighting of a humpback whale offshore heading south; we headed north along backline keeping eyes peeled! Kitting up and getting ready to slip into the water with our dolfriends. As we cruised through the next bay some fins were observed as well as sleek, silver bullet like bodies bolting themselves out the surf.. The Dolphins of Ponta had been spotted living it up in the waves; making it difficult for the boat to get close! With that in mind the dolphin team decided to wait it out and see if any dolfriends would approach. Indeed they did and soon after slipping in we were greeted by a small group of young sub-adult females including Beijo (Portuguese for Kiss - she has interesting scar tissue on her rostrum) @01:42 who were keen for a visit. Video: Sunrise Encountour 9am Encountour Our second encountour of the day observed a large pod of some 40 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in our home bay with adult male Skellitor and some mums and babes including Blossom! By now the wind had picked up and our dolfriends were using the surface swell to cruise steadily south with a number of individuals making their way to the bow for a free ride! In-water we were greeted by Beijo @2:06min and the same females who were seen some 2.5hrs before in the next bay! During the course of the morning, her pod of young ladies had merged with this larger pod and although most of the pod were travel resting, she and the girls slowed to engage, allowing everyone to get an up-close look at her and her girlfriends. Dolphin smiles and sunny skies - Beijo, a sub adult female with healed scar tissue Today we say farewell to volunteer Laure who spent just short of a month with us. Once more it was a pleasure having her on project assisting with both data and community education! Laure’s last launches were filled with circle swims and direct re-approaches by the same females who, clearly by now know her. Dolphins joining the bow of our boat Avalon It was a fantastic morning at sea, sadly we had to cancel our last encountour due to choppy seas, however are grateful that we were able to sprinkle some dolphin magic into the lives of those who joined us! Thank you to our guests for your support, without you we would not be doing what we love most! Video highlights: Pooh-plume @01:23min Whale whispers @ 02:50min Please feel free to post your comments below, like and share. Did you know you can adopt a Dolphin of Ponta through the Society for Dolphin Conservation - Germany www.delphinschutz.org. By adopting a family line you directly assist in research and conservation of the local dolphins!

It was a great morning spent at sea with Fransisco and his family! Although there is still a definite chill in the early morning air, we were blessed with calm seas that made for easy spotting. A little up the coastline we observed a small nursery pod who were slowly traveling north. The pod made their way to the bow and it was not long before the two mums were identified. Local #dolphinsofponta Gilly and her little boy were there, as was Tatti @04:42 with her spritely little babe who is now only 7 months old. Images: Left & Right- Tatti and her calf of the year (cofy) In April we recorded a pesky remora on the little one and interestingly enough the scavenging hitchhiker is still there four months later; and just like spinner dolphins try to dislodge the little pests by spinning, so too have we noticed this attempted dislodging technique with our bottlenose, although the attempts have not yet been mastered by this little one! In-water it was a great observation of the dolphin kind! Sliding in, we were approached by the ladies with their kids, and after seemingly sussing out safely, Gilly’s boy and a young female were permitted to visit amongst the humans! The two of them took a special shining to Candice @02:10 who, given her frequent visits the dolphins know well! Sadly the visibility was rather on the green side, however with sociable, in your face dolfriends it was all good! The encounter ended with Gilly calling it time with a slight reprimand to the young dolphin that just wanted to visit. With special thanks to our guests, volunteer Laure and of course the local Dolphins of Ponta. Please feel free to post your comments below, like and share. Did you know you can adopt a Dolphin of Ponta through the Society for Dolphin Conservation - Germany www.delphinschutz.org. By adopting a family line you directly assist in research and conservation of the local dolphins!