And oh, my goodness, I saw something unbelievable swimming close to the docks.
What was that?
I couldn't believe my eyes and called my wife over to come and see. The thing was pulsating its big half round blue cup in order for it to swim around.
An elderly couple was standing close by, and as they were tourists, none of us knew what it was, but my instinct told me that it was some sort of a huge jellyfish.
I almost had it right, but we researched it when we got back home, and it turns out to be a Barrel Jellyfish (Rhizostoma pulmo).
Rhizostoma pulmo, also known as the Barrel or Frilly-mouthed Jellyfish, is scyphomedusa in the family Rhizostomatidae. It is found in the north-east Atlantic and in the Adriatic, Mediterranean sea, Black sea, and Sea of Azov. It is also known from the southern Atlantic off the western South African coast, and into False Bay.
And I took this short video to show you its swimming action.
We were at the harbor of Gordon's Bay, a coastal town in False Bay.
It was a fabulous experience to see one of these, and in the source link two divers swam near one that was human size.
Now let's have a look at some other activities at the harbor.
A boat was being launched at the slipway.
And when the human intruders are gone, the slipway is owned by the birds :))
Some Jetskiers going out of the harbor to the open sea.
And a boat coming into the harbor.
A guy stood cleaning fish that were caught by their fishing boat.
The fish are called "Snoek" over here in the Cape, but it is also found in other countries by different names.
*Thyrsites atun (Euphrasen, 1791), known as Snoek in South Africa and as the barracouta in Australasia, is a long, thin species of snake mackerel found in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere, and a popular food fish in South Africa, particularly along the west and southwest coast. Despite its Australasian name, it is not closely related to the barracuda. *
*The fish can reach a length of 200 centimeters (79in)SL though most do not exceed 75 centimeters (30in)SL. The maximum recorded weight for this species is 6 kilograms (13lb). It is very important to commercial fisheries and is also a popular game fish. It is currently the only known member of its genus. *
There is also a big restaurant at the harbor for pekish or thirsty souls.
Here's a closer look at the glass box at the top left of the restaurant.
Finally this large and modern block of apartments sits opposite the harbor entrance, and it also has a small private beach. I suppose that many of the yacht owners come to stay here on their annual holidays.
A long post, I know, but I like to do things properly, as that's just my way. I could for instance just have taken some more photos of the strange jellyfish and blogged it with the video. But there are always so much more to see, and I try my best to show you as much as I can. I call it holistic blogging lol.
They say that variety is the spice of life, and there is surely enough variety in here to suit many tastes.
Such is life.
I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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