The Sardine Run brings with it an huge influx of marine activity including sharks, whales and dolphins as well as a number of other fish and along with this incredible spectacle, comes another creature - kindly Referred to as the tourist.

The winter "Sardine Fever", starting in June, more often than not, is a spectacular display of large migrating pilchard known locally as sardine that swim north in gigantic shoals. They are followed by a frenzy of game fish, dolphins, sharks, birds and excited anglers. This is a unique phenomenon which seldom occurs elsewhere in the world.

On occasion millions of these small fish are beached by the incoming tides and that is when SARDINE FEVER grips the local fisherman and visitors alike as they scramble to catch a bucketful, providing an unexpected harvest of food for the local communities, or bait for the hook with a bigger catch in mind.

Shad fishing off the rocks and piers is extremely active during the sardine run and for those who love the taste of fresh from the sea shad has no equal. Nature puts on a wonderful display while the Sardine Rung is on with birds diving into the ocean from lofty heights - dolphins wavejumping and surfing in the translucent waves - and you may even spot a whale basking off shore.

Generally the safe bathing nets are lifted to avoid the unnecessary capture of the dolphins - but are reinstated the moment the shoals have passed. The Kwazulu Natal South Coast witnesses a unique natural occurrence once a year, this is the annual migration of the sardines.The aloe plants begin to bloom and the locals all begin to gear them selves up for the "sardine run"

Diving among the sardines is not for the faint-hearted; it is a unique experience that has been enjoyed by very few divers. The fever reaches a boiling point when tens of thousands of Cape gannets plunge from the sky feeding on the fish, with larger game-fish and numerous species of sharks all feasting on the abundance of food that is available. There is safety in numbers. The sardines shoal closely together minimizing their chances of being taken by predator. The dolphins join in on the excitement of the day and up to 3 000 bottlenose dolphins that can be seen. The sight of gannets in great flocks stalling in mid-air then plunging headlong into the ocean is one of the extraordinary sights of the sardine run along the KwaZulu-Natal coast.

Accommodation for the Sardine Run

• Amakhulu Central Reservations
  Merle offers a very friendly and professional service to book accommodation in South Africa. She specializes in the Drakensberg and Wild Coast regions.
  
• Accommodation for the Sardine Run
  This website is the best I have yet come across for accommodation in South Africa. You communicate directly with the accommodation establishment and the entire booking is carried out online.