PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Over and above a wealth of knowledge to be shared by marine experts during the Plett Ocean Festival and Marine Symposium, there are a host of other activities to celebrate the area's marine gems.
The second annual festival will kick off on a high note on 29 June with an opening ceremony at Surf Café with a special musical treat by local artists.
This will see a collaboration between Plett-based musicians Martin Wolfaardt on the keyboard, James van Minnen on drums and feature Vuyo Katsha on mbira, tama and marimba.
The trio be collaborating and playing along to the soundtrack of whale and dolphin recordings recorded in the field by marine biologist Alejandra Vargas, just off the Plett coastline. On the same day RE/Max Prime Properties will host its charity run from the Plett Ski Boat Club.
From corals to sharks and whales
As Plettenberg Bay boasts some of the top coral reefs in the world, ProDive Plett will host a reef clean-up along Central Beach on 2 July. Divers can join the team for a session of cleaning up. Those who are not yet divers can also sign up for a one-day scuba diving course and have the chance to help preserve the area's marine life.
On 3 July ocean and music lovers can join an exclusive chartered cruise with the Ocean Outfitters Marine Conservation Trust. They will leave Central Beach and make their way to a part of the ocean off Robberg to drop a hydrophone into the water and listen to what sounds they can hear from local whale or dolphin life.
To make the experience more interactive, the cruise will be joined by Katsha and Van Minnen who will be playing live music along with this ocean soundtrack.
On the same day the Nature's Valley Trust (NVT) will host a 'shark smart education' campaign to create awareness on sharks of the area and, shark and ocean safety. The aim is to foster a better relationship between ocean users and sharks.
In partnership with Emily Moon River Lodge, Plett Adopt-a-Swimmer and The Black Mermaid Foundation are set to bring a new experience to some Bitou children. The children will be wearing snorkels and masks for the first time and be introduced to the reef and sea life under the guidance of children's dive instructor Zandile Ndhlovu. Ndhlovu is also the master of ceremonies for the festival.
Loads more to do
Throughout the festival there will also be screenings of the movie Whale Rider which will be hosted by Plett Tourism and Open Plan Pictures. The screenings will also be followed by an informative talk by the NVT team. Entry to the screening is either R5 or a plastic bag of plastic trash collected from the streets.
On 4 July citizens will become scientists. ELMO Africa, a citizen science project, will host a shark egg case hunt on Nature's Valley Beach. Participants will be shown how to use the ELMO Africa app to submit your egg case findings, help you identify the species of any shark egg cases, and provide some fun shark facts along the way.
On 5 July there will be a pelagic birding trip courtesy of a collaboration between Enrico's Fishing Safaris and Discover Eden. Some of the funds raised from the trip will be donated to the Plett Stranding Network. The trip will be guided by experienced skipper Rudi Visser, Cape Nature Senior Marine Ranger Chanel Visser, and ornithologist Mark Brown.
The same day, youngsters can join the NVT team and explore the rocky shores of Nature's Valley and discover what exciting critters the rock pools have on offer. Another activity for the children is the Whalesong Children's Art workshop at SkyVilla. The two-day event includes storytelling, painting and sculpture, led by Manya Marais – the founder of Art Palace.
Zandile Ndhlovu from the Black Mermaid Foundation teaching children about the world beneath the surface of the water.
Activites for young and old
The following day the little ones can look forward to the Kids Shark Club education and awareness programme at the Piesang Valley Community Hall. Children between the ages of five and 12 years are invited to participate and engage on various educational and fun activities, learning about sharks and ocean conservation. On 7 July there is another activity for young and old – the NVT sandcastle competition which will to raise awareness of the Plettenberg Bay's coastline and its importance.
The next day the Kids Shark Club will host an amazing race at Central Beach. This will take the form of a fun, outdoor learning education programme specifically designed to captivate the interest of young ocean enthusiasts who would like to learn and share more knowledge about sharks and other marine life.
The festival closing event will take place on 8 July at the Beacon Island Hotel gazbeo and will include an official acknowledgement of Plett being recognised as the seventh International Whale Heritage Site in the world.
The event will include local artists and an international marine biologist who will join forces to bring us closer to the world of whales. For a full programme and more information visit www.plettoceanfestival.co.za
Zandile Ndhlovu from the Black Mermaid Foundation and Louise Auersperg from Adopt-a-Swimmer helping kids get ready to explore the water.
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