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Dyer Island: 20 ha, highest point 6m, 8km from nearest harbour, sea bird colonies. Geyser Rock: 3 ha, 8 km from nearest harbour, cape fur seal colony. Shark Alley: Channel between the two islands, 200 m wide at maximum point, 6 m depth maximum.
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Dyer Island is named after its first inhabitant, an African-American slave – Sampson Dyer. In 1806, Dyer was left on the island by his American employers to run a seal culling operation. He would row the 4km to the nearest point of land in a tiny wooden row boat. He would take with him seal pelts for selling. Several years later, Sampson Dyer also started scraping guano (bird droppings). At that time guano was sought after as a fertilizer, and was so valuable it carried the nickname ‘white gold’. After Sampson Dyer, there came a long line of headmen, and a hundred years of guano-scraping. These days, the island is a sanctuary, harbouring around 26-29 sea bird species, some of which are incredibly endangered or rare. The island is owned by Western Cape Nature Conservation, and the island as well as five hundred meters around it is completely protected. At present, no one except the island keeper and his wife are allowed to set foot on the island. Occasionally they welcome scientists and researchers. There are buildings and old guano storing sheds to be seen on the island. Bird species known
to be living/breeding on Dyer Island:
There are a few more species that do not breed on the island but are frequently seen in the area, especially around the shark boats. These include:
Southern giant petrel |
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