“When I finally checked the footage, I almost had a heart attack … “
The other day, Megan Gilbert and her husband set out for what they thought would be a peaceful kayaking trip in Cape Town, South Africa. But as they paddled across the water, an unexpected spectacle began to unfold.
“At first, we were really excited because we noticed one or two jellyfish,” Gilbert told The Dodo. “Then we started seeing a few more — and then we ran into whole patches of them.”
With jellyfish appearing in every direction, Gilbert was awestruck. “They looked like they went down forever,” she said.
Curious to see just how many were below the surface, Gilbert decided to lower her GoPro into the water, hoping not to get stung in the process. She managed to record a few seconds of footage — safely and sting-free.
Back home, Gilbert reviewed the video — and was stunned. Beneath her kayak were thousands of jellyfish, just inches below the surface.
“When I finally checked the footage, I almost had a heart attack,” she said. “I was shocked!”
The species she encountered were night-light jellyfish, also known as mauve stingers — bioluminescent invertebrates that glow in the dark and light up when disturbed by waves. Since they can’t swim very well, these jellyfish often drift together in enormous groups called blooms. Pushed by the wind and currents, these blooms can vanish for years, only to suddenly appear in massive numbers.
Recently, Cape Town’s waters have become a temporary home for an influx of night-light jellies — and Gilbert feels lucky to have witnessed them firsthand.
“It’s both beautiful and scary at the same time,” she said. “You never know what the ocean will have for you. It’s magical.”