Hills Have Eyes – Marine Wildlife Spotters, Sardine Run reports that are free and up-to-date

Anglers, divers, beachgoers, spearos and all sea lovers have now a 100% free and reliable way to follow the seasonal Sardine Run along South Africa’s east coast. Hills Have Eyes – Marine Wildlife Spotters is a social media enterprise launched in May 2013 that offers marine wildlife watching operators and tourists the latest most certain sightings of marine wildlife along the east coast of South Africa. Hills Have Eyes’ team of spotters have since provided daily updates on the iconic event that is known both locally and internationally as the “Sardine Run”.  The updates provide information on the whereabouts of the Sardine Run to visiting tourists, local tourists and operators. Before Hills Have Eyes, information on the Sardine Run was scattered, tardy, unreliable and, to make things worse, available at a prime rate. Thanks to the information provided by the Hills Have Eyes’ spotters, clients and operators are now better and freely informed as to the whereabouts of this seasonal event. This will improve the client’s experience. In the past, guess work and misinformation prevailed and the clients received little or no benefit from their time at sea or at any of the shore-based viewing venues in the area. For marine wildlife watching operators, Hills Have Eyes offers a free and reliable Sardine Run spotting method which will reduce operating costs and improve customer satisfaction. Hills Have Eyes provides a daily update of significant value to the tourist and operator alike from their near area as well as the coast at large. Hills Have Eyes expects to focus tourism on the event and afford tourists higher success rates in accessing it. Hills Have Eyes expects to become the first source of information on the Sardine Run. In this pilot run, Hills Have Eyes has spotters in the East London, Port St Johns and the lower South Coast of KZN that go out or down to the sea every day looking for sardine action. Once they have spotted action, by way of example Common dolphin activity and the often associated Cape Gannets moving together, they send information to our headquarters where it is reviewed and then shared via social media. As dolphins and gannets not only chase sardines, the reviewing process involves checking whether the bait fish are indeed sardines or any of the many other species of baitfish that occur along the east coast at this time of year. In so doing, Hills Have Eyes hopes end users can make informed decisions on where and when to go to see the Sardine Run.  Thanks to the free nature and reliability of this service, Hills Have Eyes have seen an amazing organic growth since its launch. In less than a month, Hills Have Eyes has over 300 followers and its updates are reaching over 5000 people a day. Hills Have Eyes also provides free updates on additional marine wildlife such as dolphins, whales and shark sightings which will extend beyond the period of the Sardine Run. In so doing, the amazing marine wildlife fauna present on this east coast will be highlighted year round, offering focused viewing opportunities over many more favourable tourism periods than just the May – July window. So, if you feel like keeping tabs on the Sardine Run this year as well as other marine wildlife along the east coast just  follow Hills Have Eyes on Twitter @HillsHaveEyesSA, Facebook  www.facebook.com/hillshaveeyesspotters or website www.hillshaveeyes.co.za. Remember, the service is 100% free and reliable. With Hills Have Eyes – Marine Wildlife Spotter you will certainly be the first to know and you will definitively get to where they are!