These Kayakers Couldn’t Believe What They Saw Under the Water

@meganthetravelingwriter $100 GIVEAWAY on my IG to celebrate this post going viral! This is a “bloom” of Starlight jellyfish or “night light” jellies EDIT: I just posted more of this CRAZY footage! They’re bioluminescent, so they glow at night! And yes . . . they do sting! Hi, I’m Megan! ☺️ Follow me for more Cape Town tips! Thanks to Kasakazi Kayaks for a super cool time on the water #capetown #capetownactivities ♬ original sound – officialmooli

In Finding Nemo, there’s a scene in which our protagonists, Marlin and Dory, must navigate their way through jellyfish-infested waters. The pink, bulbous creatures surround the pair on all sides, and stretch across the ocean for what seems like eternity. It’s a moment in the film that resonated with Megan Gilbert and her husband during a recent kayaking trip in Cape Town, South Africa.

As they were paddling, the couple noticed a few jellyfish floating in the water. At first, they were “excited” to see them, until they noticed “a few more” and, soon after, “whole patches of them.”

“They look[ed] like they [went] down forever,” Gilbert told The Dodo.

Out of curiosity, Gilbert plunged her GoPro into the water to capture just how many jellyfish were circling beneath the kayak. When she returned home later that day and reviewed the footage, she was astonished by what she saw: hundreds of glowing, night-light jellyfish, eerily similar to those featured in Finding Nemo.

“When I finally checked the footage, I almost had a heart attack,” Gilbert continued. “I was shocked!”

Night-light jellyfish, also known as mauve stingers, can be found in tropical and warm temperate seas around the world. Though they’re generally not dangerous, stinging incidents can be common—and painful. Given their limited swimming ability, these particular jellyfish also often appear in large swarms, or “blooms,” which are occasionally carried by the wind or current to areas that they may otherwise not appear in naturally. Cape Town has recently seen a massive uptick in night-light jellies for that very reason, explaining why there were so many gathered together beneath Gilbert’s kayak.

“It’s both beautiful and scary at the same time,” Gilbert said. “You never know what the ocean will have for you. It’s magical.”

Megan Gilbert and her husband were kayaking in Cape Town, South Africa, only to discover something unexpected lurking beneath the waves.

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Gilbert plunged a GoPro into the water and, when reviewing the footage, saw hundreds of night-light jellyfish.

@meganthetravelingwriter “Come here Squishy.” Can you believe this is Cape Town?! Hi, I’m @meganthetravelingwriter! ☺️ I moved to Cape Town alone 5 years ago, met my forever travel partner, and now we travel full-time! Follow me for Cape Town tips + budget adventure travel. Thanks to @kaskazikayaks for a super cool time on the water! #capetown #capetownactivities ♬ original sound – SJ