| Dana Bay | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa Western Cape#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -34.1992°N 22.0417°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Western Cape |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Garden Route |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Mossel Bay |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 9.66 |
| Population Total: | 2590 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 5.0% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 3.0% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.2% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 90.7% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 1.0% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 79.5% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | English |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 16.4% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 4.0% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 6510 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
Dana Bay can really be considered as a sort of village with a mini supermarket, bakery, butchery, eating establishments, fuel station and liquor outlets amongst other small businesses and it forms part of the greater Mossel Bay municipality. Dana Bay lies approximately halfway between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and is a mere 4 kilometers off the N2 highway with the central part of Mossel Bay about 12 kilometers away.
There are no hotels in Dana Bay however there are multiple Bed and Breakfast establishments and a new specialised medical centre.
This area is exceptionally blessed to still host a variety of free roaming animals. It is not uncommon to find bushbuck, mongoose, tortoise, porcupine, guineafowl and Cape spurfowl visiting your garden. You may even find the grysbok if you are fortunate enough. There is a breeding pair of rock kestrels and jackal buzzards within the area, and on the cliffs not far away is a pair of peregrine falcons. A list of common birds in the area is to be found below. Snakes are a regular occurrence such as Cape cobra and puffadder. The fire department plays an important role in capturing them and releasing them further away.
The bay frequently plays host to the Bryde's whale and from June to late October the southern right whale and humpback whale can be spotted quite often. It is a pleasure to watch the mother Humpback whale teach her youngsters to jump out of the water (whale breaching) and do some lobtailing, this is the act of beating the water with their tails.
On a fairly regular basis you will often see Bottlenose dolphin frolicking in the surf or a little further out in the bay. You will be able to frequently watch the Cape Gannet's dive into the sea and then resurface a moment later with a fish in their beak.
The sunsets are absolutely stunning during the summer months.
Dana Bay is a recognised conservancy, hosting coastal and limestone varieties of fynbos and supports one of the highest numbers of endemic species in the Cape Floristic Region. The area outside of the village is mostly surrounded by the farm Rem Droogfontein 245, which does not form part of the conservancy. However, in its natural untouched state it hosts a large proportion of free roaming animals which regularly cross in and out of the conservancy area.
The area is rich in history regarding the Khoisan people that found a home here and archeological findings date back almost 175,000 years.
Bird species to be found in the area include:
Cape gannet white-breasted cormorant, Cape cormorant
Booted eagle, jackal buzzard, African harrier-hawk, peregrine falcon, rock kestrel, black-shouldered kite, Black sparrowhawk dark morph, spotted eagle-owl
Cape spurfowl, helmeted guineafowl,
speckled pigeon, red-eyed dove, laughing dove, Cape turtle dove
Knysna turaco not a common visitor
speckled mousebird, red-faced mousebird
brown-hooded kingfisher, Giant kingfisher
barn swallow, greater striped swallow, rock martin, common house martin, Brown-throated martin
fork-tailed drongo, Black cuckooshrike
pied crow, white-necked raven,
Cape bulbul, sombre greenbul, Terrestrial brownbul,
bar-throated apalis, Cape penduline tit
tawny-flanked prinia, karoo prinia
fiscal flycatcher, paradise flycatcher
southern boubou, southern tchagra
common starling
Cape sugarbird, malachite sunbird, southern double-collared sunbird, greater double-collared sunbird, amethyst sunbird
house sparrow, Cape sparrow, streaky-headed seedeater, Cape bunting
Cape weaver, yellow bishop, Cape canary, yellow canary, Brimstone canary, White-throated canary
cardinal woodpecker, Knysna woodpecker