Trip Comments: “It was worth the long wait. Seeing the Great White up close was incredible. The crew and volunteers were so hospitable. Amazing experience!” – Aditi + Ashaih
“Amazing experience! Great weather and fantastic views., Scary but amazing!” – Goya
“Incredible time! So lucky to have seen not one but two different species of sharks. Thanks to the team. Would recommend!” – David
“Very well organized. Enjoyable day and good meat balls! Interesting shark facts. Thanks!” – Sandra + Jonathan
28/12/2017
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 16.0°C + 16.0°C + 16.0°C + 16.1°C + 16.1 °C
Depth: 9.0m + 9.8m + 9.0m + 11.2m
Visibility: 1.0m + 1.0m + 1.0m + 1.0m + 1.0m
Number of Sharks: 2 + 2 + 1 + 0 + 0
Conditions: Bright, clear day with increasing wind and average swell.
A beautiful Thursday in Gansbaai. Slashfin launched bright and early with hopes of sharks in the bay. Once on anchor we had to wait quite some time for the first shark to arrive. Our patience paid off as we had 2 white sharks approach the boat, making beautiful passes a bit deep under water, giving the divers a great view of their approximately 4 meter long body and 3 meter long. We were also lucky to have spotted a few copper sharks as well.
Dream Catcher launched for the second shark cage diving trip of the day and once on anchor had a short wait till some Copper sharks appeared. These lovely bronze coloured sharks were a little bit shy this morning but the reason could have been the fact that there was a larger shark hanging around, a Great White perhaps…with the groups first White shark sighting just 20 minutes after the Coppers had arrived. This was the juvenile male with the fresh to the right side of the jaw and covered in old and new scratches. He stuck around for a little while before disappearing as a large, pale female made a ambush attempt on the bait line shocking everyone on board.
Back to Slashfin for our next trip, an exclusive for a family visiting from United States. We headed back to our anchor spot and had a Copper shark show up quickly but only briefly, however two of the family members braved the waters to try their luck. Not too long after, the groups’ first White shark appeared, silently gliding in from the right side of the boat, it was Mini Nemo. The rest of the family raced to enter the water and for close to 15 minutes straight we tried our best to get this shark closer, as he passed by the boat constantly but just out of view of the divers, as they lost sight of him as soon s they went under the murky water. But then out of nowhere he made a quick approach on the bait, a small leap out of the water and a sharp turn right infront of the cage, as close as it is possible to get these animals, giving the family a beautiful view of one of our favourite Great Whites. Unfortunately he did disappear after this and we made our way out to the islands to have a closer look at the ever interesting yet sometimes smelly Cape Fur seal colony on Geyser Rock.
As our fourth trip launched we were anxious to see if the sharks would still be around. Unfortunately they seemed to be quite elusive as we only had a couple of copper sharks make a pass by the cage. We were lucky enough to be entertained by a young Cape Fur Seal as it jumped in and out of the water, circling the boat and occasionally diving under the cage. This was the highlight to our trip as shark activity had grown very quiet.
Trip 5:
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Great White Shark Cage Diving in Gansbaai, and more specifically with Marine Dynamics, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience you won’t want to miss. Book and pay online with us and get a free video of your encounter with the world’s apex predator.
