The Experience

White sharks as we fondly call them are probably the most charismatic and popular of the sharks. However, much of what is seen on TV or read is mostly not based on reality. These sharks are awesome. Nothing compares to seeing a white shark for the first time and all preconceived ideas are crushed with the first viewing. Whether it’s a surprise reveal from below or whether you sight the dorsal fin coming up the chum slick. You don’t even have to climb in the cage to get a good view as many of the sharks swim at the surface and some even pop their heads out to have a look at you. White sharks have a presence which is difficult to describe and this is the reason why you have to experience them for yourself.

Habitat

White sharks are unbelievably adaptable to different environments. During the southern hemisphere’s winter months they aggregate around Cape fur seal colonies with thousands of seals and seabirds around, while during the summer they are found closer to the coast over larger distances where we believe they hunt fish and smaller sharks. Both areas are less than a 20 minute boat ride from the harbour which makes the viewing highly accessible and only a day trip is needed to take advance of this amazing experience.

Shark behaviour and diver interaction

Given their large size and position at the top of the food chain white sharks are extremely confident animals. Combined with a curiosity that most definitely would’ve killed the cat means that most of them readily approach the boat and cage and close interactions and viewing is the norm. These sharks are also capable of launching themselves completely out of the water to attack surface prey like seals and if you are lucky enough you may get to see this powerful and mind blowing behaviour.

      DIVE DETAILS AND COST

        Location:  Gansbaai and False Bay, South Africa

        Season:  All year, but viewing opportunities are better from April – September when the sharks         aggregate around the Cape fur seal colonies.

        The dive:  Snorkeling in a cage

        Minimum experience required:  no experience needed and all ages from 10 years old welcome.

        Dive Depth:  2 meters (max)

        Water temperature:  10 – 20 º C (depending on season)

        Water visibility:  : 2 – 20 meters (depends on season)

        Dive time:  Variable from 20 min – 2 hours in the cage depending on the shark activity and conditions

        Chumming and baiting:  Yes

        Dive package includes:

            1. Breakfast and lunch at crew house
            2. Snacks and cool drinks on boat
            3. Dive briefing and full shark presentation
            4. All dive gear
            5. 5. cage dive

     Cost:  R1300 per person. Transport from Cape Town and back can be arranged at and an optional DVD      of your trip can be bought.

Tips for diving safely and to enhance your experience

While you are in the cage its important not to move around too much because this can keep some sharks at a distance especially smaller or cautious animals. Listen carefully to the instructions of the dive master or bait handler and be sure to never stick your hands or feet out of the cage or touch the sharks. Get in and out of the cage calmly, take a deep breath when duck diving and calmly enjoy the experience. Remember this is not dangerous in any way and thousands of people have cage-dived with the sharks safely.

Filming and photography

Incredible filming opportunities exist. We are experienced underwater cameramen and have worked with BBC, Animal Planet, National Geographic, CNN and many more and understand the needs of cameramen, directors and producers. We can help you with you filming related queries.

      SHARK DIVE PACKAGES

  We offer customised shark diving packages to meet your needs so contact us directly for more   information. However we do have a few very popular suggestions:

  Two days in CapeTown -   1) sevengill cowshark spotted gully and cat sharks 2) sevengill cowshark and   Cape fur seals

  Two days in CapeTown -   1) seal and cowsharks 2) white sharks

  Two days in CapeTown -   1) seal, cowshark 2) blues & makos (seasonal)

  Three days in CapeTown -   1) seal & sevengill 2) blues & makos (seasonal) 3)white sharks

  Five days CapeTown to Aliwal -   1)seal & sevengill 2)blues & makos 3)white sharks 4) Tigers 5)raggies

      Contact us for more details info@sharkexplorers.com