Imagine you’re 40 feet underwater, hovering in mid-ocean and surrounded by a multitude of sharks eager to find their next meal. Sounds like a terrifying experience, right? Well, this is not as dangerous as it seems, since many adventure seekers head off the coast of South Africa each year, to get close to these deadly killers. Swimming with sharks will be a unique experience, and with leave you with the most extraordinary stories to tell everyone.
Gansbaai
Only two hours from Cape Town is Gansbaai, known as the Great Capital of White Shark. Gansbaai was blessed with an incredible number of white sharks surrounding its waters at all times of the years. Just looking at them will leave you paralyzed if you belong to the faint-hearted team, but if you prefer to be risky and adventurous, this is just your kind of thing!
Mossel Bay
It is a gorgeous village on the Garden Route of Sudafrica and home of the greatest white sharks. They are around the area all year long and because of this, Mossel Bay is the perfect and most famous place to do shark diving.
The Experience
Before you go, prepare yourself for the most extreme experience of your life. Investigate all about these phenomenal fish, find out about their behavior and what to expect about this adventure. Diving with sharks in South Africa is on the top 10 of unique experiences.
The experience begins with an informational video, and then you will be given a warm wetsuit before you get inside the cage and lowered into the ocean. The white sharks are brought close to the side of the boat when your caption throws fish near your cage, and they get so close you will probably find yourself looking into the eyes of one of the most unpredictable animals you may ever see.
Since they want to be exclusive and make sure each person enjoys their time diving with sharks, the WSDC (White Shark Diving Company) allows a maximum of 22 passengers on board and no more than eight divers in the floating cage. WSDC is the winner of the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for 2014, 2015 and 2016. Amazing!
Cage Diving
This is truly the experience of a lifetime because white sharks will always be admired by humans. If you are one of those who would like to see these big friends a little bit closer in their natural environment, you are reading the right article!
Generally, a trip last four hours and the non-divers can enjoy the topside view and have plenty of opportunities to take many pictures of them in action. Don’t forget to board the boat with your towel, sunscreen, a hat and the most important thing, a camera!
Two Oceans
For a more calm, grounded experience, you can visit the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. There you can find the amazing Predator Exhibit, displaying terrifying ragged-tooth sharks, and a wide variety of beautiful sea creatures.
The Indian Ocean, with its warm waters rushing towards the south on the East Coast, and the Atlantic Ocean, carrying the cold waters to the West Coast, come to a “meeting point” that constantly changes, and the variety of life that can be found here makes South Africa the most important place to learn about marine biology. This is the reason the aquarium is called “Two Oceans”.
These oceans are home to the largest population of evolved predators on the planet: white sharks.
You need to Know
- In order to go down into the ocean to meet the sharks, years of experience are not necessary.
- Hiring local diving professionals with sharks comes first.
- Have all the necessary equipment to practice diving safely.
- It is not always guaranteed that during your diving practice you will get to see a white shark, but there are high probabilities that they will appear.
- Don’t be afraid, nothing will happen! The local divers are very experienced and they can guide you in a situation where sharks appear.
Sharks
Sharks are amazing, powerful and fearless creatures. They attack humans very rarely, only when they confuse us with animals that they normally eat, but if we go to their deep habitat, they are smart enough to know that we are not part of the menu. Although their beauty and large size do not exempt them from being dangerous.
A shark is just a fish with a skeleton of cartilage and not bone, similar to the material the skates are made of. And they are not all huge and scary some sharks are so tiny they can fit perfectly into the palm of your hand! On the other side, sharks can grow more than 12 meters. Imagine that!
By swimming close to the surface, they can reach speeds of up to 65 kilometers per hour and can propel themselves three meters into the air.
When to go
There are sharks in the water off Cape Town all year, but May-September (winter) is the best time for viewing them. They prefer the colder water and plentiful at this time of year.
How Long
The trip lasts about half a day.
Planning
Cage-diving takes place in three locations: False Bay, near Cape Town; Gansbaai, about 68 miles (110 km) southest of Cape Town; and Mossel Bay, near George. National or local outfitters can arrange trips.
Inside Information
Outfitters provide everything you need for diving, including steel cage, wet suit, mask, and air hose. You must have some diving experience and qualifications.
Highlights
- Great White sharks are not the only creatures in Walker Bay.
- Walker Bay has various attractions: the resort town of Hermanus and local wineries.
- The Cape of Good Hope is a nature reserve with abundant wildlife: zebras, ostrich and baboons.
Websites
www.visitsaonsaa.com, www.whitesharkdicscovery.com
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