Day 1:
Today you will be welcomed by a Scuba Mozambique representative at the Cape Town Airport and transferred to Gansbaai. Check in at your 4 star guesthouse, The Roundhouse B&B, your home for the next 3 days.
Day 2:
Today is an early morning rise for your first Great White Shark cage diving and viewing encounter. Breakfast, snacks and drinks, light lunch and all kit required are provided. This tour ends around midday allowing for a free afternoon were you can spend the rest of your day exploring the area.
Day 3:
Today proves another early morning rise for your second Great White encounter. Breakfast, snacks and drinks, light lunch and all kit required are provided . This tour ends around mid day allowing for a free afternoon were you can spend the rest of your day exploring the area.
Day 4:
Today you will have a free morning in Gansbaai. This day can be enjoyed either as a backup day for the Great White Tour in case any of the scheduled tours got canceled due to bad weather or you could get up close and personal with our famous whales [Aug – Dec]. Or you could even go for a 3rd white shark experience. Midday you will be transferred to Simons Town. Accommodation for your next 3 nights will be at the 3 star Grosvenor Guesthouse.
Day 5:
Today you will enjoy a double tank dive with Broad nose 7 gill sharks [Cow Sharks] and seals.
Day 6:
Today, depending on season, you will either encounter Blues and Makos on a dive or go on a White Shark Breaching – Flying Sharks – tour [May – Sept].
Day 7:
Today after enjoying breakfast at your lodge you will be transferred to Cape Town Airport for your onward travel arrangements.
Details of the Great White Shark Cage Diving
Upon arrival at your operators crew house, breakfast will be served and you will receive the briefing about the day. You will then take a short walk down to Kleinbaai harbour where 7 of the 8 shark diving boats are based. From here there is a short 15 to 20 minute ride out to Dyer Island where we will find a suitable spot to work with the sharks and the anchor will be dropped.
Once the chum is in the water we must just wait for the first shark to arrive! This could take 2 minutes, 2 hours or in the worst case not at all. The Great White Shark is a wild animal and we are dealing with nature but for most of the year we have a 99% success rate with shark viewings. Once the shark is around the boat divers will kit up and then jump in the cage! No experience is necessary and you can decide to go in the cage when out at sea so there is no pressure. The boat based viewing is exceptional and if you do not want to go in the cage you will still have a memorable day with these beautiful and awesome animals!
All divers will take turns in the cage (4-5 at a time) and it will only take 3 cage rotations for everyone to dive due to the smaller number of clients on the boat compared with some of the boats. This means that you will have ample opportunity to go back into the cage and spend lots of time with the Great White Sharks face to face in their domain.
There is a videographer on the boat filming the experience and the crew is very experienced and knowledgeable about the sharks and area.
Following this ultimate experience with the sharks we will ride back to the harbour (only 15 minutes away) and enjoy lunch at the crew house whilst watching the Video of the Day. You will have the opportunity to buy this on DVD.
Pelagic Mako & Blue Shark Diving Details
Unique cage diving and free diving experience with Mako and Blue sharks.
6H15: Meet crew at Simons Town Pier.
Guests are welcomed aboard and a full safety and weather briefing is given before departure.
6H30: Depart for Cape Point and the open ocean! (1.5 to 2.5 hour boat ride)
7h15: The famous Cape Point is reached and guests will have an opportunity to view and photograph the Point from this unique angle.
Approx 9h30 to 13h00: In order to find the optimum area for the pelagic sharks we need to find the Agulhas Current. This area changes each day but we normally work between 15 and 30 nautical miles from Cape Point.
Once we reach the area we will spend some time fishing for tuna for fresh bait and guests are welcome to try their hand at this.
After a detailed safety briefing guests may dive when the first shark arrives.
All diving is on snorkel and in the safety of a cage.
If conditions allow and guests have the appropriate experience guests are able to free dive without the cage. This is at the discretion of the skipper. A safety diver is present in the water at all times and no more than two guests are in the water at any time ensuring a safe and very personal one on one encounter.
Our target species are the magnificent Mako and Blue sharks as well as the massive yellowfin tuna that they occasionally hunt. Whilst not as big or muscular as the great white, the Mako certainly does not stand back as it is the fastest shark in the sea and coupled with its beautiful blue and silver colouring is a truly magnificent creature, aptly described by Peter Goadby as “Blue dynamite”. For the last 7 years we have been the only operators offering these trips in Africa. These trips take place during our summer and autumn months and a variety of shark species are seen as well as being one of the best areas in the world to see pelagic birds. To find these animals we head out into the warm Agulhas current off Cape Point and it is this warm current and multitude of fish species that attract the great predators of the deep. A great time can still be had viewing these beautiful sharks from the boat as they are very curious and often swim up and alongside the boat.
For naturalist wanting a bit of everything this is a must. From the moment we get out of False Bay we start to see wildlife that land lovers will never see, a multitude of pelagic birds can been seen including Skuas, Terns, Shearwaters, petrels, penguins as well as the possibility of seeing up to six different species of Albatross. Whales and dolphins of many species are also regular visitors on our run out into the deep.
Lunch will be served which usually consists of rolls with cold meats as well as a vegetarian option, accompanied by soft drinks, fruit juice, bottled water and a variety of snacks are available throughout the course of the day.
15h00 to 16h00: Boat will arrive back in Simons Town Harbour depending on the weather conditions and shark activity.
16h00 onwards: Tea and coffee available at our home base in Simons Town where payment is handled. You will also have an opportunity to browse through our unique range of shark related merchandise.
Dive with the Seven Gill Cow Sharks & Seals
Like their modern day cousins, the Great White shark, Seven Gill sharks are formidable predators of seals, sharks and fish.
Reaching over three meters and known to cooperatively hunt they are an unexpected surprise in this tranquil kelp forest environment.
Sharkexplorers offers you the rare chance to dive with this ancient lineage of extraordinary looking sharks in a completely environmentally responsible way. No “chum” or “scent” nor “bait” is used to attract these animals to the area. They occur naturally in these waters and are very curious and confident which makes them easy to photograph and film. As the dive site is in a marine protected area, the ecosystem is very healthy! Kelp forest ecosystems around the Western Cape houses a vast variety of fish, shellfish, soft corals and sharks that can only be found in this environment. We see up to 6 different species of shark on a single dive! These include – Spotted Gully sharks, Leopard Cat sharks, Stripped Cat sharks, Dark shy sharks and Puff Adder shy sharks also known as “Happy Eddies”. A must dive for all shark enthusiasts that want to experience something unique.
THE DIVE
- The dive consists of two guided boat dives.
- Depth ranges between 6m – 12m.
- Dive time between 30-80min.
- Thorough briefing and information regarding the animals, their behavior and the environment.
- Snacks and drinks on the boat.
- Visit to the Save Our Seas Shark Centre in Kalk Bay.
- No more than 6 divers unless in a group.
Great White Shark Breaching Trips
The main focus of our tour is on a natural interaction with the sharks. We do our very best to treat these animals with the respect they deserve and at the same time try to share our passion for these animals with you, our guest.
06h55: Meet crew at Simon’s Town Pier.
Guests are welcomed aboard and a full safety and weather briefing is given before departure.
07h00: Depart for Seal Island. (25 to 35 minute boat ride)
07h35 to 12h30: Arrive at Seal Island shortly before sunrise. This is the optimum time to have a chance of observing the natural predation behaviour that makes Seal Island so unique.
The Great Whites of Seal island are now world famous for their highly athletic breaches that they make in pursuit of Cape Fur seals which they hunt in the area.
We will observe natural predatory behaviour for as long as possible; however it is usually the first hour and a half that is the most intense. After this period we will try towing a decoy using a fake cut out carpet seal where we try to get the sharks to breach. It is a very unique way to elicit predatory behaviour and has been very useful to help us learn different strategies adopted by different sharks.
After the decoy tow, we do an inspection lap around Seal Island looking for any signs of bitten or injured seals which are recorded for research / conservation purposes. It is also a great opportunity to get close to the 64 000 strong Cape fur seal colony that has made Seal Island its home.
We will then choose the best spot to anchor up based on weather conditions and attract sharks to our vessel. Once a shark approaches our boat a small bait is put in the water to keep the sharks interested around the boat for identification and viewing purposes. At no point are the sharks purposefully fed or handled. We do not use shark livers or any other attractants that have a negative impact on the environment and every effort is made to avoid the sharks coming into contact with our vessel.
If the weather conditions are favourable, i.e. good visibility and workable seas, the cage is lowered into the water for cage diving.
Safety precautions and operational procedures are then explained to the diver wishing to enter the cage. It is important to know that the sharks come very close to the boat so it is not necessary to dive in order to see them. So for those not wishing to dive they will still have excellent views of the Great White Shark.
Lunch will be served which usually consists of rolls with cold meats as well as a vegetarian option, accompanied by soft drinks, fruit juice, bottled water and a variety of snacks are available throughout the course of the day.
12h30: Boat will arrive back in Simon’s Town Harbour depending on the weather conditions and shark activity.
12h30 onwards: Tea and coffee available at our home base in Simons Town where payment is handled. You will also have an opportunity to browse through our unique range of shark related merchandise.
Rates / Included / Excluded
Rate: R13 600 per person sharing
Single surcharge: R2400
Included :
-Meet and Greet at Airport - Transfers & Transport
-6 x nights Accommodation in 3/4* guesthouses
= 3 nights at The Roundhouse Guesthouse in luxury room whilst in Gansbaai
= 3 nights at The Grovenor Guesthouse in luxury room whilst in Simons Town
-Breakfast
-2 x White Shark Cage Diving Tours Gansbaai
-1 x 7 Gill [Cow Shark] Dive False Bay
-1 x White Shark Breaching Tour or Blue Shark & Mako Dive [depending on season] False Bay
-Full kit rental and snacks and drinks on all dives
-Light lunch on White Shark cage diving tours
-Thorough briefing and information regarding the animals, their behavior and the environment
-1 x Dinner Voucher with casual White Shark lecture while in Gansbaai
-Visit to the Save Our Seas Shark Centre in Kalk Bay
