Tucked away in the Overberg District Municipality in the Western Cape of South Africa is a small fishing village,Gansbaai. It has been a popular tourist spot for Great White Shark Diving since the last 1990’s and is most famous for its dense population of Great White Sharks. Gansbaai has now been labelled the ‘Big 2 Town’ as it is the best place in the world for both the Great White Shark and the Southern Right Whale.
The Great White Shark, or Carcharodan Carcharias, is also known as the Great, White Death and White Pointer. This shark is known for its size as it’s been known to exceed six meters in length and weigh more than 2 268 kilograms. Great white sharks can live up to thirty years and reach maturity at around the age of fifteen. The great white shark ranks number one in recorded attacks on humans by sharks, although attacks are often unintended or caused by sharks confusing people to be seals.
There are plenty of Whale and Great White sightings in Gansbaai.
There are many different shark cage diving options available for the tourist or the South African looking for a thrill. For the most exciting great white shark diving tours, join Shark Bookings for their morning or afternoon trip – this trip promises to be unforgettable!
Shark Bookings offer shuttle packages to clients which will pick you up at the hotel in Cape Town in the morning and will take you on the two hour journey out of the Mother City. At the crew house you’ll receive breakfast and be briefed on the day’s events – after breakfast you’ll make your way onto the boat, where the adventure truly begins. It is definitely best however to stay overnight in this stunning piece of coastline. This area is rich with long white beaches and amazing tranquil surroundings. In Whale season you will be blown away when spending the afternoon watching the Whales from the rocks only metres away.
During the winter months you’ll take a short fifteen minute drive to Dyer Island while in the summer months all the excitement will happen just off the beach. Once you’ve arrived at your destination the crew will start chumming the water with fish based products such as tuna and fish oil – causing the sharks to make their way to the boat out of curiosity.
Now, you simply have to sit back and wait for the sharks to arrive. When the first Great White Shark arrives the divers will kit you up and get into the cage as soon as possible. This is where you’ll start to have an incredible adrenaline rush. There will also be a videographer throughout the day, filming your experience. The filming will begin during breakfast and will continue until the end of the day.
The morning trip starts at approximately 8:00am and will continue until around 1pm 16:30pm, depending on the water conditions and shark activity. The afternoon trips start at approximately 11:00am and will end at approximately 16h00. This also depends on the water conditions and shark activity and afternoon trips are normally only run when there are enough clients to run two trips in the day.
During June to December there are more than 200 Whales in the bay in De Kelders and this is now known as the world capital for Land Based Whale watching. There are also about the 60 000 strong seal colony living just off Geyser Rock and Dyer Island by Shark Alley. You can also join on a Whale watching trip in the winter months from June – December to see the huge population of Southern Right Whales and the seal colony at Dyer Island and Geyser Rock.
Tourists flock to Gansbaai to see Cape Town’s amazing sea life.
Gansbaai is a lovely little town which also has a rich history. Human remains older than 70 000 years were found at Klipgat Cave in De Kelders, making it one of the oldest associations with mankind in the world - these caves are also open for the public to explore.
For more information on these trips and Great White Shark Diving Tours all over Cape Town, visit Shark Bookings. Prices and contact details are available online.
Source: Great White Shark Cage Diving
