Diving adventures with Shark Bookings

The great white shark (aka. great white, white pointer, white shark, or white death) is one of nature's most feared, and often misunderstood predators. With a number of films under its belt and an extensive amount of media coverage, this ocean creature has become one of the most popular marine animals worldwide. Shark Bookings is a Gansbaai based diving company offering unforgettable great white shark cage diving packages. Why not take advantage of their carefully crafted packages and affordable rates and book your encounter with this apex predator.

Top 5 Beach Destinations in South Africa

The coastal areas of South Africa play host to a multitude of exciting adventure activities, such as cage diving in Gansbaai or racing down the sand dunes in Cape Town. In short; the beach front is where you will want to be. As summer winds down into mild autumn weather the beaches will soon be visited less, but until then, here is a list of five great beaches to visit around the country:

1. Clifton Beach
One of the Mother City’s favourite beach spots, the strip of Clifton beaches numbered one to four is where you go to do one of two things: lounge in the sun or surf the waves. The icy water is not ideal for swimming, but many individuals brave the cold temperatures to escape the hot African sun. Cape Town boasts a plethora of beautiful beaches, and other notable beach sites to visit include Muizenberg, Kalk Bay, the nudist Sandy Beach as well as Bloubergstrand.

2. Jeffery’s Bay
Home to the biggest, most exhilarating waves, Jeffery’s Bay is an earthly paradise to every surfing enthusiast. As the unofficial surfing capital of the country, it’s no surprise that this alcove happened to be the main filming location for the sequel to the successful surfing film, Blue Crush.

3. Grotto Beach
This picturesque beach in Hermanus is a favourite for whale watching. It is easily accessible and hosts a range of spectacular restaurants and beach facilities, all pleasantly set against cascading white dunes and a grassy mountain side.

4. Durban
This coastal port city of KwaZulu Natal plays host to a number of vibrant, colourful beaches. Along the East coast of South Africa runs the warm current of the Indian Ocean and the beaches dotted along Durban’s coast offer pleasantly warm waters.

5. Gansbaai
Known as South Africa’s hub for great white shark cage diving, this quaint coastal area also offers svelte stretches of white sandy beach peppered with huge dunes and mountainous hillsides.

Original Source: Shark Bookings 

The beach bum’s guide to Mozambique

Mozambique is peppered with miles and miles of pristine, palm-fringed beaches which make it an irresistible destination for the eloquent beach bum looking for an escape from the concrete jungle. Whether you’re embarking on exciting diving in Mozambique or simply looking forward to a week of sun, sand and frozen cocktails, there’s an incredible range of beaches to visit.

Pemba

Famed as the gateway to the tres romantic Quirimbas Archipelago on the northern coastline of Mozambique, Pemba Beach is world-renowned as one of the top beach destinations for water sports and diving enthusiasts. Hawaii – eat your heart out.

Ponta De Ouro

The bustling town of Ponta do Ouro is located at the Southern tip of Mozambique and is without a doubt one of the best scuba diving locations in the world. The sparkling waters teem with a variety of marine life including dolphins and manta rays while schools of tropical fish fill the colourful coral reefs. Ponta De Ouro is the prime destination for a number of spectacular diving trips in Mozambique and provides a tranquil, secluded holiday spot for beach bums and glitzy guests alike.

Inhambane and Praia do Tofo 

Inhambane Bay lies just 470km northeast of Maputo and offers safe swimming and easy boat launching in warm, clear waters. Apart from being a good fishing spot, there are a number of vibrant coral reefs nearby for adventurous swimmers to explore. Right next door, the pristine beach at Praia do Tofo is celebrated as the most popular surfing beach in Mozambique. The powerful right point break and warm water attract professional surfers from all over the world.

Bilene

Located 160km north of Maputo, the picturesque village of Bilene is home to a sweeping 27km-long lagoon with bright, white stretches of sand for beach games, and warm, shallow water for safe swimming. This is a popular resort destination for families and water sports enthusiasts who enjoying non-motorised (quiet) water sports such as paddle-skiing and windsurfing.

Now that you’re aware of the sandy Shangri-La that awaits you, head down to one of Mozambique’s stunning beaches and make some summer memories under the warm African sun.

Original Source: Scuba Mozambique

Chris Fallows: The Shark Whisperer Shares His Secrets

Have you heard of Chris Fallows? If you love Great Whites, then you undoubtedly have. Chris is a well-known shark specialist and the discoverer of the now-famous breaching behaviour that the incredible predators use to hunt. He and his wife, Monique Fallows, run a shark cage diving company called Apex Shark Expeditions which operates in the scenic region of False Bay.

In 1989, Chris started tagging sharks and established a catch and release programme with local fishermen that effectively resulted in the release of more than 1,500 rays and sharks. From 1992-1996, he worked at Dyer Island, before co-founding African Shark Eco-Charters in False Bay.

1996 was also the year when Chris and a colleague discovered the shark’s breaching behaviour in False Bay – the shark torpedoes its entire frame out the sea and then launches itself on unsuspecting prey. Chris and Monique started Apex in 2000 – a company that prioritises the shark’s well-being and aims to educate the public about these often misunderstood fish.

With over 1,300 trips to Seal Island under his belt, Chris is an expert on Great White behaviour and, together with his team; he has catalogued 5,500 predatory events, which is the largest database of its kind in the world.

You can also read Chris’s scientific papers to familiarise yourself with the behaviour of sharks or opt to go on one of his special ‘Sharks of Southern Africa’ tours, which are specially designed to cater for shark and wildlife enthusiasts. If you are interested in shark cage diving in Gansbaai or False Bay and want to go with a responsible company that emphasises the well-being of the animal, then you can’t go wrong with Apex.

Chris will be speaking and signing books at the Two Oceans Aquarium on the 27th February. The event promises to be an unforgettable one and includes a welcome drink, snacks and a tour of the Aquarium, which currently houses in excess of 3,000 living sea animals.

The Aquarium showcases the phenomenal diversity of life found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and has numerous colourful and informative displays for guests to enjoy, including the seal enclosure and penguin zone. It was established in 1995 and has grown from strength to strength; now recognised as one of Cape Town’s most treasured tourist hot spots. 

Original Source: Apex Shark Expeditions

Johannesburg Airport

Hiring a car can be your best option for transport upon your arrival at Johannesburg airport, car hire allows you to travel at your own leisure at an affordable cost.

You can drop your car hire from Johannesburg Airport back at the airport upon your departure or at a South African car hire branch within most city centres.

Watch out for local taxis when in your Johannesburg Airport car hire that seem to have their own road rules and remember to report all dings and faults before you take the car out of the lot at the airport.

Source: Travelling from Johannesburg Airport

Avoid becoming shark bait

Get in line online and have a look at the this Food delivery in Northgate site. I love it and I have what ever restaurant i feel like enjoying and I can get it eat it at home.
The beauty of eating it at home is that I get see some of the greatest Sunsets that South Africa has to offer. So why not chose food delivery in Kwazulu natal which is possible online

A New Form Of Travel

International trips are becoming more hassle free with each passing year. Renting a vehicle
for example just could not be more convenient.

I love landing in a new country and just taking out my phone and searching for  Cape Town car hire for example. Takes two seconds to find a hire company and reserve a car which can be picked up straight away. It's that easy! Car hire in Cape Town is on par with the rest of the world, certainly Europe in my experience. Lot's of friendly people that are will to help with any car related query as well.

Assurance With Peace Of Mind

As we all learn at one time or another, life insurance is actually a completely logical choice. Without life cover our loved ones can be left to bear a financial burden which of course none of us would want. Of course we all want the best for our families and want to keep everything as
simple and easy as possible for them.

Now is the time to put such a desicion into action.  For very little expense up front, you can get covered for a large sum which would make all the difference in a time of need.

Facing the Apex Predator with Shark Bookings

When talking about adventure, one imagines zooming down sandy dunes atop a Laminex sand board, plummeting towards the earth with a resplendent parachute whistling in the wind, or dangling off a rocky mountain while attached to a harness. But this is not true adventure, as some adventurists might say. True adventure is finding yourself face to face with one of the world's most feared underwater predators with nothing but a glinting steel cage between you and the apex predator. This adrenalin fueled experience is better known as shark cage diving.

While there are a number of adventure tour companies and shark cage diving companies in Cape Town, Shark Bookings has been around for over a decade and remains one of the most revered booking agencies for cage diving Gansbaai.

Based in the small Western Cape town of Gansbaai, Shark Bookings is ideally situated for diving experiences and encounters with the fearsome great white shark. Popular shark cage diving locations such as Geyser Rock, Shark Alley and Dyer Island are home to large numbers of great white sharks, which means shark sightings are almost always guaranteed.

Although Shark Bookings is mostly focused on shark cage diving in Gansbaai, they also offer diving packages in a number of other diving destinations, including Cape Town, Durban, Mossel Bay and the south-east African country of Mozambique.

Some of the carefully organized diving trips include: a Great White Shark Cage Diving package, a Whale Watching Ocean Safari, a Shark Diving and Helicopter Flight combination package, a Tiger Shark dive, and Manta Ray and Whale Shark dive packages.

To find out more about these and other cage diving Gansbaai and Mozambique dive packages, visit Shark Bookings or contact Dave or Elna Caravias:

Email: enquiries@sharkbookings.com
Telephone: 0027 (0) 82 466 4519
Facsimile: 0027 (0) 28 384 3763

Originally posted on: Travel South Africa Today
Source: travelsouthafricatoday.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/facing-the-apex-predator-with-shark-bookings

Shark cage diving

You get fantastic shark cage diving in Gaansbaai. and scuba diving tour packages. The Great White Shark Diving Company offers an experience of a life time which is definitely worth its price.

It is such a personalised experience to be face to face with the sharks. If you are a photographer this would be one of the best moments to get those perfect shots of the marine life, even while you are shark cage diving. Definitely one of the most frightening moments I’m sure you will ever experience in your life. If you are a serious shark enthusiast their company even offers five or ten day trips as well.

It offers you that once in a lifetime eye to eye contact with a great white shark. So if you are feeling courageous and daring enough, you should definitely go shark cage diving.

Source : Apex Predators

Some Relief At Last

I've been having medical problems pretty much for as long as I can remember.
Since I was a young boy I've been in and out of hospitals without a hospital plan,
life insurance didn't even enter into my mind. Eventually one day I was
talked into taking out a plan(against what I thought was my better judgement).
Some time went by without incident and I wondered where my money was going, but
then sure enough one day, the same old problems popped up again and I was back
in hospital.This time there was a difference though, I wasn't the one paying for
it. I have to say it makes all the difference, just glad I found the
Prime Meridian Mobile site and took out that plan.

So Much More To Life cover

When thinking about life insurance I always assumed it only applied to paying for funeral costs and the like, only recently did I figure out that life cover also means so much more. It could translate into my children being able to go to university even when I'm unable to pay for it myself, or it could mean enabling my family to continue living at the standard to which they have become accustomed over the years. I've been checking out Frank.Net and after giving them a shout
they informed that I could register for life cover over the phone, so that was me sold! Good to know I'm covered.

Great White Shark Diving Tours for the family in Gaansbaai

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

Shark Cage Diving with the Great White Shark

South Africa has become a big hit in shark cage diving with Great White Sharks swimming all year round. Currently there are 3 areas of operation where permitted operations offer this unique eco-tourism experience, namely Seal Island, False Bay;Mossel Bay and shark cage diving in Gansbaai  .
During the winter months of April to September the great white sharks typically congregate around the cape fur seal colonies which make up their winter prey. From September to March each year the great white sharks seem to experience a change of choice in prey and tend to focus mainly on other species of sharks and migratory fish that are found close to shore. As the movement of the great white shark is fairly well understood in South Africa they can be found year round enabling shark tourists good viewing opportunities no matter the time of year.

Buy! Great White Shark Photos Online now or book for the best shark cage diving Cape Town experience.

Shark Cage Diving in Gaansbaai

Shark Cage Diving is be part of your bucket list.In my experience it is one of the top 10 activities to do in your life.Shark cage diving in Gaansbaai would be the ideal choice for tourists in locals alike.The beautiful oceans in Cape Town makes it admirable and captivating destination.There are several different shark types.Mako shark,Blue shark, Seven Gill shark and the Great White Shark.Taking shark photos would be  a memorable experience in your life.

source: Shark Cage Diving Cape Town

Chris Fallows - The Legendary Great White Shark Photographer

Chris' journey from his beginnings as a penniless shark enthusiast to his discovery of the "flying" white shark phenomenon.He was always fascinated in taking shark photos.We are wildlife naturalists and are absolutely passionate about sharks. We are privileged to spend at least 150 days at sea every year working with a variety of shark species. Although we make our living taking people to view Great White sharks and enjoy shark diving in Cape Town,

Shark Photos from Apex Predators

Chris did not start out to be a shark or wildlife photographer. Rather his passion comes first from spending time with nature. Of course being one of the first people to document great white sharks breaching gave way to the opportunity of also capturing this incredible wildlife spectacle on camera.
His first breaching shark photos were met with disbelief and also fascination. And the more he saw this amazing behaviour, the more he wanted to be able to obtain these amazing shark photos.

His ultimate goal was always to photograph the power of a white shark coming straight out of the water, white belly exposed and coming straight towards the camera. We had never seen a breach like this that was even close to photographing so when it actually happened it was unbelievable!

On 17 June 2011 we had just towed the decoy through all the hot areas with no action. Then over what is normally not a good area for breaching a huge 4 meter plus shark did the most incredible breach. The sharks normally always catch the decoy but this time the shark knocked the decoy with its snout. As the decoy soared above it, the shark was still trying to arch above it, mouth wide open to catch it, creating the perfect moment for an iconic shark photo.

Chris was still shooting film in those days and as this was a Friday afternoon we had to wait until Monday morning before seeing the results. It was an agonising wait, not knowing if Chris had captured it or not! When we walked into the processing studio on that Monday the whole staff greeted us with huge excitement. They had seen the great white photos and knew what it would mean!

Since then this photograph has become one of the most recognised wildlife images in the world and has been used on 100's of newspaper and magazine covers as well as in advertising campaigns. Many people have also purchased this image as a high quality art print.

A hunting great white shark is a formidable sight and we are aware of how this image could be misused so one of our conditions of sale is that it may not be used in any way that is negative to sharks, but rather in a way that shows the raw power that an apex predator uses when in full hunting mode.

Source: Shark Cage Diving