Guest Comment: “Thanks for a great educational encounter with these incredible creatures!” – David + Liz
“Fantastic trip! Boat was comfy & staff very friendly. Even with poor visibility we got a great view from the cage! All around brilliant trip!” – Barry
“It’s a wonderful and great experience! Thank you for your professionalism and your love for the sharks!” – Philip
01/08/2016
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 14.8’C + 14.9’C + 15.1’C
Depth: 9.3m + 9.2m + 9.8m
Visibility: 0.5m + 0.5m +0.5m
Number of Sharks: 8 + 5 + 5
Conditions: Feels like summer! Beautiful sunshine with a very light breeze from the south east.
Trip 1
We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day at sea! The sun was shining, the swells were almost nonexistent, and the sharks were curious! Our first trip began with a shark immediately coming to the boat. It didn’t take long before we had 4 different sharks coming around the boat, investigating our divers. One of these sharks is a shark we’ve seen around a lot lately. We call her “Mandy.” She’s been around the boat several times this past week and we hope she keeps coming back. She’s always amazing to see and everyone on board loves her spunky attitude. We also had a much loved visit from “Cutfin,” a male shark with a very noticeable propeller injury to his dorsal fin. He’s a lot like “Mandy” and tends to be quite an active shark. He didn’t disappoint today! A large short-tailed stingray also came up for an attempt at the bait line. These beautiful creatures are related to sharks, and we love seeing them because a lot of clients have never seen a stingray that is as large as the short-tailed stingrays.
Trip 2
Our second trip was just as lucky and didn’t have to wait any time at all before there was a very bronze colored great white shark coming to the boat. Like the first trip, our second trip had numerous sharks coming to visit within the first 30 minutes. Some of these sharks stuck around, but others continued on to go investigate elsewhere. One of the sharks that stayed around was a very fast shark. It’s roughly 2.2 meters long and amazed everyone on board with its speed. It had a noticeable abrasion on it’s right side, so we’re hoping it will continue to come back to the boat as it was a very distinct shark and had a lot of energy. Our third trip was almost as lucky as the first two! After just a quick 15 minute wait, a shark was spotted in the distance. Our bait handler, Alfred, was able to draw the shark closer and it stuck around with us for a couple of great but fast passes. The activity got a bit slow so we had our divers make seal noises underwater, trying to lure the shark back over. Unfortunately it didn’t return, but another shark did hear the sounds and came to investigate! This was a pale shark that most likely spends a lot of time at the bottom of the sea. Sharks who patrol the surface tend to be darker as a sharks tan never fades. Those who are pale in color tend to hug the bottom more than the top. This pale shark was a fiesty little female and our divers got an amazing view of her as she came within an inch of the cage! The large short-tailed stingray came back for another visit, this time coming up 4 different times, alternating between attempts at the seal decoy and at the bait line. We also had a visit from 2 unfortunate sharks with fresh propeller wounds. One of these sharks was only 1.6 meters long and may have just been born recently. When great whites are born, they’re usually about 1.5 meters in length. While I always hate to see an injured shark, especially when the cause is humans, I’m relieved that the wounds weren’t worse and both sharks should be able to make a full and speedy recovery. The healing power sharks have is amazing! If only we could heal as quickly and as well as they do!
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Great White Shark Cage Diving in Gansbaai, and more specifically with Marine Dynamics, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience you won’t want to miss. Book and pay online with us and get a free video of your encounter with the world’s apex predator.
