Guest Comments:
“Awesome experience exceeded my expectations. Thanks a lot, to all staff and volunteers.” – Laurence
“Everything was amazing. The trip, the staff and the weather. Thank you very much!” – Brigitta
“Lovely experience! Marine Biologist was great as well as the staff and volunteers.” – Marlena
“Fantastic experience and extremely informative/Helpful staff.” – Stephanie
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 16.4°C + 17.0°C
Depth: 8m + 8.4m
Visibility: 1.5m + 1m
Conditions: A perfectly flat ocean with some cloud cover in the morning, and a lot of sun around midday.
We had a lovely first tour out on the ocean, with just a bit if drizzle as we exited the harbour onto a sea so flat one was almost able to see your own reflection. We travelled straight to the shallows, spotting some Southern Right Whales along the way. We have had a bumper year for the Southern Rights this year, so we are sometimes treated to the sight of these beauties in the distance as we head to our dive sight. Once anchored, we did not have to wait too long for our first Copper Shark to arrive, and this was a real beauty. A large Copper Shark with some scrape marks came up to check us out, giving us some great views as it investigated the bait. The visibility was great today which made for some nice photographic opportunities, and our divers were also able to see the animals really well under the water. We had sharks for the entire trip and had mostly the larger animals giving us some great looks, with a few super close passes by the front of the cage. We also had Tubby, a pesky little Cape Fur Seal pay us a visit. Tubby is an expert Shy Shark hunter and caught himself a meal just off the back of the boat, enjoying a Puffadder Shy Shark for brekkie. Something interesting that we got to see on the tour was Tubby being bullied by a large Bronze Whaler. Although he was not actively hunting our little seal, the shark was showing Tubby who’s boss over in the shallows. Tubby got the message and retreated without much of a fight. After a great mornings diving, we head on back towards the harbour to pick up our next group of guests.
For our second trip the weather cleared up a lot, treating our guests to some lovely sunshine and a smooth trip back to the shallows. Once we arrived at the shallows and started chumming, we didn’t have to wait long before a white shark showed up. This 2,5 meter female white shark has been hanging around the shallows since last week, however, she wasn’t seen much in the last few days – so our guests were ecstatic once the got in the cage and saw her pass by several times. Unfortunately she didn’t hang around for long, and after half an hour she disappeared into the murky water. Luckily our clients were kept entertained by the copper sharks that, once the white shark was gone, became more and more active. We were briefly visited by Tubby the seal as well, who, after a few hours, forgot the lesson from the coppers. Once we were on our way back, our clients witnessed some southern right whales as well, making this entire trip very memorable.
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Shark 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.
