Guest Comments: “Really good having a marine biologist on board, she was so knowledgeable. The whole team were really attentive and friendly. Thank you!” – The Empson’s
“Amazing experience, worth every penny, thanks for everything.” – Eric and Allison
“Great day! Saw a lot of different sharks today, and the crew was amazing!” – Tim and Marjolein
“Epic experience seeing sharks. Great crew. Thank you!” – JB
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 15.1 C – 15.5 C
Depth: 11m
Visibility: 2m, decreasing to around 1m in the afternoon.
Number of Sharks: 5 + 4 + 3
Conditions: A windy but sunny day out on the not so deep blue.
It was another early start for the team here at Marine Dynamics and for all of our clients, with a 7 O’ Clock launch time. This was, however, made really worth it by the gorgeous sunrise we experienced whilst heading out of Kleinbaai harbour. With luck on our side, we had our very first White Shark only 15 minutes after we anchored, a little guy just about reaching the 2m mark. We went on to see 4 more of these majestic fish, with a few familiar faces. After Gqibigame and Sarko, both of which are around 3m in length, made their appearance we got really lucky and spotted one of our more iconic sharks, the stunning Scarlett. She made a couple of passes, showing off her gigantic self before disappearing to the depths again. On this trip, we also got to see a couple of Bronze Whalers, who get their name from the whalers of the 19th century who noticed just how much these sharks enjoy feasting on deceased cetaceans. A Short Tailed Sting Ray also popped up a couple of times, scouting out the bait from below before deciding that it was not worth the effort.
The second trip of the day had “Bronzies” galore, with at least 5 animals around at one point. Bronze Whalers, unlike our Great White Sharks, are known to school and are also very famous for following one of South Africa’s greatest natural wonders; the annual Sardine Run. Gqibigame was the first Great White to show up, followed by a smaller animal of around 2.5m. We also had a larger shark around with a pigmentation mark on the right of its dorsal fin. We commonly refer to these as “rosies” and even have a couple of sharks named after their unique spots and dots. Sarko also paid us a visit before we decided to head towards Geyser Rock to spend some time with our shark’s favourite food source, the Cape Fur Seals.
The last trip of the day also got the full Monty of cartilaginous fish, with Great Whites, more Bronze Whalers and another Short Tailed Sting Ray. Although, the excitement began long before this when we spotted a Sunfish or Mola Mola just outside of Klienbaai harbour. These fish are the largest of the bony variety, weighing up to a ton! They also boast the record for the most eggs laid by any living vertebrate. Back to the apex predators of the bay, we had 3 Great Whites with Scarlett deciding to show face again. Gqibigame, which is a Xhosa saying – finish the game, was pretty active around the boat at intervals which gave us some nice photo opportunities. After a chilly but lovely trip, we head back to the Great White House for some welcome soup and home baked bread.
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Great White Shark Diving in South Africa, 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.
