Guest comment: “Really enjoyed sightings from both the boat and cage and loved having a knowledgable person on board to learn all about the sharks – thank you!” – Emma + Leigh
“Exceeded expectations – surprisingly peaceful experience! Thank you!” – Jennifer Akerley
“Very well organised. Professional and caring. Saw five sharks! Great briefing!” -Jayan + Deepa
17/10/2016
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 17.0’C + 17.1’C + 17.4’C
Depth: 8.0m + 10.0m + 9.6m
Visibility: 2.0m + 1.5m + 1.0m
Number of Sharks: 5 + 6 + 5
Conditions: Clear skies with minimal swell and an increasing wind from the South.
Trip 1
Our group this morning patiently waited 30 minutes for the first shark to show up which happened to be one of the most recently tagged sharks in the Dyer Island Conservation Trust’s telemetry studies. A male just over 3.0m, we have seen some very active behaviour from him recently however Monday morning didn’t seem to be his best time and he left us after a few passes. Soon after a juvenile femle appeared, this was “Sarko” a shark we have become very familiar with over the last eight weeks that she has been in the area. The most active shark of the trip then took his chance to show himself, a male very similar in size to our first shark, and known as “Pieter” or “Vuvzela”. This shark has played an important role in the White shark research that is under taken by Dyer Island Conservation Trust as he was tagged and tracked for approximately 19 hours in 2015 as well as becoming part of our biopsy undertaking in the same year. He has now been adopted and will be monitored as he visits Slashfin. The wind then changed direction on us and we had a patch of slow activity as our scent trail re-istablished itself. We were then lucky enough to have two new sharks as well as “Vuvuzela” and “Sarko” revisiting. It was not only the sharks that had our group excited but also a breaching Southern Right whale calf about a kilometre from the boat. A scenic trip around Danger Point and into Gansbaai harbour ended this successful morning out on the sea.
Trip 2
The second trip of the launched back out of Gansbaai and made it’s way around Danger Point and back to our waiting cage. The conditions were good and we only waited five minutes for our first shark. The largest shark of the trip was a 4.0m relaxed female by the name of “Mollie” who has some very distinctive scars around her jaw and head and a beautifully patterned rosie on both sides of the dorsal fin. We also saw an acoustic tagged female that is one of nine that was tagged last September. Another outstanding trip with 6 different sharks.
Trip 3
The third and final trip of the day launched with some increased wind causing some choppier conditions out on the water than previously seen in the day however this did not stop our guests from enjoying the beautiful afternoon with some magnificent sharks around the boat. Moments of we arrived we had one of the males that was recently tagged come by the boat but unfortunately he left us minutes later. This quick visit could have had something to do with our second shark, a large female estimated at approximately 4.2m in length and going by the name of “Scarlett”. Throughout the entire trip “Scarlett” graced us with her presence and we were also lucky enough to see two other large females and a small but active juvenile. A fantastic way to end the day.
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.
