Guest comment: “Lots of fun! Everyone was so nice and extremely helpful! Thanks for a special experience!” – Julie
“Really enjoyed the morning! Great to see the ethical treatment of the sharks! Would highly recommend the experience!” – Dee
“Awesome shark-tastic experience!! The Sweet Caroline song will never be the same!” -Hugo + Elaine
19/10/2015
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 16.8’C + 16.7’C + 16.9’C
Depth: 8.1m + 9.9m + 7.1m
Visibility: 1.5m + 1.0m + 1.5m
Number of Sharks: 7 + 7 + 9
Conditions: A beautiful day to be at sea. Slight cloud coverage in the morning with the breeze blowing the clouds away as the day went on.
It was an absolutely superb day to be at sea with the sharks! Our first trip began as the sun peaked through the clouds. We didn’t have to wait long for our first or second shark to appear. The first was a small juvenille that made 2 passes then left. However it was followed by one of our favorite sharks, a female we call “Caroline.” We’ve seen her a lot lately and she is always the sweetest shark. It didn’t take long for most of the boat to start singing “Sweet Caroline, ba ba ba!” She stuck around with us the entire trip, only leaving for brief periods of time while another shark would appear. An hour into the trip, a massive flock of hundreds of Cape Cormorants flew around our boat. It was an amazing sight to see! Often people desire seeing the big sharks, however most of the sharks this trip were between 1.9 and 3.0 meters. This didn’t bother anybody because these little sharks were so curious and active that everyone was loving the show that they were putting on for us. Our second trip was just as fortunate at the first, with only a 5 minute wait for the first shark to arrive. This shark was a beauty. A large 2.5 meter female with distinct rosies on her dorsal, which is why we nicknamed her “Rosie.” We know her quite well and it’s nice to see her returning to the shallows again this year! This trip we had a handful of sharks that we’ve given names to and have very clear scars and personalities. One was “Pieter,” a 3.0 meter male that enjoys playing with the seal decoy. Another one was “Scarlett,” a beautiful female that is covered in scars. She is very precise in her movements and loves to slowly cruise past the cage, checking out all of our divers. She stuck around for quite some time, but wasn’t there when we returned for our third trip. Even though she wasn’t there, the sharks did not want to dissapoint anybody today! Two were cruising around our boat as we secured the cage to the side of the boat for our final trip of the day. One of these sharks was a large male, measuring at 3.8 meters, who we’ve seen a lot lately. We call him “Perry” because he is covered in parasites. He has 2 large patches on his snout and near his gills, and another large patch underneath that looks a lot like a beard. He hung out with us the entire trip, only leaving the side of the cage for 10-15 minutes while he circled around the bay. While he dissapeared, 4 other sharks came by, all between 2.7 and 4.1 meters in length. They were quite curious about the bait, making quick turns to reinspect the bait line every time they passed it. A short while later a Short-Tailed Sting Ray came by and looked our divers directly in the eyes! It was amazing to see! When “Perry” returned it seemed as if he brought more sharks with him. Everytime he would make a pass then swim off, another new shark would come do a couple of passes in front of the cage. He was our good luck charm this trip! He even brought “Pieter” back to the boat, and sweet “Caroline.” Days like today are days to be cherished; we couldn’t have asked for better sharks or clients! Thank you to everyone for joining us on an amazing adventure!
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Cage 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.
