Guest comment: “Our whole group had an amazing experience on the trip. The shark sighting at the end is a memory all the boys will treasure!” – Durham School Group
“Was a great experience with lots of care. Unfortunately we didn’t see any sharks but hoping to see them on next trip!” – Lisa
“Great experience and lovely staff just unlucky with the actual shark!” – Luiner
21/08/2018
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 14.3°C + 14.3°C + 14.5°C
Depth: 9.8m + 10.2m + 9.6m
Visibility: 1.0m + 1.5m +1.5m
Number of Sharks: 0 + 1 + 0
Conditions: Slight swell with little wind and clear skies.
A chilly, early morning start as our first trip saw Slashfin launching from the harbour with the sunrise. The first boat on site we had the choice of anchor and we then settled in and waited. It was a beautiful morning out on sea with the chill slowly disappearing from the air as the sun moved higher and higher in the sky and as it did we still waited for those Great Whites to arrive. In the mean time we had a Southern Right whale pair in the distance we were keeping a watch on, a couple of interesting bird sightings including two Giant petrels and a White Chinned petrel. With the end of the trip in sight and no sharks to be seen a few of our divers decided they would still give the cage a try and went for a dip. Before heading back to land the boat made its’ way to the Islands to look at the Cape Fur seals of Geyser Rock and Shark Alley.
The second trip of the day launched full of a student sports group visiting from the United Kingdom and two other guests to see if the shark sighing luck would change, and so the waiting game began again. It wasn’t until the last 45 minutes of the trip did a shark show up, but it was well worth the wait as an estimated 4.5m female, one seen only a couple of days ago, appeared. Dark in dorsal surface colour she was easy to see in the light blue waters of the bay, cutting a huge figure as she approached the boat and cage. Not only was her size something to behold but unlike the days prior when this individual was seen she was active today making multiple passes by the cage with the shark clearly seen and breaking the surface of the water with her dorsal fin, tail and head. Success, but could we keep it up for the third and final trip of the day?
Once more for Slashfin today as she launched with the next group from the student sport group. The afternoon progressed however the shark from the previous trip did not appear again nor did any other White shark. Some of the guests took a chance in the cage before heading back to land to finish off the day.
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.
