Guest comments: “An enlightening experience! Sharks rock!!!” – Antonio
“Amazing experience, worth every penny! Fun, knowledge, and excitement! Thank you!!” – Kristen
“Once in a lifetime experience, even if I didn’t shark dive. Thank you for all the conservation efforts and helping our ecosystems!” – Lisa
25/04/2018
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 16.4’C + 16.5’C
Depth: 9.0 m + 9.3 m
Visibility: 4.0 m + 3.0 m
White Sharks Seen: 2 + 2
Conditions: A chilly morning with the sun warming up the bay as the day went on. Small swell, constant breeze.
Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo..
Our first trip of the day launched a bit later than usual due to a low tide and as we anchored, we wondered what the day would have in store for us. We hadn’t been to sea the day before due to the weather and were hopeful that we wouldn’t have to wait long for our first visitor. After 40 minutes of bad shark jokes, fun facts, and some background about the area we were in, our first white shark arrived. A large shadow approached and we quickly recognized this 4.8 meter beauty with the patch of copepods on its head. It didn’t stay long, but was soon followed by a quick and determined juvenile approximately 1.3 meters long. This very young white shark behaved much like a puppy, chewing the seal decoy like it was a chew toy. When you see behaviour like this, it’s easy to see why baby sharks are called pups! It stuck with us throughout the trip, only leaving for a bit when a pod of 40-50 bottlenose dolphins were spotted. These dolphins were such a special treat! As they approached Slashfin then turned approximately 20 meters from the cage, heading out towards Dyer Island on the hunt for fish. While our divers could not see the dolphins under water, they could hear them as they clicked and chattered amongst themselves! With the sharks not wanting to be outshined by some cetaceans, our first shark approached suddenly from the deep, making several beautiful passes in front of the cage. This trip ended with the baby shark coming back for a few more goes at the bait line, showing off its sleek young yet powerful and graceful body.
For our second trip of the day we had two stunning great whites to get our minds around! The first shark was the 2.6m female. She was very curious throughout this trip coming and going right up until the very end of the trip! A lucky interaction there! Our second sharks was the 3.8m male with the bite mark around the gills, although he didn’t stick around for too long on this trip, our second group of cage divers got very up close and personal with him. With a lot of excitement in the cage and on board we had a very happy group of cage divers! Hopefully the weather clears over the coming days so we can get back to sea and get sharky again real soon!
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Great White Shark Cage 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.
