Guest Comment: “Great trip, even though there were no sharks! Professional guidance, sure we will come back again.” – Sebastian + Marge
“Amazing day! Glad the sharks came out!” – Braig + Leela
“Amazing, lovely, and friendly crew. Thank you!”
28/12/2016
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 19.6’C + 20.1’C + 20.6’C
Depth: 10.2 m + 10 m + 9.4 m
Visibility: 1.0 m + 1.0 m + 1.0 m
Number of Sharks: 0 + 3 + 4
Conditions: A beautiful summer day with flat seas and a light breeze in the afternoon.
Trip 1
Working with wildlife can pose a bit of a challenge, especially when working with a species as elusive as the Great White Shark. While these sharks frequent the waters of Gansbaai all year round, during our summer season they are not here in as great of a concentration as during the winter season. Today proved to be one of those days that we wish never happens. One of our goals at Marine Dynamics is to show everyone these beautiful creatures and to help eliminate some of the fear that the media has instilled on society. Unfortunately, on our first trip of the day, after several hours of trying our best to attract sharks, we did not succeed in spotting any. We would like to thank all of the hopeful divers for their amazing patience and understanding today.
Trip 2
Our second trip was very anxious to see if the sharks would arrive. We waited approximately an hour, and then success! A shadow was spotted, and it approached the boat. We had attracted an amazing Great White Shark! This shark we know well and is a 3.8 meter long male with a curled dorsal fin that we call “Tum K.” He was our saving grace and showed off for our divers. We were also very lucky and eventually two more sharks cruised by. One was 2.7 meters long and the other was 3.1 meter long. We were ecstatic to see these sharks and everyone on board truly appreciated their presence.
Trip 3
Our third trip of the day must have had a lucky charm with them. On our way out to our dive location we spotted dolphins in the distance. Suddenly 3 popped up right near the stern of the boat! When we got to our dive location, again we waited. This time it was 30 minutes before a 2.5 meter shark appeared. It made a few passes and then disappeared. Our divers waited patiently when suddenly “Tum K” appeared! Everyone gasped at his size and how curious he was compared to the other shark. He left for a bit and 2 more sharks arrived. One was 3 meters with no distinct scarring, and the other was a 2.5 meter long female with 2 notches in her dorsal fin. We also had the opportunity to see a couple of Short-Tailed Stingrays and a Portuguese Man O’ War, locally known as Blue Bottles. After an unfortunate morning, we were very happy to see the sharks around. Thanks again to all of our divers for their patience today and for understanding that sometimes wildlife doesn’t arrive when we would like it to.
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then 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.
