Guest comment: “Sensational! We really enjoyed it! So much activity and time in the water. Guides were excellent! Thanks!” – Langlesy Park School For Boys
“It was a great experience and the volunteers were extremely helpful and welcoming!” – Charlie
“Amazing experience! One of the best days of my life!” – Tom
30/07/2016
Location: Geldsteen
Water Temperature: 15.5′ C + 15.5′ C + 15.6′ C
Depth: 22.5 m
Visibility: 4.0 m + 4.0 m + 4.0 m
Number of Sharks: 9 + 9 + 8
Conditions: Slightly overcast with a light breeze.
It was another great day at sea today. Our first trip only had to wait about 5 mintes before the first shark arrived at the boat. This shark hung around the boat for about an hour before another one arrived. Both were just over 2 meters, but very active and amazing to see. We were very fortunate to have another visit from “Mandy,” a beautiful female shark that mesaures at about just under 3 meters. She is a shark that we know well and have seen around the boat a lot the past couple of days. She was accompanied by a few other sharks, one of which is approxamitely 3.6 meters. This large shark had a very distinct dark mark just behind it pectoral fins, wrapping all the way around it. We are not sure exactly the cause of this scar, but it could be due to a rope or net wrapping around its body. Not long after this shark left, one of my personal favorite sharks arrived called “Mini-Nemo.” He’s gotten a bit bigger since I saw him last year, but is just as active as he always was. We would like to say happy birthday to Mark, and we hope that you and your wife enjoy the rest of your honeymoon!
Trip 2
Our second trip was just as lucky, with a shark around the boat immediately upon anchoring. Within 20 minutes, “Mandy” returned to come check out this group of divers. She did numerous passes in front of the cage, giving everyone a great view. On this trip 2 other sharks came that we know well. One is called “Sellendillon,” but is often mistakingly called “Celine Dion.” This is a beautiful male measuring approxamitely 3.3 meters with 2 rosies on its dorsal fin. The other was “Mini-Nemo,” back to see if these divers were interested in his little show. As always, he made numerous attempts at the bait and decoy lines. The largest shark of the day was a 4.2 meter female that we call “Khaleesi.” She has a distinct notch on her dorsal fin, helping us distinguish between her and other sharks of her same size. This trip was also quite lucky and saw 3 different bird species that occaisionally come to the boat: an albatross, a white chin petrel, and a giant petrel. While most divers come to see the sharks, its always nice to see a beautiful bird fly by.
Trip 3
For our third trip, it appeared that luck was yet again on our side. After less than 5 minutes of waiting, “Sellendillon” was back. With him came “Ingrid” one of the most beautiful and docile female sharks that I’ve ever seen. She measures at about 4.2 meters and her most distinguishing feature is her damaged dorsal fin. While sharks do heal quite quickly, severe damage to a dorsal fin may never heal fully. It appears as though it has healed a bit more since last year, providing her with a more stable dorsal. Hopefully it will continue to heal, and maybe some day she will have a fully erect dorsal with no slits. We were also visited by 4 other sharks that are currently not named, one of which was a juvenille that was pale in color and highly active. During each attempt at the bait line its entire body would come flying out of the water. The last 2 sharks that visited us were “Mandy” and “Mini-Nemo,” both cruising slowly past the cage, dissapearing then flying out of the water just a couple of feet from the divers. These two are such amazing sharks with very interactive personalities. Sometimes I almost feel as if they know that we’re watching them and they’re trying to show off for us. Either way, all of the sharks that we see are stunning and we hope that all of the divers enjoyed seeing them as much as we did.
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Shark 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.
