Guest comments: “It is very clear that the biologist and the entire crew are passionate about the plight of the Great White Shark. Thank you!!” – Linda
“Thank you! Your amazing team were kind and took great care of me and many of my fellow travelers when we didn’t grow our sea legs!” – Jen
“Dissapointed no sharks but the marine biologist and volunteers were great.” – Marissa
30/05/2018
Location: Geldsteen
Water Temperature: 15.9 ’C
Depth: 15 m
Visibility: 4 m
White Sharks Seen: 0
Conditions: Winter is here! A chilly day with a light breeze and some swell.
With a chill in the air, Slashfin launched just after the sunrise from Kleinbaai harbour and we headed out towards the islands. We were anxious to see if our white sharks would come back to the area and we were determined, as always, to see one of these elusive predators. With about 50 kelp gulls, 15 Hartlaub’s gulls, 4 giant petrels, and an albatross flying around, the shark facts began to fly around as well. We discussed the fragility of our oceans ecosystems and the always changing ecology that marine biologists, oceanographers, and other marine scientists face when trying to study these and any other sea life. We had a very unique sighting of a Mola mola, also known as an ocean sunfish, or in some countries, a moon fish. It is a strange looking fish that is flattened vertically and is most famous for being the heaviest bony fish in the world, reaching top weights of 1000 kg (2205 lbs). In the 3 years that I have been guiding on Slashfin, I personally have never seen a mola mola during a shark cage diving trip. While it did not get too close, the large dorsal fin extending out of the water was unmistakeable. These fish can reache up to 3.3 meter tall (10.5 feet) from the tip of their dorsal fin to the tip of anal fin, with the average Mola mola being 2.5 meters tall (8.2 feet) from each fin tip. After a bit more waiting, we decided to move anchor to see if maybe we could have some better luck elsewhere, but before we moved, we took a turn through shark alley to check out the white sharks favorite food- our colony of cape fur seals. They seemed to be having a lazy Wednesday, with most of the seals lounging on Geyser Rock. We continued on with our mission, setting anchor, but after waiting a while longer and with not much being spotted other than birds, we decided to pull up anchor and call it a day. Thank you very much to all of our guests for being so patient, and while the white sharks were nowhere to be seen today, we hope that you enjoyed your day with us and the sea life that we did get to see. Safe travels to all!
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.
