Scuba Diving Equipment » White Shark

South African Scuba Dive – Great White Shark Cage Diving

admin — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 03:23:05 +0000

There are two areas where Great White diving is done, Gansbaai and Mosselbaai. Both these destinations can be reached with a scenery drive from Cape Town International Airport. Below is some information on these areas and Great White Cage diving. Also some information on other diving sites.

Daily shark diving/sighting tours (weather permitting) are done off Gansbaai, a mere stone-throw away from the most southern tip of the African Continent. Approx. 12km offshore from Gansbaai (2hrs drive from Cape Town) there are two islands situated next to each other. Due to a number of geographical reasons – one being the shallow and narrow channel that runs between these two islands – Dyer Island has become known as one of only two unique areas in the world, where the chances to view the great white shark, rises exceptionally high. Other wildlife species such as Cape Fur Seals, Cape Gannets, Cape Cormorants, Jackass penguins, whales and dolphins are also likely to be sighted.

Gansbaai is little holiday and fishing village situated a 160km from Cape Town. The area has several attractions for the nature lover with whale watching being the most popular. Accommodation may be taken close by at a very nice chalets with small harbour and sea views offering excellent meals. The shark dives are launched from the neighboring Kleinbaai. Cage diving is strictly regulated by the authorities and conducted in an ethical way in accordance with international standards. It is bsolutely safe and you need not have any diving experience at all, only a short course on safety and the use of the equipment.

On a typical day we meet the skipper early in the morning and then head out about 9 am and return about 3 pm – depending on the conditions, wind direction and currents you proceed to one of numerous holes, put down anchor and set out the bait. Only bait that forms part of the animal’s natural diet is used.

We then wait for the Great Whites to find us. This can take anything from minutes to several hours. In the meantime every one is briefed on the procedures, and the cage is put into the water. The cage is securely attached to a platform on the back of the boat and the top of the cage floats about 23cm above the water. It is constructed of steel bars and is closed off at the top by means of a gate.

Once the first shark is spotted the bait lines are drawn in towards the boat so that everybody has the opportunity to view and admire this magnificent predator. The first cage renters the water and the lines are drawn slowly towards the cage to lure the shark. This is an emotional and heart stopping experience.

It must be remembered that these are wild animals, and no guarantees can be given that they will be sighted on a particular day. It is therefore advisable to budget for at least two consecutive days diving. Statistics kept of sightings over the last five years in Mosselbaai help to pick the best possible time of the year being April to July and September to November. In late Aug and early September 2004 there is a lot of shark activity, they are seeing 9 – 15 sharks a day.

In Gansbaai the best time of the year is in our winter season (April – September), when the sharks are particularly active in their feeding patterns (80-99%). Even though you still have a chance of seeing the sharks during the other months (October – February), their feeding patterns are different and they tend to have inconsistent feeding behaviour by feeding actively the one day and less active on other day’s. However, due to breeding season amongst the seals on Dyer Island during the months November to January natural feeding predations are often seen in the area. Sighting rate in the low season is approx. 60%.

By: Gerald Crawford

Shark Cage Diving in Cape Town – Great White Shark Diving Around Gansbaai

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:11:55 +0000

Shark cage diving has become an incredibly popular experience for both tourists and locals alike in Cape Town and its surrounds. With the blending of the warm Indian Ocean and cool Atlantic Ocean around the Southern Cape Coast, this marine setting provides a rich diversity of sea creatures. Southern Right Whales, Cape Fur Seals, African Penguins and Great White Sharks are just some of the spectacular sea life which make the Cape Coast their home.

One of the world’s most heavily populated Great White Shark areas is in the waters surrounding Dyer Island. A lot of research is conducted on sharks in this area, helping scientists and the general population understand these incredible creatures better. Sharks have been found to be curious and very intelligent creatures, sometimes lifting their heads above the surface to gaze at prey or other objects.

About the Great White Shark

The Great White Shark has long been regarded as the king of the ocean and the most feared creature in the sea. With multiple rows or razor-sharp teeth and a jaw so strong it can break metal with ease, the Great White certainly has made a name for itself as a fearsome predator.

The Great White Shark is considered an endangered species on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (C.I.T.E.S.) list of endangered species. The Great White is feared by many and is still a mythical and fascinating creature. Many humans, terrified of a shark’s nature, cannot comprehend a shark as an incredible fish and a true example of nature’s brilliance.

A Great White Shark can grow to more than six meters in length and weigh up to 2,259 kilograms, making it the largest predatory fish in the world.

These sharks display ‘counter colouring’ which is the camouflage type colouring of their body to disguise themselves and make attacks on prey easier. The dorsal area (top half) of a shark is grey to disguise it from prey at the surface of the water while the underside is white to disguise it from prey underneath it. Sharks are incredibly sensitive to movement of any object in water. When any object moves, it creates an electric field and a Great White Shark is able to sense half a billionth of a volt!

Great White Sharks feed off fish, whale carcasses, dolphins, seals, porpoises and smaller sharks. Penguins can be attacked but sharks do not eat them generally. In South Africa, the Great Whites off the Cape Coast breach the surface of the water, swimming at such speed to startle their prey that they break the surface and launch into the air. This is only seen along the Cape Coast and is a spectacular sight to see.

Great White Shark Cage Diving

One of the best ways to see a shark in its natural habitat without being in danger of injury is to take part in shark cage diving. One of the best places to do this is in Gansbaai, South Africa. Dyer Island is extremely close to Gansbaai, making the shark population very dense and the trip to Dyer Island quick.

The cage used is generally a floating one and will be attached to the boat the entire time that people are diving. The cage cannot be broken and the sharks do not try and get inside it. It is advisable to book a few days in advance for a shark diving trip to avoid the disappointment of the charter being fully booked. Weather is also an important factor to consider as rough seas can mean lack of visibility so booking a few days before a planned trip allows divers to book according to weather reports for suitable conditions.

All equipment is provided by the charter company, such as wetsuits for instance. It is a good idea to make sure that the charter is a licensed shark cage diving operator. Even though the experience is a safe one, using a charter who is not registered may mean sub-standard equipment making the activity unsafe. Also, unregistered charters sometimes feed the sharks and create behavioural traits in which sharks associate humans with food. This does not help to ease the fear of shark attacks on humans. Registered charters have specific ways of feeding the sharks to stop them from ramming the cage as well as other unfavourable behaviours.

What to Expect

A typical shark cage dive will begin at dawn, with a charter boat departing the shore as the sun begins to rise. This is the prime feeding time for Great White Sharks and a substance made from fish and other proteins is thrown into the water to attract the sharks. After a short safety briefing and once a shark has been spotted, a cage is lowered into the water from the side of the boat.

After the cage is ready and the passengers wishing to lower themselves into the cage are in wetsuits and have their gear on properly, the exhilarating experience can begin.

Divers enter the cage one or two at a time and are able to have a crystal clear view of Great White Sharks swimming past the cage and their behaviours in their natural habitat. The charter will generally swing bait away from the cage so that the sharks only swim past and not at the cage. Once all the people wanting to dive have done so, the boat returns to shore for a leisurely lunch and drinks on the shore whilst experiences can be shared with one another.

With Dyer Island being just off the Cape Coast, this area is truly a shark cage diving hotspot. Shark cage diving is well known for creating an incredible adrenalin rush and has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction in the area.

Shark cage diving is a safe and extremely exhilarating way to observe these incredible fish in their natural habitat and to have an experience not likely to be forgotten.

By: Rosemary Grace Brooks

3 Day Dive Deluxe Xtreme Adventure

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:45:47 +0000

- Predator dive

will be collected by your guide and transported to the aquarium in time for your booked Predator Dive

Free dive with the ragged-tooth sharks in the Cape Town aquarium.

These sleek bronze predators will glide past you as you scuba dive in the two million litre tank at the predator exhibit that is also home to many other species of large predatory fish from the South African coast.

After your free dive close encounter with the Ragged Tooth Sharks your guide will transport you back to your hotel for the rest of the day and night at your own leisure

Open Water One or Discover Scuba qualification required.

Day 2 – Croc cage dive

You will have an early morning collection by your guide and transported to Oudtshoorn.

Croc Cage Diving is based on the same principle as shark cage diving.

Visitors, 12 years and older, who are brave enough, will encounter these 4 meter Nile crocodiles while they swim around in a crystal clear heated croc pool.

Crocodiles close their mouth around their prey with an amazing pressure of over 1 ton per square inch.

Croc Cage Diving is not for the faint-hearted.

No dive xperience necessary

If this is not enough you will also be allowed the opportunity to have a natural encounter with cheetah, tiger cubs, reptiles and Humphrey the pigmy hippo.

After your croc cage dive and encounters with various other xciting creatures your guide will transport you back to your hotel for the rest of the day and night at your own leisure

Day 3: Great white shark cage diving

This is no aquarium!! Your shark diving xpedition begins with a light breakfast in Gansbaai followed by a brief orientation on the day’s activities ahead where you will xperience one of the most exhilarating days of your life!

You do not need certification for the cage diving at Shark Alley.

If you are not up to jumping in the cage you can get a brilliant view of these spectacular predators from the upper deck of the boat.

For the brave there is no limit on time in which you can spend in the cage.

Time permitting, the boat will visit Geyser Island en route, to view the Seal Colony.

During the right season you will also definitely have a very good chance of viewing the whales along the way.

All equipment will be supplied. A light lunch and snacks and drinks will be served on the boat.

Transport by means of luxury people carrier is provided both ways.

Once returning to your hotel you have the rest of the day and night at your own leisure

By: Gavin Pfister

Great scuba diving sites in Africa

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:31:39 +0000

Africa offers a plethora of ultimate scuba diving adventures swaggering from tropical reef diving and shark diving to wreck diving. Dive with the Great White Shark, manta rays, dolphins and turtles and explore the rugged, wild and unscathed aspect of the magically mystique underwater world. Scuba diving off the African coast yields some very interesting adventures. Africa is a home to many dive resorts where the main focus of your holiday will be scuba diving and venturing out into the big, wide underwater universe. So get your snorkel and flippers geared up and get ready for a wild and mesmerizing ride with the sea creatures!

There is a myriad collection of scintillating diving sites in Africa and zeroing down to one is inevitable. Each diving site poses its own identity and ‘beneath the surface persona’.

The Aliwal Shoal is one of the much explored diving site in Africa and is also rated as one of the top 10 diving sites in the world. Coral reefs that range from 5m to 30, an underwater wonder of nature and a home to the Ragged Tooth Shark, humpbacked whales, dolphins and rare species of fish like Tiger Angel can be usually spotted in this area. Diving is mostly feasible during the winter months, during May to September when there are no signs of rain and the presence of reasonable viability.

There are two predominant areas where Great White diving is prevalent i.e. Gansbaai and Moselbaai. Gansbaai is a small fishing village that offers several attractions for the nature wanderers with whale watching being the most popular. Shark diving and cage diving are launched from this cardinal point and is absolutely safe and requires no prior diving experience at all. All you need is a short course on safety and use of the equipment.

For a diving enthusiast, who desires to indulge himself/herself in coral reel diving ‘par excellence’ along with a fun filled experience of watching huge Mata rays, whale sharks, eels and more, then nowhere else but the Manta coast in Mozambique could dictate and rule the kingdom of diving sites.

Protea Banks is also one of several popular diving sites that is also rated as the best shark diving spot that offers deep diving suitable for experienced scuba divers.

The diving opportunities in Africa are almost limitless that reign the incredibly beautiful and calm lagoons, coral reefs abound in all directions, you swimming through walls and pinnacles, talking to turtles and listening to the whales whisper.

By: Matthew Kepnes

Great scuba diving sites in Africa

admin — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:28:57 +0000