Our travels have finally taken us to Cape Town for an adventure that we have been dreaming of! It was a very exhilarating and fascinating experience, definitely living up to our high expectations. We had the opportunity to join the White Shark Diving Company. They are phenomenal to book with, very accommodating and helpful. They are located in Gansbaai, approximately a 2-2.5 hour drive south of Cape Town. If you don’t have your own transportation they offer a shuttle service, to and from, your hotel with an additional charge. The White Shark Diving Company offers an early morning dive, 6am (which we did) and a mid-morning dive, 11am. The tour last about 2 hours and its about a 15-20 minute boat ride. If you suffer from sea sickness, we advise you to get sea sickness pills.
After Check-in, you go through the basic safety drills, followed by what to do and NOT to do, if you’d like to keep all your limbs. Sorry to break it to you, but sticking your GoPro through the cage, into the open, is forbidden. You can still have a GoPro, so make sure you bring it. But don’t let this scare you! I promise it will be the best and safest experience.
The Great Whites are surface feeders, so the cage dive takes place just below sea level. No scuba gear or certification is required. All you need is snorkel gear and a wet suit, both provided. Also included, for the morning dive was a small continental breakfast, before boarding, light refreshments and water while on the boat, followed by a pasta lunch after the dive. The floating cage, attached to the side of the boat, fits up to 8 people at a time. Each group gets about 20-30 minutes inside of the cage. To be on top of the boat, seeing the sharks, is almost just as incredible, as being in the water. You can see the bait being dangled right in-front of the cage, as the Great Whites surface to attack it.
Being in the cage and water can sound a little exhausting. But it’s not at all. Your head and your shoulders are above the water until the dive master informs you that the Great Whites are approaching. You then submerge yourself into the water for the opportunity of a lifetime, as Great White sharks may get in arms reach . It all happens very fast, so be ready!
The only down side to the Great Whites that you must remember is that they are in the wild, so there is a possibility of no sightings. In this case, the company will issue you a voucher of a future date of your time and day of your choice. We got really lucky and saw 9 different sharks, and this was considered to be in the “off” season. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any breach, but it is possible, especially in the months of April-September. We went mid February.
I can’t wait to go back, and I will definitely do this again. Its a MUST-DO and make sure you book with this Company. The staff was awesome and so helpful. Find the daredevil in you. Take our word that seeing a Great White Shark has totally changed our image on how truly amazing these sea creatures are. Boom!