Shark Cage Diving

Cage Diving with White Sharks

Shark Bay, Gansbaai, Western Cape, South Africa

August 26 & 27, 2006

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Cape Town, South Africa on a business trip. Having some knowledge of the amount of White Shark activity in the area, and considering a keen interest in sharks on my part, I found that cage diving with Great Whites was available.

Needless to say, I jumped at the chance and reserved my place with Marine Dynamics, perhaps the premier cage diving outfit in the area, for 2 days of experiences aboard the 'Shark Fever', a 10.7 meter powered catamaran. Marine Dynamics operates from Kleinbaai ('small bay'), which is a suburb of Gansbaai.

Our host for both days was Michael Scholl, a marine biologist specializing in the long term study of Great White sharks, particularly identification. He initiated the current study of performing identification via the dorsal fin (similar to the method used in identifying whales by their tail fin). Michael was a wealth of information on these incredible animals, serving to underscore the need to conserve them and educate about them rather than destroying them. I highly recommend visiting his site for more information on research and conservation of these incredible animals (http://www.whitesharktrust.org).

Gansbaai is approximately 2 hours from Cape Town and a very nice drive. Along the way is Hermanus and Walker Bay, which is home to the best land-based whale watching in the world. From June - December of each year hundreds of Southern Right Whales frequent the area of Walker Bay to feed and give birth, making for an exciting viewing experience right from shore.

In Shark Bay is Dyer Island and Geyser Rock (pronounced 'geezer'). Dyer Island is home to many species of endangered birds including African penguins, and is also home to a research post for studying these bird species. Geyser Rock is home to a permanent colony of 50-60,000 Cape Fur Seals, this fact likely the reason there is such a large amount of White Shark activity. Some research has shown that feeding on Cape Fur Seals comprises as much as 80% of food intake for adult White Sharks in the area. We managed to visit Geyser Rock on both days. Needless to say, the smell was incredible, but so were the seals!

The pictures presented on this page represent a sampling of the hundreds of frames taken during these 2 days of encountering White Sharks. I'll be posting additional pictures as I review them, so please revisit this page. I hope you enjoy them!

Day 1 Pictures