At African Shark Eco-Charters we love our sharks and taking Guests out to see the Great White Sharks of Seal Island. Unfortunately in False Bay we have only a 9 month window where this is possible but during that season of February to October, the Shark sightings are spectacular which is why the False Bay is often used by Film Makers and Photographers to film Great White Sharks for their Documentary’s.
Gansbaai which is located 2.5 hours drive from Cape Town, next door to Hermanus. Off the coast of Gansbaai, is a narrow channel called Shark Alley, which is the open stretch of water between Dyer Island and nearby Geyser Island. This is the most highly populated area in the world for Great White sharks, who hunt from the colony of approximately 40000 Cape Fur Seals that inhabits the smaller Island (Geyser Rock).
Other wildlife species such as Cape Gannets, Cape Cormorants, African Penguins, whales and dolphins are also likely to be sighted. Gansbaai focuses on cage diving and it is unlikely to see the breaching behavior here, this is a unique activity to Seal Island in False Bay, but if you are looking for an interesting shark cage dive, you are assured to have an all-round experience in Gansbaai.
Please be aware that there is a significant difference between shark cage diving in False Bay to Gansbaai.
Firstly, most of the Gansbaai operators have larger boats and often take up to 40 guests per trip. At African Shark Eco-Charters we can only take between 8-12.
Rob Lawrence, goes to sea on almost every trip. He is absolutely passionate about sharks and shares years of knowledge with the clients.
The Gansbaai operators do not offer snorkel anymore, they only breath hold. We feel this is a big disadvantage to clients. We offer scuba diving on all trips (as well as snorkel), and you do not need any diving experience. By allowing guests to use scuba, they can stay underwater in the cage. Sometimes it only takes a few seconds for a shark to pass the cage, and we don’t want the guests to miss out on that!
We also only take 5 pax in our cage, while Gansbaai operators take up to 8.
We offer 5.5 hrs of trip which is over 2 hrs extra. This means clients can spend more time with the sharks, dive for longer and have a more enjoyable trip, plus the fact that we finish at 12.30 means that our clients can spend the rest of the day sight-seeing and and being so close to Cape Town really helps as you don’t have the long drive to Gansbaai, in the Morning or Afternoon to worry about
During the peak of the shark season, False Bay is the king. Not only can you scuba dive, but you may be able to witness one of the rarest sights you will ever see. A breaching great white shark! It is a once in a life time opportunity and False Bay is the place to be.
