Shark Cage Diving Cape Town

• Pick up in Cape Town (Optional)
• Meet at the Simons Town Pier 07.45 for a safety briefing and overview of the day.
• Departure 08.00 AM to Seal Island False Bay. This is a 25 min boat ride.
• Do not be late. The boat will not wait for you.
• The boat will do a tour around Seal Island, doing an inspection lap with the aim of choosing the best spot to anchor up with regard to wind and swell direction and start diving.
• The shark cage is lowered into the water and secured alongside the boat.  A bait line is put in the water as well as the carpet seal decoy. These are used as attractants for the sharks. They are surface feeders and are very curious animals. Please note that the aim is not to feed sharks. We are NOT an adrenaline outfit and we do not touch sharks.
• Start diving. All dive gear is provided. We use scuba gear and snorkel.
• If you do not wish to dive, you will still have excellent views of the sharks as we have a lovely viewing deck on the boat.
• We have a cooler box with snacks and drinks on board which you are welcome to help yourself too.
• 11.30  Return to Simon’s Town. Coffee Vouchers and a 25% off lunch voucher will be offered.

The itinerary for Cape Point will vary slightly from above.

Bronze Whaler Sharks
African Shark Eco-Charters is now diving with the beautiful Bronze Whaler Sharks. The tours are very exciting and the sharks are interactive around the boat. This makes for a great shark diving trip.
Bronze Whalers are also known as “Bronzies”, or Copper Sharks. With the decline of the Great White Shark in the areas, these sharks have now been spotted more frequently in False Bay. We have been seeing them on our day tours in the summertime. They can reach up to 3.5m in length, but we generally see sharks around the 2.5m mark.

Broadnose Sevengilled Cow Sharks
Over the last few years, we have seen a distinctive increase in Broadnose Sevengilled Cow Shark sightings around Seal Island. This is an astounding shark to dive with, as it is primitive looking and has calm slow movements. This shark was primarily seen in Cape Town in the shallows and in the stunning protected reefs in the Kelp forests along the Cape Peninsula marine reserve. However, in the last few years, they have moved to Seal Island and we have been privileged to be able to dive with them on our shark cage diving tours.

Hammerhead Sharks
It’s not often we see hammerhead Sharks in False Bay, but we have seen a few of them on our day trips when the warm water has pushed into the bay. They are named for the distinctive shape of their heads. It’s a great privilege to see them in False Bay.

Sting Rays
Occasionally we have been graced by Short-tailed Stingrays. We love these weird-looking creatures. They are the largest stingrays in the world and can reach upwards of 2.1m across and 350kg in weight.

Penguins
Did you know that you can see African Penguins on Seal Island? There are not a lot of penguins found on the island. Their numbers vary, but we roughly see around 50-80 penguins. They are very cute and happily live with the Cape Fur Seals.

Whale Watching
Whales are often seen on our trips in False Bay. We see Brydes whales, Southern Right whales and Humpback whales. We have also spotted Orca’s on our trips, especially the infamous shark eating “Port” and “Starboard”.

Great White Sharks
The iconic shark of all sharks is the Great White Shark. They are known and famous in False Bay to breach out of the water when hunting and catching their prey, which is the Cape Fur Seals. This behaviour is known as breaching or as we call it “AIRJAWS”. This behaviour is predominately seen in our peak season which is our Wintertime, with peak seasons being June, July and August.

Short Fin Mako Sharks
This extremely fast pelagic shark can be found on our Blue and Mako shark trips off Cape Point. This is a full day trip. We can go anything from 5-20 miles off Cape Point in search of warmer “blue water” where they are found. They are also known as the Blue Pointer or just Mako Shark. They are classified as endangered.

Blue Sharks
These open ocean sharks are found in temperate to tropical waters. They are long pointy sharks, of a blue shade on the top with white underneath and have long pectoral fins. They are also called the Great Blue Shark. They are most frequently seen on our pelagic shark trips.

Cape Fur Seals
Seal Island is heaving with Cape Fur seals. Depending on breeding season, the rock can boast anything from about 40 00-70 00 seals. They are large muscular seals, extremely noisy animals and bleat like lambs.

Common Dolphins

These beautiful sleek dolphins can be found in their hundreds in False Bay. We see them on many of our shark trips.

So, now that you know what False Bay has so much to offer, it’s like going on a marine safari!
Book your spot now for the trip of a lifetime!

JANUARY TO APRIL: Shark cage diving and viewing. We dive with various shark species depending on what sharks are currently in the area.

MAY TO AUGUST: Combination of great white shark breaching, predation, shark viewing and shark cage diving. We may dive with other sharks depending on what sharks are currently in the area.

SEPTEMBER  TO JANUARY: Shark cage viewing and shark cage diving. We typically dive with the Bronze Whaler sharks, the Blue and the Mako sharks and the Broadnose Sevengilled Cow sharks.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:
We have a very high success rate, but we are working with wild animals. Please be aware of this, so you do not arrive with unrealistic expectations. Shark sightings and shark activity are never guaranteed and even during peak season, there may be days when the sightings are lower than expected. No refunds will be made for non-sightings.

• Rain/wind jacket
• Sun block and Hat
• Beanie and scarf
• Your swimming costume
• Camera 
• Take sea sick tablets
• Do not over indulge in alcohol the night before as you will be horribly sea sick.

Please Note:

We have a very high success rate, but we are working with wild animals. Please be aware of this, so you do not arrive with unrealistic expectations. Shark sightings and activity are never guaranteed and even during peak season, there may be days when the sightings are lower than expected.

All our crew are highly qualified and have spent years working on boats and with sharks.

So why not tick shark cage diving Cape Town off your bucket list and come and join us for the best shark cage diving experience in South Africa.

The shark cage diving experience costs R3195,00 per person, excluding transfers. Transfers are R750 per person. A single person transfer is R1500.00.

We do not allow children under the age of 8 to come along as it’s a long day at sea for them. Shark cage diving will need to be with a parent and at the skipper’s discretion, (depending on ocean conditions). 

Children are not recommended to join us on the Blue and Mako Shark Trips, as it’s a full day out at sea. Please make sure your child takes seasick tablets the night before the shark trip and on morning, at least an hour before boarding the boat.

Simon’s Town, sometimes spelt Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon’s Town, the South African Navy’s largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula. For more than two centuries it has been a naval base and harbour. 

Things to do in Simon’s Town

• Visit the penguins at Boulders beach
• Go Kayaking
• Go water biking 
• Snorkelling in the Kelp Forest
• Scuba diving or snorkel with seals
• Scuba diving at the various wreck sites in False Bay
• Walk up to Just Nuisance’s grave
• Have fish and chips on the pier