Great White Shark Diving and Viewing Tours:

Tour Type: Escorted Day Tour

White Shark Ecoventures invites you cage diving with great white sharks in the aptly named "Shark Alley", near the fishing village of Gansbaai, South Africa.  

Sharks are quite possibly the world's most feared animals. From the smallest sand shark to the enormous whale shark, they are sleek, muscled, and some are almost as agile as a dolphin. There is no doubt that they are the most evolved predators in the ocean. Row upon row of teeth and capable of sensing the blood of an injured animal from over a kilometre away, its not surprising that they are the most feared creature beneath the waves. And of them all, the Great White Shark is the most awesome.

What we are offering you is the opportunity to dive and meet a Great White Shark, face to face - and on your own terms. Its an education and you will soon learn that this magnificent creature is in fact, highly misunderstood. It is a creature which should be more respected than feared. And if you spend some quality time with us, and with them, you will quickly learn why.

White Shark Ecoventures established in 1992 offers daily shark diving/sighting tours (weather permitting) 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) we find 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. A colony of approximately 40000 Cape Fur Seals inhabit 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.

Once anchored in the channel, we make use of a securely designed 6-man steel cage, which floats on the surface, with divers no more than 1m below the surface. Experienced divers are able to dive on scuba while inexperienced divers are able to enjoy the same experience on snorkel. Snorkeling  is equally comfortable and safe.  

White sharks are indeed surface feeders, providing brilliant surface viewing from the safety of the shark-viewing deck of the boat. Our shark handlers are trained to bring the sharks close-up against the side of the boat, with the head and the jaws clearly visible. We are in possession of a valid White Shark Cage Diving Operators Permit (issued by government), enabling us to work within the Dyer Island nature reserve area (copy of permit available upon request). Only long-standing operators who are in compliance with certain safety regulations and code of conduct, are entitled to this permit. All our facilities are closely inspected by authorities on an annual basis, ensuring maximum safety for all our guests.  

We have just acquired one of the largest, most modern and luxurious boats available in the shark diving industry. Megalodon II is a newly built stable catamaran, measuring 11 x 3.8 meters and therefore offering the ultimate stability at sea. Although she is licensed to carry a maximum of 30 passengers, we do not take more than 25 clients per tour. This not only ensures maximum comfort, but also ensures maximum cage diving time for all divers.

Our boat offers state-of-the-art facilities which includes; sophisticated and securely structured 5-6-man steel cage, spacious cabin, large upper shark-viewing deck, sunbathing area, private lockable toilet, fresh water showers, private restroom, fresh drinking water, wet deck and separate dry-deck for maximum comfort.   She is fully licensed to SA safety standards and is equipped with 2 radio's, radar equipment, navigation equipment, depth finder, echo sounder, medical first aid kit (including oxygen an fluid replacement), current safety equipment, life vests for all passengers and a 50-man life raft. Our boat, cage and life raft are inspected on an annual basis, ensuring maximum safety for all our passengers.

Safari Price: ZAR R1,375 per person

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Full day tour, inclusive of return transfers. Should our transfers not be required, please deduct ZAR R250 per person from the above price

Price Includes:
• Luxurious return transfers from Cape Town central area
• Packed breakfast, coffee and tea upon arrival
• Light lunch upon return
• Complimentary beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch
• A fast, yet safe 20 minute boat ride to Dyer Island
• Onboard snacks, drinks and sweets
• Safety briefing and educational presentation
• Scuba diving if required in the cage for experienced divers
• Assisted snorkelling in the cage for inexperienced divers
• Spectacular surface viewing for non divers
• Cape Fur Seals and African Penguin viewing (time dependant)
• Logbook stamp after the tour
• Enjoy land-base whale watching in Hermanus (July to Dec)
• Drop-off at Cape Town International Airport at no extra cost
• Informative en-route tour, indigenous fynbos, apple export farms
• Chance to purchase a high quality DVD of your own shark diving experience

Price Excludes:
• Towel and sea-sick tablets

Approx Itinerary:
* Door-to-door collection from the Cape Town metropolitan area.    
* Arrival in Gansbaai, where you will enjoy a packed breakfast and hot coffee / tea,
  while the safety briefing and other formalities takes place.  
* The boat launches from Kleinbaai Harbour and 20 mins later anchors in or nearby “Shark Alley”.
* Return to Kleinbaai harbour.
* A light lunch is enjoyed while viewing the video of the day.
  A copy of your own personal experience is available after the tour.

Please note: Due to tides and collection schedules, we can only confirm exact collection times at 16h00 the day prior to your tour.

Best Shark Viewing Season:
Our tours run each and every day of the year, as Dyer Island is a good place to see the sharks all year round. The absolute best season is probably in our winter months, when sharks are particularly active in their feeding pattern.  The following guide-line is based on tours we have done over the past 8 years and months may overlap slightly.

Peak Season:   April to October(99% success rate)
High Season:   November to December(90 – 99% success rate)
Int Season :   January to March(80 – 90% success rate)

Water temperatures vary between 16 and 20 degrees celsius during our high season, and between 10 and 16 degrees celsius during our intermediate and low seasons.

What to bring:
Towel, warm weather proof clothing, sunscreen and hat, camera and binoculars, sea-sick tablets and dive card.

Travel Directions:

Directions from Cape Town(please allow 2 hours)
Take the N2 Freeway past the airport and Somerset West. Continue over the Sir Lowry’s Pass towards Hermanus. After passing through the Houwhoek Valley and over the Houwhoek mountains, take the R43 left towards Hermanus. Follow the road through Hermanus and continue out of Hermanus again, towards Stanford. Once you pass Stanford continue for another 20 km, until you enter Gansbaai. As you enter Gansbaai you will be in the main road (police station on the right). Continue over 3 stop streets and after the 3rd stop, take the first road left and immediately left again into our parking area. Please find parking and take one flight of stairs down to our offices. Landmark: On the left of the main road you will clearly see our orange flags, as well as a replica of a shark on top of our building.

Directions from the Garden Route
From the Garden route, heading back towards Cape Town on the N2 freeway, continue past Stormsvlei and then Riviersonderend. Just past Riviersonderend you will see a turn-off to your left, indicating STANFORD /GANSBAAI. Take a left turn here and continue for quite a way until you get to an intersection. Continue over the intersection (following the STANFORD/GANSBAAI indicators) for some distance until you get to a second intersection. You will now be in Stanford. Take a left turn here and continue for 20kms until you enter Gansbaai. As you enter Gansbaai you will be in the main road (police station on the right). Continue over 3 stop streets and after the 3rd stop, take the first road left and immediately left again into our parking area. Please find parking and take one flight of stairs down to our offices. Landmark: On the left of the main road you will clearly see our orange flags, as well as a replica of a shark on top of our building.

Directions from Hermanus
From Hermanus, follow the road towards Gansbaai and continue for 40 km's until you reach Gansbaai (Stanford is the halfway mark between Hermanus and Gansbaai). As you enter Gansbaai you will be in the main road (police station on the right). Continue over 3 stop streets and after the 3rd stop, take the first road left and immediately left again into our parking area. Please find parking and take one flight of stairs down to our offices. Landmark: On the left of the main road you will clearly see our orange flags, as well as a replica of a shark on top of our building.

  
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