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Shark Diving with Marine Dynamics
Will you do it?
Featured in National Geographic's April 2000 issue, Marine Dynamics, a diving operation specializing in encounters with the Great White shark (Carcharodon Carcharias), is based in the fishing village of Gansbaai. Six nautical miles away is Dyer island, possibly the best place in the
world to view these magnificent predators.
The island is a bird sanctuary and a breeding site for the Jackass penguin.
Adjoining it is a second smaller rocky island called Geyser rock which
supports a large seal population. Separating Geyser and Dyer is a channel
aptly named "Shark Alley", arguably THE prime spot in the world
for encountering the Great White shark. more...
Gansbaai and the White Shark Diving Company
One hundred miles west of Cape Town, not far from the merging ocean currents of the south Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, sits Gansbaai, premier eco-resort town for great white shark sighting and cage diving. Africa's west cape is also the jumping-off spot for whale-watching trips that target the Southern Right Whale.
The White Shark Diving Company
The White Shark Diving Company based in Gansbaai, in the Western Cape provides you with the opportunity to find yourself immersed in total adventure, rather than merely being an observer of the passing seascape. On board of their luxury ocean-cruiser it is entirely possible for you to come closer to a great white's jaws than you ever would have imagined. more...
Gansbaai and the White Shark Diving Company
The White Shark Research Institute is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the research of the world's greatest predator, and the preservation of its environment. Their mission statement is to protect and conserve. Their research objectives are to elucidate sufficient accurate data on the white shark to implement management programmes for the ensured survival of the species. Their conservation objectives are to change negative public attitude towards sharks, as it is not possible to ensure the survival of a hated species. more... |
DESTINATIONS » Africa » Kenya | Madagascar | Malawi | Mozambique | South Africa | Tanzania | Zimbabwe
 
Go to South Africa and dive with the Ocean's Big Five: enjoy cage diving with Great White sharks, schools of Hammerheads, Sand Tigers,
Bull sharks and Tiger sharks. There is also wreck, penguin and seal diving. What more could a global diver ask for?
Travel northeast to the country's tropical Indian Ocean coast and you'll find very good coral reefs near massive game preserves where you can track the Earth's Big Five: lions, leopards, elephants, black rhinos and buffaloes. The scenery is stunning, the people are friendly, the food is excellent and the native wine is absolutely superb. A little known fact: South Africa was the first country to ban the catching and killing of Great White sharks.
There are too many excellent dive sites to mention them in details so here is a general overview:
Cape Peninsula
Wreck and seal dives
 Gansbaai
Great White Shark cage diving
Garden Route (Mossel Bay, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay)
Wreck diving, corals, overhangs and whale watching
Kwazulu-Natal Coast (Protea Banks, Aliwal Shoal and Sodwana Bay) Shark diving, wreck diving, reefs, dolphins, turtles, whale sharks, tropical reef and the famous "sardine run."
Durban - Protea Banks
There is spectacular shark diving off Durban and Protea Banks where in winter Copper sharks can be seen spinning out of the water. This
is also the place to see Ragged-tooth sharks, or Sand Tigers, which the South Africans call "raggies." In the summer months, Tiger sharks and Zambezi (Bull sharks) are prolific, especially at Aliwal Shoal.
Sodwana Bay
Sodwana Bay is divided into a number of dive sites with such names as Two Mile Reef and Four Mile Reef indicating the distance from the access point; the closer the reef is to shore, the more popular it is with the dive operators. Each site has something special to offer and reefs such as Two Mile and Anton's are particularly popular due to the large schools of fish, primarily bigeyes and goatfish. This is fairly unusual and provides prime opportunities for photographers. Apart from the many juvenile fish tucked under overhangs, ribbontail rays can be found around the reef, while clown triggerfish display their spectacular coloration amid anthias, scorpionfish, moray eels and many species of parrotfish. Two Mile Reef is the largest reef in the system and is over 2 km (1.2 miles) long and 900m (half a mile) wide, with depths ranging from 9-34m (30-112ft). Five Mile Reef is famous for the delicate miniature staghorn coral gardens that flourish there. Regular sightings of bottlenose dolphin are recorded at Seven Mile Reef.
Aliwal Shoal
The shoal is a submerged rocky reef located approximately 5 km (3 miles) offshore. All diving is by boat and while the ride from the launch site may only take 25 minutes, it may well provide as much excitement as the dive itself. Apart from the many sharks, rays and dolphin, there are anthias, scorpionfish and lionfish, pixie hawkfish, Moorish idols and many species of butterfly and angelfish. Of the wrecks in the area, two of the most interesting are the Nebo and the Produce. Both rest in approximately 30m (100ft) of water and provide refuge for many fish, invertebrates, eels, corals and sponges.
Protea Banks
Swimming with huge schools of sharks is the main attraction. Due to depth restraints, the reef is largely unexplored with divers tending to concentrate on a small stretch that is 4 km (2.5 miles long) and 200m (650ft) wide. Starting at the Northern Pinnacles, a site only for the experienced, divers move south, following the inside ledge which connects the northern part of the reef to the southern part. The Southern Pinnacles has an average depth of 30m (100ft) and its varied topography includes caves and gullies, each favored by different species of fish, both large and small. For divers, the attraction of Protea Banks changes according to the season. Raggedtooth sharks arrive with the cooler countercurrents that flow over the bank during the late winter months and early spring.
They congregate on the reef as part of their mating ritual. Scores of hungry predators invade the area during the August sardine run, while vast shoals of game fish - including barracuda, sailfish, wahoo, kingfish and jobfish, are brought to the banks by the easterly winds that cause thermoclines.
African Dive Adventures
Dive the Big 5 dive safaris
White Shark Diving Company
Africa Safari
Sea Blue Diving
Africa Shark Dive Safaris
The diving season is year-round because South Africa is subtropical, generally warm, and the Cape itself has a Mediterranean climate with dry summers but plentiful winter rainfall. Because of southeasterly summer winds (seasons are the reverse of those in the Northern Hemisphere) most of the diving is done on the colder, Atlantic side of the peninsula. In winter, divers move to the other side of Table Mountain.
Dive Sites of South Africa, Anton Koornhof
The Shark Almanac, Thomas B. All
Lonely Planet South Africa :: Online | Buy
South African Tourist Board
Dive South Africa
Adventure Diving Safaris
DESTINATIONS » Africa » Kenya | Madagascar | Malawi | Mozambique | South Africa | Tanzania | Zimbabwe |