Overberg Region - Great White Shark Tours - Arnoud Quanjer Wildlifephotography

Overberg Region - Great White Shark Tours

Wednesday, 10 March 2010 21:12 |

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Shark boat with shark In South Africa one of the most popular things to do next to going on a safari is to go on a great white shark trip. Especially the waters near Cape Town have a high great white density. The most popular spot to go to on a shark trip is Dyer Island. Dyer Island is located about 9 kilometers from the small fishing harbour of Kleinbaai. Just opposite and south of Dyer Island, is a smaller "island" called Geyser Rock, home to a permanent colony of 30 to 40 thousand Cape Fur Seals.
Separating the two island is a narrow and shallow channel called "Shark Alley" or the "Supermarket" (from all the marketing quotes: Always fresh food!). This channel is only 3 to 6 meters deep.
The area surrounding these two islands, as well as the channel, are reputed worldwide to be the best place in the world to observe and dive with the Great White Shark. From April/May through December are the best months to meet these magnificient sharks.

Cage diving

If you are a qualified diver you can go into the water in a cage. I'm not a diver so I haven't done this yet, but seeing the great white from a cage must be the best way to see this giant. I must say that on the four shark trips I've been on I've not seen one occasion where a great white was close enough to the cage for the divers to get a good view. Most of the time the sharks move away the moment the cage is put in the water. It's surprising to see how easily these huge creatures can be frightened.

Getting there

Most of the people that go on a shark trip drive in from Cape Town, go on the shark trip and head back to Cape Town again. I'd recommend staying in Kleinbaai for at least one night. The reason for that is that if
you don't see sharks most of the good operators will offer to take you the next day for free. If you have to back to Cape Town then that is not really an option and then you'll have missed maybe the only chance you'll ever get to see the great white. I've seen this happen to people and I can tell you that they were not amused. There are a number of good guesthouses in Kleinbaai where you can stay and I can personally recommend Aire del Mar guesthouse.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some operators will go out twice in one day. Don't use these operators! A good operator will only go out once a day and stay out on the sea until all the guest have seen enough. If you book an operator that goes out twice on one day chances are that he'll have to go back to get the second group just when you have a good sighting, or even worse before you've seen a single shark.

Great White Shark gallery

Last Updated (Saturday, 27 March 2010 17:04)

Arnoud Quanjer Wildlife Photography