Your Trip & FAQs

MORE INFO

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT

Your shark cage dive trip starts in Kleinbaai, just a few minutes’ drive outside of Gansbaai. Early morning you arrive at your shark operators’ crew house. 

Enjoy breakfast on location whilst listening to the dive briefing. Choose your wetsuit and other gear to be loaded onto the boat before walking down to the jetty ready to depart. 

The boat sets off on a 20-minute journey before anchoring either in the famous Shark Alley or nearby. The boat is operated by qualified and competent crew members. The crew includes a skipper, divemaster and deckhands. The crew members are also trained in skills such as firefighting and first aid.

After anchoring, the crew starts to chum for the sharks. Chum is a mixture of tuna heads; pilchards and fish oil all mixed up and blended with seawater. This mixture is thrown overboard almost continuously throughout the day in order to create an oily chum slick.

The chum slick gets carried into the current and when a great white shark swims across the current and smells the chum, it swims up to the chum slick towards the boat to investigate and scavenge on this “dead animal” that it had smelled.

It is for this purpose that the crew now also throws a tuna head on a rope into the ocean. The shark sees this and then stays interested in the boat as otherwise, it would circle the boat once or twice and then leave. The bait is not fed to the sharks but it is kept in the water in order to keep the sharks’ interest in the boat and cage.

Once the sharks have arrived the cage is put in the water. Should the sharks be comfortable with the cage and they hang around the first divers may enter the cage. Before you get into the cage you put your dive gear on which includes a wetsuit with hoodie and booties along with a mask. Not all boats supply weight belts so make sure that you request this prior to your trip should you wish to use it.

No air devices are used. The sharks do not like the noise or sight of bubbles and as we want them to come as close to the cage as possible we simply let you hold your breath and pull yourself below the water for a few seconds at a time.

As the sharks mostly circle the boat you will have more than enough dive time to view the sharks as they pass the front of the cage.
You will spend about 20 minutes in the cage after which another set of divers will enter the cage whilst you enjoying the viewing from the boat. 

Should you not wish to do the cage diving, don’t worry. The viewing from the boat is exceptional and as a non-diver, you will also have an awesome experience! For those die-hard divers out there, you are welcome to enter the cage a second time.

The boat is at sea for roughly 2,5 to 3 hours depending on the weather and sea conditions. Onboard you can enjoy the complimentary mineral water, snacks and drinks. No alcohol or smoking is allowed on any of the shark cage diving boats in Gansbaai.

The boat returns to Kleinbaai harbour and all the divers and non-divers now get a chance to view the day trip DVD whilst enjoying lunch. The day trip DVD is a DVD which is filmed on the day of the trip. The film is of the entire group and you have an option to purchase this as a souvenir. It is immediately available after your shark trip.