Great White Shark Cage Diving

On our second-to-last day in South Africa, we got to mark another adventure off our bucket list, Cage Diving with Great White Sharks! We dove off the coast of Klansbaai, near Gansbaai, a town famous for its shark diving. After much deliberation, we went with a company called Great White Shark Diving. It cost about $185cdn each for the morning adventure, which we were happy to pay; this was one occasion we didn't think a bargain company would be the best choice.

We arrived at the office early in the morning where we got eggs, cereal, and coffee for breakfast. We were also urged to drink some ginger tea to combat seasickness prior to getting on the boat.

Our boat with the cage on the back. Oh ya, it looks shark proof

When it was time to go, we climbed onto the boat with about 15 other passengers and we were off to sea! About 20 minutes off the coast, the captain found a spot he figured was promising, and we were each given a wet suit to put on, and then subsequently a lolli-pop to fight the sea sickness we were all starting to battle.

Shark bait

The crew members threw some chum into the waters and we all waited with excitement for a shark to catch the smell of lunch. After about an hour of waiting a crew member yelled out excitedly that he saw a shark! The first 8 people clamored into the cage that had been attached to the side of the boat. We bobbed our heads above the water until one of the crew members told us to go down and look left. And there she was! An 8 foot female Great White Shark a few feet from the cage! Pretty incredible. After 20 minutes we got out of the ocean water as we were starting to get chilled, and the next group had their turn. From the boat, I actually got an almost better view of the shark as it glided through the water and chased the tuna head the crew was using as bait.

"You're looking the wrong way Michelle!"

We're gonna need a bigger boat.

We had our underwater camera with us and were lucky enough to catch the 2nd shark on video as he slowly swam by our cage eyeing up lunch. The divemaster told us he was a six to eight footer but from where we were  in the cage he looked to be about 20 feet and as menacing as anything that swims.   

By the end of the day we saw two great white sharks. We knew when we bought the tickets that there was never a guarantee of seeing sharks at all, so we felt extremely lucky.

Rule number 1: Keep toes and fingers inside the cage

The adventure finished off with a hot shower, lasagna lunch back at the office and a video slideshow created by one of the crew members. After overcoming our lingering sea sickness, Dad and I were off to Cape Town to enjoy our final night in Africa. It was still early in the afternoon and we had more sightseeing we wanted to do.