- Posted by: Carla dos Santos
- September 28, 2007, 2:20 pm
Shark Alley of Dyer Island off South Africa’s west coast is reputed to be the best place in the world to go cage diving with Great White Sharks. Dyer Island is one of two unique areas in the world, where the chances of viewing Great White sharks, are exceptionally high.
The shark cage diving takes place in a narrow channel, Shark Alley, which runs between Dyer Island and Geyser Island. Shark Alley channel is situated approximately 12km offshore from Gansbaai, which is 2 hours drive from Cape Town in the western cape of South Africa.
Once anchored in the Shark Alley channel, a securely designed 6-man steel cage is dropped into the water for shark viewing. The cage floats on the surface of the water, situating divers no more than 1m below the surface. At Gansbaai experienced divers can go scuba dive while inexperienced divers enjoy the same experience by snorkelling.
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Being surface feeders, Great White sharks provide brilliant surface viewing from the safety of the shark-viewing deck of a dive boat. The shark handlers on shark diving tours are trained to bring the shark’s up close against the side of the boat, with the head and the jaws clearly visible.
Drive South Africa tours has recently acquired one of the largest, most modern and luxurious boats available in the shark diving industry. The craft is a newly built stable catamaran, measuring 11 x 3.8 meters and therefore offering ultimate stability at sea. Lunch is served on dive excursions upon your return from cage diving, accompanied by complimentary beer, wine and soft drinks. There are snacks on board the catamaran for the duration of your shark cage dive trip.
On a day tour you will get to see the Cape Fur Seals and African Penguins from the boat, and even whale watch in season (July to December). Due to popularity the shark cage diving spaces with are limited so book ahead for shark cage diving tours. They also offer other tours, such as the Cape Town City and Table Mountain tour and the Cape Winelands tour.
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About the Author
Carla dos Santos is the Product Manager of Drive South Africa Travel. She has worked in the Africa Travel Industry since 1998. Born in Cape Town, with a huge travel bug in her pretty much from birth, Carla started travelling close to home, and fell in love with South Africa.
