Experience: Cage Diving With Sharks In Cape Town, South Africa
Intro
Cage diving with sharks is one of those experiences where I feel like I have to do it once in my lifetime, much like trekking the gorillas. For most of my life, I have been completely petrified of sharks for some odd reason, even though I have been trying to learn to love them and appreciate them more. However, I figured that I would jump in the water to scare the fear out of me. Did it work? Not really 🤣.
Details About The Trip
If cage diving is something that you want to do, there are a couple of different options when it comes to companies. I decided to go with African Shark Eco Charters, which turned out to be a good company for this adventure. The guides were knowledgeable and very transparent about what to expect. However, most importantly, it was safe. At 3,500 rand, I felt that this was reasonable for the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Cage diving with sharks in Cape Town has changed drastically in the past 6 years since the Orcas have moved in. Very few great whites have been spotted in the waters off Cape Town in this period of time, and thus, the Bronze Whaler is the main shark customers will see.
The Excursion
On a cold, peak-winter Wednesday morning, the driver from the shark company came to pick me up from my Airbnb. Thankfully, in the 3500 rand price of the excursion, round-trip shared transfers were included.
Considering that the drive over to the cage diving launch point was about an hour, it seemed to fly by as the driver was a very kind man from the DRC (which I had just been to). It's always cool to share stories with different people, and this man was no different.
Arriving by 7:00 am for our launch, we were greeted by the small but quaint office that Eco Charters has by the docks. We were checked in for the adventure and given a small dry bag before heading off to our boat for the day.
The main guide onboard, a lovely lady from South Africa, gave us a quick rundown of the trip for the day. Our first stop would be about 30 minutes away at Seal Island, one of the most well-known tourist spots in Cape Town.
When we arrived at Seal Island. all that I could smell was seal poop the whole time. Even though we were maybe 100 meters away, it was one of the strongest smells I have ever encountered. Cool experience otherwise 🤣
Following a quick stop off at Seal Island, we headed over to go to the place where we would drop anchor.
How does cage diving work in a big group (8 people onboard). Well, there is a cage that they attach to the side of the boat, which can hold up to four people at a time. Each customer gets 20 minutes inside the cage for the whole trip, but seeing a shark is obviously not guaranteed.
Sure enough, just wanting to get in the freezing cold water, I decided to be the first one into the water. Seeing as it was winter and the water temperature was around 60 degrees F, we were fitted up in wetsuits from head to toe (provided by the company).
This is the point where you think to yourself, "What are you really doing with your life?". It's very different from free swimming with baby blacktip sharks in Bora Bora versus jumping in with a 12-foot bronze whaler shark.
Once we got to the spot, it was time to attract the sharks to the cage. For this, there is a team of people who chum the waters and create a ruckus, bringing the sharks up from the depths to the surface. Once a shark is sighted and it stays on top for a few minutes, customers jump into the cage.
So, how was it? IT WAS FRIGGIN COLD. Unfortunately, the visibility on most days in the winter isn't great, so I only got a couple of brief looks at the Bronze Whaler underwater. Thankfully, we were provided with oxygen tanks, which meant I could stay under them for better viewing, but it was still cold no matter what. It wasn't as scary as I anticipated, and the water didn't turn brown 😅. In fact, it was actually quite cool to see a decent-sized shark up close.
The 20 minutes quickly came to an end, and the next group of four was ready to jump straight into the cage. The boat had a nice viewing tower on top to look out over the sharks, which honestly provided a better view than being in the cage.
After all was said and done, we headed back into Port (about a 25-30 min ride) and back to a human-infested area, not sharks 😂. A quick refreshing beer and it was back off to my Airbnb in Cape Town!
Final Thoughts
If cage diving with sharks has long been on your bucket list, African Eco Charters provided a fantastic experience for me. The staff were some of the kindest and most knowledgeable people I have met; they were fully transparent about what to expect, and the booking process was flawless. Now, just be aware that cage diving isn't quite what it was like many years ago. So, if you are okay with that, you are going to have a great trip. If not, I might suggest looking elsewhere if great whites are the sharks you want to see.
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