Diving Cape Town - Great White Sharks, Wrecks and Reefs

Diving is possible along most of the South African coast, from Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope along the east coast on the Indian Ocean all the way up to Mozambique.

Starting with Cape Town, the diving is cold as the next stop southwards is the Antarctic! You have the choice here of diving either the Indian Ocean, as with the rest of the country, or trying the Atlantic Ocean, which can offer cold water with rocky reefs and kelp beds. On the Indian Ocean side the water can be slightly warmer and filled with slightly more choice of marine life.

Both shore and boat driving is available from Cape Town with many excellent reefs and wreck sites available to choose from. Have a look at what is on offer around the Cape Point Nature Reserve, which includes many wrecks such as the Portuguese Lusitania liner (which shares its name with the famous World War 1 ship). Tell people that you have dived on the Lusitania and forget to tell them it is only a namesake and watch their jaws drop! The wreck is well broken up, but there is still plenty of the wreck to explore.

There are also some intentional wrecks in this area, sunk to form an artificial reef for the area. These are a diamond dredger names the Rockeater as well as Elizabeth, Oratava, SAS Transvaal and SAS Good Hope. Also sunk to form an artificial diving reef in the area is the SAS Pietermaritzberg, which in its surface life acted as a minesweeper.

There is also an accidental wreck in the form of the British steamer the Maori, which was sank in 1909 after running aground after leaving Hout Bay. Even though it is over a century since the ship sank, it is in a sheltered position and still remains fairly intact to dive and explore.

There are also natural reefs to explore. Try the Outer Castle Reef where you might be able to find the unusual and strangely named Pyjama Cat Shark plus the usual reef marine suspects on offer. Or you could try diving with the Cape Fur seals at Duiker Island.

Of course, discussing diving in South Africa would not be complete without talking about the White Shark cage diving experiences. From the town of Gaansbaai you can embark on one of these experiences to Shark Alley between Dyer and Geyser islands. Unfortunately, there are so many tourists and operators that a sighting of the sharks can is not only an excellent thrill, but also like a conveyor belt of divers and you have to wonder with the sharks free and the humans in the cages, who is watching who.

If you are ready to find out more about the operators diving in South Africa and find who to dive with, pop over to godiving.org. There are plenty of South African diving reviews about the operators in the area.

Keith Lunt owns and writes for godiving.org, a supply of worldwide diving reviews and information about diving gear.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Lunt

If you want to experiance Great White Sharks up close and personal why not go shark cage diving in Gansbaai South Africa? Find out more at this Gansbaai Accommodation site.

White Shark Cage Diving

Gansbaai Accommodation | The Roundhouse

White Shark Diving

This is possibly the greatest thrill that you will ever experience. Just imagine pulling up on the boat in 'Shark Alley', the open stretch of water between the mainland and Dyer Island off Gansbaai, South Africa referred to as the White Shark Diving capital of the world. The wonderful thing about shark diving in Gansbaai is that you only have to take a 20 minute boat ride to Dyer Island. In the winter time we can even see sharks before the shark chum is dropped into the water and it is clear to see why Gansbaai is named as being the most densely populated area for Great White Sharks in the World. We get White Sharks here along the coast all year round but Winter is the best time to come and see these beautiful animals.

The beauty is that in Gansbaai you do not have to be a qualified diver to see the Great White Sharks from the boat or cage. As the cages are mounted next to the boat and floated on the surface it is very easy for inexperienced divers to jump in and take a good look at the Great Whites as they cruise past the cage. For most of the year the divers do not use air or snorkels in the cage as the bubbles tend to make the Great White Sharks nervous and very cautious. We want the shark to be comfortable with the boat and people diving in the cages so that they will come as close as possible. It is not uncommon for a shark's pectoral fin to glide just into the gap in the cage as it swims past.

It is important to stress that you do not have to dive in the cage to see the Great White Sharks. The boat based viewing all year round is exceptional and there are many people who just take the trip to see the Great White Sharks from the boat. Unfortunately there is no difference in price to just view the sharks from the boat. The costs involved are virtually the same with the Chum, Bait, Catering, Crew, Fuel and Environmental taxes. It is simply a bonus if you decide when out there to slip on a wetsuit and jump in the cage to have a closer look.

Your shark tour day...

Upon arrival at your operators crew house, breakfast will be served and you will receive the briefing about the day. You will then take a short walk down to Kleinbaai harbour where 7 of the 8 shark diving boats are based. From here there is a short 15 to 20 minute ride out to Dyer Island where we will find a suitable spot to work with the sharks and anchor.

Once the chum is in the water we must just wait for the first shark to arrive! This could take 2 minutes, 2 hours or in the worst case not at all. The Great White Shark is a wild animal and we are dealing with nature but for most of the year we have a 99% success rate with shark viewings. Once the shark is around the boat divers will kit up and then jump in the cage! No experience is necessary and you can decide to go in the cage when out at sea so there is no pressure. The boat based viewing is exceptional and if you do not want to go in the cage you will still have a memorable day with these beautiful and awesome animals!

All divers will take turns in the cage (4-5 at a time) and it will only take 3 cage rotations for everyone to dive due to the smaller number of clients on the boat compared with some of the boats. This means that you will have ample opportunity to go back into the cage and spend lots of time with the Great White Sharks face to face in their domain.

There is a Videographer on the boat filming the experience and the crew is very experienced and knowledgable about the sharks and area.

Following this ultimate experience with the sharks we will ride back to the harbour (only 15 minutes away) and enjoy lunch at the crew house whilst watching the Video of the Day. You will have the opportunity to buy this on DVD.