Great White Shark Trips and Tours

Typical Tour

06h45: The guests are met at the Pier, by Rob Lawrence, owner of African Shark Eco-Charters.

Rob welcome’s the guest aboard the boat at let them know what the days forecast is. The crew will give a brief on safety, location of safety equipment and on board facilities and procedures, such as no-go-areas on the vessel for guest. The boat we use is a 36tf GE CAT powered by two Evinrude e-Tec 250hp motors and the boat has a separate change room and toilet as well as a fresh water shower and viewing deck.

07h00: Depart for Seal Island.

07h35: Arrive at Seal Island after which a description of the history of the sight is given and prevailing environmental and meteorological conditions are recorded and what to expect in the next few hours.

08h00-13h00:

Sightings: Any sighting of a great white shark is timed and recorded attempting to identify individual animals. During the course of the morning (07h30-09h00) our observations are based around the great white shark/ seal interaction or predation behaviour which has made Seal Island famous. Our guest are continuously informed by Rob Lawrence about the biology, behaviour, habitat and other factors that are interesting to know about the great white shark and other animals we may encounter.

Later in the morning (09h00-13h00), the boat is anchored in the most favourable position and Rob will give a brief outline of what we intend to do to attract the shark is given. A single piece of tuna is attached to the bait line and placed in the ocean along with a decoy of and seal to lure the shark to the boat. The decoy is made out of carpet material so that it will not cause any damage to the shark.

If the weather conditions are favourable, i.e. good visibility and workable seas, the cage is lowered into the water when the sharks are spotted in the area. Safety precautions and operational procedures are then explained to the diver wishing to enter the cage. The cage can take up to three divers but usally we only have two diving in the cage at any given time.

Every precaution is taken not to injure the great white shark or to give the animal the bait for consumption. The sharks are always worked on the safe side of the boat, i.e. away from the motors.

At noon we offer our guest lunch which usually consists of rolls with cold meats as well as a vegetarian option, accompanied by soft drinks, fruit juice, bottled water and coffee. Our guest are however free to eat snacks and take refreshments that are provided through the course of the day.

13h00-13h30 Return to Simonstown Harbour depending on the weather conditions and shark activity.