Cape Town Travel Forum

Hi all,
I'll try and keep this short and simple. I'm 40 in 2010 and have already started to plan what I should do to mark the occasion. Top of my list is swimming with great white sharks, now SA seem the best place (if not the only) to do this. So is this possible all year round or just selected dates? My birthday is in July so would ideally like to travel then, but is it not winter in SA during July?

Many thanks,
Neil.

neil
hi

did you see the programme on tv about the guy in SA who thinks the great white is a much maligned creature - can't think what it was called but think it was on BBC 2 over the weekend - If you have still got last weeks tele guide -
hope you realise your dream

Yes, July is winter down here, but winter is prime shark viewing season.

July will be perfect for cage diving with the great whites...The soccer world cup will also be over, so the country should be looking good.

Come and enjoy yourself

Regards

Mike

Thanks for the reply's. Had forgot all about the world cup! think this may scupper my plans!!! Yes I did see the program last week on BBC, but that guy was a complete fruit cake! when I/if go swimming with great whites it will be inside a cage.

cheers.

thats exactly what my opinion of him was
alongside one or two of the guys on ice road truckers - glad i don't have their jobs either

Hey, I have friends who scuba dive for work (and pleasure) around here - they obviously do it without cages and they are quite sane. They sometimes get harassed by the great whites, particulary in areas where the sharks have been trained to accociate humans with food. But they are not particularly fearful of the sharks. The shark diving industry has to hype up the danger to get the tourists to pay the money! :-)

World Cup Football dates & venues at:

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/index.html

thanks for the WC dates, just check myself and would you believe it the final is on my birthday!!! I know the final is not in Cape Town but I would think its still going to crazy there???

thanks for the WC dates, just check myself and would you believe it the final is on my birthday!!! I know the final is not in Cape Town but I would think its still going to crazy there???

Hello,
I'm Shark Diving for my 32nd Birthday in May this year in Gaansbai! Great idea for a b-day gift for yourself. I won't return home (US) till June, but I will add some tips and pics to my profile then - you can check them out before your trip in 2010.
They also have shark diving off Guadeloupe in Western Mexico. But i agree that SA seems the better option.

Hi 'klmousseau' it would be excellent if you posted all about your shark experience. Enjoy your trip and lets hope the cage holds together..(lol)

I did the shark cage diving trip last June. It's not so much diving, as you put on a snorkel mask (sans snorkel), and get into the cage that is hanging off the boat, and when the shark comes near you hold your breath and dip your head in the water and watch it. The water is a bit too choppy for a snorkel to make much of a difference, and there isn't much point of having scuba gear on since the shark is near the surface of the water anyway.

I went with this company: www.whitesharkprojects.co.za
I recommend them - they seem to be very concerned about shark conservation and not just about being money hungry for tourism, though I'm sure many of the other companies are similar.

It was a great experience - though if you get sea sick hope for a calm day as a few of us ended up hurling off the side of the boat! And word of advice - (this sounds obvious) - don't partake in a winelands tour the day before going out to sea!

It was great to see them up close - and wasn't remotely scarey like I thought it would be (they really have no interest in trying to eat you). And as everyone else wrote, winter is the best time of year for it (and the full wet suit will keep you warm).