Cape Town Travel Forum

Hi people,
I will be in CT from 16-19 Aug. Can someone advise me about Shark cage diving/ Breaching locations- I am confused about 'Dyer island' & 'Seal Island'. Operators taking you to D-island claim both are similar, those taking you to S-island claim the other is commercial and hence justify their higher price for a trip to S-island. Can one spot whales on this trip or does one have to take a seperate tour for whale watching. Do whales come close to the boats or as someone suggested that one can very easily see them from the shore? Apart from hermanus which is the best place to see them from- closer to Cape town?
Is a trip to Robben Island worth it considering we are in CT for 3 days only.
We are hiring a car. Is it worth taking an organised tour to Cape Peninsula or can one find a guide once we get there? Or is a guide even necessary?
Anyone done deep sea/off-shore fishing? Is it fun/exciting? We are quite excited about it. What chances of the trip getting cancelled due to bad weather?
Thx

I took the 1Pm ferry to Robben Island and I think it was a great experience, not only because of the history of Robben island and seeing where Mandela was incarecerated for years --- but also because I got the best views of Table Mountain from the ferry ride! I think I arrived back to Cape Town past 4 or maybe even 5 PM. You could have things scvheduled in the morning and still get to see this hisotrical island, although at 1PM be forewarned that the lines may be long. 3 days may not be enough but with adequate planning you may be able to do fishing and shark cage-diving as well (good luck with the sharks, hehehe...I never did it but not sure if I have the guts to do it...) Take care, Norman :)

Seal Island is a small land mass located 5.7 km off the northern beaches of False Bay, near Cape Town, in South Africa. The island is so named because of the great number of Cape Fur Seals that occupy it. There are a few sea birds as well. It is an outcrop of the Cape granite and rises no more than about six metres above the high tide mark. The island is long and narrow, 800 metre long and only 50 metre wide. There is no vegetation or soil of any significance.

Regarding the tour of the peninsula- a guided tour is not needed- nor a guide. Roads are good, and traffic flows freely. Just pick up a tourist brochure, buy a good map, and explore. The coastal drives are really beautiful. Especially Chapmans peak. You can also drive to Cape Point.

Hi, I went sharkcage diving on Saturday and I must say that it is truly a heart throbbing experience that everyone should attempt at leaset once in their life. We did Dyer Island which was about a 20 minute boat ride from shore to the anchor location. Along the way we encountered quite a few whale sightings, about 4 meters from where we were anchored was an area better known as Shark alley which was an area between dyer and shark island where there were over 60 seals relaxing. This trip you can do in one day inclusive of a pick up and drop off transfer anywhere in Cape Town as well as breakfast (should you be doing the morning trip), after which a light lunch is served.

I have also been to Robben Island and found it to be quite interesting considering everything I learnt about my countries history....truly touching :)

It's not necessary to do a guided tour for the Peninsula, but it is a plus. I did a day tour called the grand cape peninsula tour which included the following visits...

Clifton Beaches,Hout Bay & Mariners' Wharf, Boat ride to view seals (optional)
Chapman's Peak Drive/Ou Kaapse Weg, Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve,Penguin colony at the Boulders, Historic Simon's Town, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, you have an option of replacing Kirstenbosch with Groot Constantia Wine Estate.

All very affordable and worth it

Sorry I mean 60 000 seals and not 60 :)

Hi. Agree with other posters. Robben Island is worth it. If you don't see whales on the boat trip, you may want to head a long the coast to Hermanus or Gansbaai, but I think August is quite early to be 'gauranteed' a viewing. You don't need a guide for Cape Peninsula etc. (by the way, my understanding is that Chapman's Peak Drive is unfortunately closed at the moment?) or for other day trips out of town (e.g. winelands, Constantia etc.). In town, you could do the 'hop on, hop off' tourist bus which is regular and does good routes, saving you too much walking or driving / parking etc. I wanted to do some deep sea fishing, but couldn't find anyone that would recommend it in Cape Town area (more SA sea fishing is further east where there are warmer waters) and the weather is a risk.

http://www.capetownmagazine.com/tododay/Western-Cape/Great-White-Shark-Diving-in-Gansbaai-near-Cape-Town~221

I met a couple of people that did it, and swear by the experience, hope this article and contact will help. Enjoy.

There is a "HOP ON, HOP OFF" bus which you can find at the waterfront and the city. It cost around R120 for the whole day. They take you all over the Peninsula and there's a guide on it too.