Great White Shark Diving, SOUTH AFRICA
Airing Date: Mar 3rd, 2007
Seal Island is the area famous for the legend of "The Submarine" - the notorious white shark in excess of 6 metres that patrolled False Bay, near
Cape Town, South Africa.
Though she has since vanished without trace, a trip to one of her favourite haunts, the seal colony at Seal Island False Bay, delivers amazing results. Research and shark viewing trips to the area have proven highly successful and over the last 4 years, knowledge has been accumulated of the cycle of the ecosystem in False Bay and its key player the great white shark.
There are over 465 species of shark from the giant whale and basking sharks to the small species of pygmy shark. The present day white shark has evolved in roughly its current form from the Eocene period i.e. 37 - 56 million years ago. The evolution of the white shark can be traced through fossil shark teeth and vertebrae which show only slight differences in structure and size from today's 7m version Carcharodon Carcharias.
African Eco Charters offer a number of shark diving tours from a one day Great White Shark diving experience to 10 days trips. All trips run in winter and summer, although winter is a much better time to find the sharks. On the one day trips, tour members are briefed before going to sea.
Once around Seal Island, various measures such as towing a seal shaped decoy take place to attract the sharks. Once sharks have been located, the cage is lowered into the water, the guests gear up and then go down into the cage for a very close encounter with the oceans most terrifying predator.
FURTHER INFORMATION Air Mauritius flies return to Cape Town. Call them on
1300 658 572 Great White Shark Dive - Includes gear hire, snacks and dive. Call
African Eco-Charters on 0011 27 82 567 8915
