I was a bit dubious to chose White Shark Ventures at first due to the lower number of reviews in comparison to let’s say Marine Dynamics etc but because I had a few restrictions (such as I had to book very last minute, for the following day for various reasons), and White Ventures were the only company with availability, I booked with them (via an external company called Caleb Express Tours) but boy was I wrong to at all doubt their service. They are an excellent company inside and out in my opinion. Everything ran 100% smoothly and I have come away from the experience being thankful that I went with this company.
I am a solo female traveller of 23 (for context) and I got picked up extremely early (5.10am!!) to commence the journey to Gansbaai. I’m not sure how to spell his name (sorry!) but Ivan picked me up and was lovely from start to finish but knows that at that early time, people aren’t too fussed to chit chat and would rather rest or go back to sleep. We had a few more pick ups and then on we went to the dive shop. Once we were there, we had breakfast (there’s a big selection of food and plenty of it, so you won’t go hungry and there’s something for everyone) and then we had a safety meeting and he gave us some general info about sharks, what to expect etc etc.
Once on the boat, it was a 15 minute journey to where we anchored (as explained) and the skippers started to Chum the water. Ivan then gave everyone lots of information and facts about sharks until it was time to get ready. It’s first come first serve, so whoever is ready to go into the cage when it’s time, gets to go first but everyone gets a turn to that’s not really an issue!! If you’re not in the cage, you get a great view from the top deck anyway (what I did after my go in the cage). I went in the cage first and saw 2 GREAT WHITE SHARKS !!!!!!!!! I was so happy, such an incredible experience, you’ll love it. One was bigger and one was smaller. It took a while for them to come but once they did it was amazing. You had about 20 mins in the cage (that would be my guess... I’m not actually too sure) and then the next people went and you warmed up on the front of the bot where the sun is shining! There’s refreshments on board in case you get hungry or thirsty etc. The view of the white sharks is unbelievable from the top deck so even if you don’t fancy going in the cage, you’ll have a great time.
I went in the cage a second time right at the end of the trip as they were asking for volunteers for one last go (5 people went in the cage at a time and we had 22 people on the trip so the last ‘go’ had 3 spaces spare). I think the amount of time you have in the cage/ how often you swap over will depend on 1) how many people dive with White Shark Ventures that day and also 2) luck, how many sharks are about that day!! Although, there was about 4 other boats out on the same day as us and apparently while we were lucky and had pretty much continuous shark action throughout the trip, the other boats were a bit unlucky. So unlucky in fact that towards the end of our trip, a boat came to join next to us to try their luck in our area of the sea to see if they’d see more sharks that way!
After everyone had had their turns, we went back to shore. They provide hot showers and also if you’re not too bothered about a hot shower or the queue is a bit too long, upstairs they provide hot flannels ! Then lunch is served, a hot lunch! We got veggie lasagne, cold slaw and salad. They show you the video of the day which is available for purchase and then talk you through the sharks that you saw and there is some more info about sharks, and the possibility to ask any questions that have not yet been asked/answered throughout the day although you can ask questions any time, not just at this point of the day.
Then after a bit more chill time, we headed back to Cape Town. Ivan was really nice and as it was the beginning of whale season he made some detours and stops to see if we could spot any whales, unfortunately we had used up all of our luck with the sharks but a very nice extra attempt to make our day even better !! The views were beautiful too. Most people slept on the way back and we got into Cape Town just after 4pm. So it’s a full day!!! I was so tired after this day and all the adrenaline.
I never write reviews really unless a company really truly warrants one and I thought they provided a 5 star service and would use them again in a heart beat. I would also recommend this company to anyone wanting to go cage diving with white sharks !!!! My dad is coming to South Africa in a few weeks and I’ve told him to go with this company :)