Marine Dynamics |
Marine Dynamics Up to 30 Oct 09 R1250-00 p/p 1 Nov 09 onwards R1350-00 p/p Scroll down for detailed rates
White Shark day trip includes:
What to bring:
Duration :
Number of divers on the boat :
Detailed Rates:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Marine Dynamics is a Shark Cage Diving company based in Kleinbaai, a small harbour town, part of Gansbaai in the Western Cape of South Africa. This area is known as the best place in the world to see Great White Sharks in their natural habitat. Marine Dynamics is made up of a team of shark enthusiasts who constantly strive to place shark conservation and education foremost. This is done through educating clients on a daily basis, by conducting research and by maintaining structured marine education and development projects. We collect data on the White Sharks and their environment on a daily basis. This data is for our own research and is forwarded to the Department Marine and Coastal Management. All participants will be involved in the different aspects of this work. Currently, this work involves sexing, sizing and recording markings on white sharks, recording environmental parameters, bite marks on seals and marine birds. Some of the recordings are made directly from the shark boat while other recordings involving bite marks and behaviour on seals and birds is conducted from our whale boat which often puts to sea twice per day, thus allowing us to obtain very important data. There is much controversy surrounding shark cage diving and the effects of this industry on the sharks and their environment, is little known, thus, the data collection is of great importance.
Marine Dynamics staff will meet you in our Marine Room at the Great White House in Kleinbaai before your trip. There are bathroom facilities, as well as a restaurant and gift shop here.
![]() Both Marine Dynamics and Dyer Island Cruises are dedicated to conservation and protection of the environment and wildlife.Wilfred Chivell, owner of Dyer Island Cruises and Marine Dynamics, is certainly the most knowledgeable person about the ecosystem and varied wildlife found onand around Dyer Island. His care and dedication for thehealth of this sensitive ecosystem has lead to the launch of differentconservation projects for the area: Faces of Need - Artificial Penguin Nest Project' which aims? to create 2000 artificial nests on Dyer Island by 2008. His 'Bird Rescue Initiative' has made him the prime transporter of injured and oiled marine birds from the island to shore,from where they are transported to SANCOB in Cape Town for further treatment. The 'Marine Litter Project' aims at educating the public and local communities about the devastating effects of pollution on wildlife whilst also initiating clean ups of the coast. He has vouched his commitment to support there search field work conducted by the White Shark Trust during 2006 in allowing the population information to be gathered from Shark Fever.
At the Marine Dynamics base, The Great White House, you will find a cosy but well stocked souvenir shop. Here you can buy anything from seasickness tablets to shark t-shirts. As an alternative we recommend that you stop at The Great White Adventure Centre. This is the first building as you enter Gansbaai. At the centre you can buy underwater disposable cameras, rent an underwater digital camera and more. This shop has a huge selection of white shark souvenirs for you to remember your day by. One souvenir that is only available from Marine Dynamics though is of course your day trip DVD. The DVD can be purchased after the trip at a cost of R350-00.
Download your 20% Discount voucher for the shark souvenir shop here along with directions.
|
The boat, Shark Fever, was specifically designed and built by Gecat in St Francis Bay, Port Elizabeth. It is 10.7 metres in length, has a cabin, toilet, open deck and a diving platform. We operate with environmentally friendly 300 hp Suzuki 4 stroke outboard engines which exceed the EU 2006 standards for low emissions. The boat is surveyed annually by the SA Maritime Safety Authority, conforms to its specifications and is licensed for 20 passengers and 4 crew. Safety equipment includes first aid kit, radio and cellular phone. She also has a lovely observation deck for photography enthusiasts.
Up to five people can go into the cage at any time. The cage remains afloat and about 60 centimeters of the cage floats above the water at all time. The cage is also solidly attached to the boat withtwo thick ropes that further prevent it from sinking or drifting away from the boat. The bottom of the cage is lying about two meters below the surface. The shark cage is constructed with galvanized steel,equipped with many independent flotation devices to keep it aloft, attached tothe boat with solid ropes and closed by a solid lid. Any reports or images that you may have read about, or watched involving White Sharks attacking cages,have all been triggered by the crew on the boat, and are the result of unnatural provocation. Provoked stimuli. Marine Dynamics strives to respect the Sharks and will not provide you with thrills like these in order to give you afalse Jaws experience. The cage, although attached to the boat, is free floating, so should a Shark charge the cage at full speed (which would never happen in a normal unprovoked situation), the cage will just bounce off and absorb the impact force. Sharks have a sixth sense, the Ampullae of Lorenziniare sensory organs spread mainly through out the snout and head of Sharks, and allow the Sharks to sense magnetic fields to find potential or hidden prey in darkness, or murky conditions. The Shark cages and boat engines being metallic objects and connected to batteries will generate a magnetic field to which the Sharks are sometimes drawn by curiosity. The Shark will generally mouth the cage or engines in a gentle testing manner.. The cage is indestructible and youwill be 100% safe from the Sharks, but the cage can be a potentially dangerous object from other aspects: if the crew decides that the sea conditions are too rough for cage diving, it will not be without reason, and you should respect their decision in not risking your life and health.
You should also feel comfortable in the water, and preferably have some snorkeling experience. The cage can be a strange and intimidating environment, and the knowledge that Great White Sharks are swimming in close proximity might also enhance any anxiety. So the main potential risks involved in the shark cages are from injuries climbing in or out of the cage, and swallowing water or drowning. Make sure that you get used to a mask and ensure that you feel comfortable before entering the cage. The dive gear supplied is a 7 ml wetsuit (ranging from sizes Small to 4 XL) with booties and hoodie plus mask. We make use of the breath hold method and this has proven to be the best method.
Cost per person for 4 weeks: R15 000-00 (ZAR) Any additional weeks: R3500 per week
The learning part of the programme will consist of the following:
More about the volunteer programme...
Use the ENQUIRE NOW button if you still have some questions or if you are enquiring about availability during December. Use the BOOK NOW button once you are ready to book and receive a voucher within 24 hours or less.
You can also call us: Phone (Mobile) +27 (0)82 459 5522 Landline (UK) 08714749647 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© -
White Shark Cage Diving - Central Booking Office
Search Maestros -
Website Management - 2003/
















