2008 News Archive - Holidays - Swim with the sharks

13 03 2007

There's a vast range of things to do in South Africa on land, but with such a long coastline nobody should ever forget the sea.

Eco-tourism is big in South Africa and that includes the great white shark, once the subject of scary films but now endangered, a fish whose greatest concentration of numbers is off the southern coast of the continent, no more so than at Gansbaai in the Eastern Cape.

To get in closer touch with these remarkable creatures, the adventurous can jump in a cage and swim with them off the coast, enjoying a thrilling and perhaps frightening close-up view of these razor-toothed predators from the safety of being the right side of the bars anytime between March and October.

Gansbaai is known as the great white shark capital of the world, but has plenty of other attractions for wildlife seekers, with Dyer Island hosting African Penguins and Geyser Island being home to the White Seal.

Visitors staying in the town can enjoy the beaches and coastal scenery while also being within striking distance of the urban delights of Cape Town and the floral splendour of the Garden Route.