The best time to experience a safari in South Africa is from June to September when it is dry and the animals move to the waterholes. This is the best time to see game as the grass is low, the weather is temperate and the animals concentrate in areas where they are visible.

 Spring flowers

August to September is the perfect time to visit the West Coast Spring Flowers. On our new 9 Day, Karoo, Kalahari and West Coast Tour, we will take you into the heart of this area and you can dance around in the flowers to your hearts content!

Whale watching

From June to December the whales move closer to the coast and are easier to spot. The main concentration of whales can be seen in Hermanus and False Bay… there are also the smaller bays inbetween which are less accessible but the rewards of spotting a whale without the crowds is a wonderful experience.

Read more

The Roundhouse B&B is part of a total tourist experience in Gansbaai. We offer Gansbaai accommodation and bed & breakfast facilities in the undisputed best place in the world for Land Based Whale watching. This the perfect spot for a stay over when embarking on one of the famous shark cage diving excursions in the area.

We own the central booking office for the White Shark cage diving and Whale watching and can book you these activities along with your stay.

Great White Shark Cage Diving

Tour Price = R1350
Duration = 4 to 6 hours
Included = Breakfast, Lunch, Drinks and Snacks, All gear
Bring: Hat, Sunscreen, Board Shorts / Swimming Costume, Sunglasses, Camera, Towel

Upon arrival at your operators crew house, breakfast will be served and you will receive the briefing about the day. You will then take a short walk down to Kleinbaai harbour where 7 of the 8 shark diving boats are based. From here there is a short 15 to 20 minute ride out to Dyer Island where we will find a suitable spot to work with the sharks and anchor.

Once the chum is in the water we must just wait for the first shark to arrive! This could take 2 minutes, 2 hours or in the worst case not at all. The Great White Shark is a wild animal and we are dealing with nature but for most of the year we have a 99% success rate with shark viewings. Once the shark is around the boat divers will kit up and then jump in the cage! No experience is necessary and you can decide to go in the cage when out at sea so there is no pressure. The boat based viewing is exceptional and if you do not want to go in the cage you will still have a memorable day with these beautiful and awesome animals!

All divers will take turns in the cage (4-5 at a time) and it will only take 3 cage rotations for everyone to dive due to the smaller number of clients on the boat compared with some of the boats. This means that you will have ample opportunity to go back into the cage and spend lots of time with the Great White Sharks face to face in their domain.

There is a Videographer on the boat filming the experience and the crew is very experienced and knowledgable about the sharks and area.

Following this ultimate experience with the sharks we will ride back to the harbour (only 15 minutes away) and enjoy lunch at the crew house whilst watching the Video of the Day. You will have the opportunity to buy this on DVD.

The Roundhouse B&B

White Shark is a 12 meter long sea-cabin cruiser Cat It has been custom built to the specifications required in the shark cage diving industry.

She is the most recent boat built in the shark cage diving industry with the most modern design and requirements installed.

Engines: The new 4-stroke outboard – with 4.0 liter displacement, a 24-valve V6 powerhead with dual overhead Suzuki, offers more speed, more acceleration and more performance than any outboard ever made. It’s the world’s strongest cams, with variable valve timing, and a new streamlined lower unit that slices through water like a hot knife through butter. There has never been so much power in an outboard.

However the real reason White Shark Diving Co uses these outboards is due to the eco friendly nature of their emissions. The ultra low emissions can hardly be noticed. In fact you can hardly notice the engines when switched on.

Shark Cage Diving

Extreme Scene, Cape Town based adventure tour operators, offer adventurers an incredible opportunity to dive with great white sharks in Gansbaai, the great white shark capital of the world. Face one of the world’s most fearsome creatures in Shark Alley, a deep channel between Dyer and Geyser Islands, just off the Gansbaai coast. This exhilarating Cape Town shark cage diving tour includes a brief orientation, all the necessary equipment and a light lunch. Have a look at the Extreme Scene website to find out more about this exciting Cape Town adventure tour.

Scuba Mozambique provides travellers with a comprehensive guide to the best Mozambique dive destinations offering complete dive packages and excellent Mozambique accommodation. Dive with giant whale sharks in Praia do Tofo, explore the beautiful town of Vilanculos or admire the beach and lagoon from the luxurious Barra Lodge. Visit the Scuba Mozambique website to find out more about these incredible dive packages.

The Roundhouse guest house, situated along the picturesque South African coast, offers unparalleled hospitality and a unique design which continues to intrigue and excite guests. With its luxurious suites, phenomenal scenic views and exceptional service this Gansbaai accommodation has all the elements of a world class establishment. The Roundhouse website offers an intimate look at this Gansbaai bed & breakfast.

This is due to the 30 000 strong Cape Fur Seal colony that inhabit Dyer Island, which is the Great White predators primary source of nutrition. The Great White Shark is a surface feeder and thus all the activity takes place on or very close to the surface, due to this, the surface viewing from the boat is excellent.

• You do not need any diving certification to do the cage dive.
• We limit the numbers per trip to exclusively ’12′ to insure each of our divers receives maximum ‘Cage’ time! (A larger vessel can be chartered if teams/groups exceed this number)
• The ride to the dive sight takes15 – 20 minutes where we anchor for between 4 and 5 hours.
• Diving time is unlimited, and for the first dive you stay in the cage for about 30 – 45 minutes
• We use a 5 person cage and so there is plenty of time to cage dive. (We can guarantee you at least 2-3 dives, depending on the shark activity for the day).

Scuba Diving With The Great White Sharks

Once the sharks are around, a specially designed, four-man shark cage, that floats right bellow the surface, is lowered into the clear aquamarine waters. Divers with at least snorkel or regulator experience, may enter the cage where they hold on to its inside ring still out of the water, waiting for the shark to approach closer. This part of the cage is still out of the water /40cm/. Only on the dive master ‘s command they descend. Divers are never more than 1 meter below the surface.

Divers comfortably step into the cage from the side of the boat. Once in the diving cage, they breath through the “hooker system” /air supplied from the surface on the extended hose, instead of BCD and cylinders on the back/, or just taking and holding their breath. According to our experience this is a well-suited method, providing the safest and most comfortable dive.

Shark Cage Diving

The best time of the year to cage dive with white sharks is from April to September. Four to five sharks are usually encountered in a day with as many as 18 sharks having been encountered on some outings. We have a 95% success rate in terms of daily sightings during the high season. Great white sharks prefer a diet of game fish and from May to October the latter are in abundance. Great whites are also known to feed on seals and carrion. October to December, being the pupping season for some 35,000 seals on Geyser Island, results in an ample food supply of drowned pups in the surrounding coastal waters. Although great whites may be sighted during the low season, the abundance of food in the area makes luring to the boat more difficult.

The water temperature ranges between 55° and 65° F and divers take turns in the cage, each staying approximately 15-20 minutes. A diver can expect to make two to three dives per day if good weather, sea conditions, shark activity and visibility prevails. Visibility is between 4m to 6m on average, but may exceed 15m on a clear day.
Sharks may brush the cage, but to date an attack on the cage has not been reported.

Read up on a recent White Shark Diving Review.

Source: Shark cage Diving

Deciding whether scuba diving is right for you depends solely on your personality. If you’re someone who enjoys swimming, exploring, and adventurous activities, then chances are you will thoroughly enjoy scuba diving. However, in order to complete the training and scuba dive safely and successfully you must also be in good physical health.

If you have an interest in scuba diving you can get your feet wet through scuba instruction. In order to participate in scuba diving in open water, you must be trained and certified in scuba. You can find a host of training facilities in towns and cities throughout the world – regardless of whether or not you live near the ocean. Scuba diving instruction is given in indoor pools because of the controlled environment. But before water work even begins, students are given extensive classroom instruction to familiarize them with the essentials of scuba diving.

Once in the pool, the instructor will put the classroom instruction into practice, allowing students to practice techniques associated with scuba diving. Scuba diving instruction can take place over many weeks; it is imperative that students receive thorough training in order to ensure their safety. The culmination of training will be your certification in scuba diving. And you’re on your way.

Reputable instructors can certainly point you in the direction of finding scuba gear that will be essential for your dives. Equipment necessary for scuba diving includes a wetsuit, flippers, eye and face mask, and oxygen tank and accessories. You also have the ability to rent equipment prior to any dives; just be sure that you are taken out by scuba professionals who are reputable and experienced.

Scuba diving can be an unbelievable experience that will forever transform you. Take the steps necessary to ensure your safety and the rest is pure enjoyment.

Source: Article Base
Shark Cage Diving Tours

Traditional perceptions of holidays in South Africa conjure up images of vast open plains, roaring lions and beautiful game lodges, names of regions such as the Kruger National Park immediately come into people’s minds.

What is less well known is the incredible diversity of scuba diving that is on offer for visitors of all levels of experience. From the cooler waters around the Western Cape, up to the tropical waters around Sodwana Bay near the Mozambique border. South Africa undoubtedly offers some of the finest scuba diving throughout Africa, and in sites such as Protea Banks, Aliwal Shoals and Sodwana Bay, arguably some of the best in the world.

The nature of the scuba diving off the coast of South Africa tends to be dictated by its unique geographical location on the southernmost tip of Africa, the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The area around Cape Town and the Western Cape tends to offer diving in cooler waters, typically with lower visibility. Whereas further up the coast towards KwaZulu Natal, an increase in the water temperatures and visibility tends to offer diving more in keeping with more tropical locations.

Understandably, the large variation in the water temperatures, have resulted in a variety of different marine life inhabiting the coast line of South Africa, ranging from the notorious Great White Sharks found around the Gansbaai and Cape Town areas, through to the dolphins and manta rays of tropical Sodwana Bay.

The scuba diving in South Africa tends to focus predominantly around two main regions, the Western Cape and the Garden Route, and the almost legendary sites in Sodwana Bay, Aliwal Shoals and Protea Banks which are found further north within KwaZulu Natal. Whilst there is a great diversity of diving on offer throughout South Africa, it would be safe to say that the standard of diving here is of a consistently high standard, with each site having something to offer the majority of divers.

Located within the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park, Sodwana Bay is arguably the pick of the fantastic dive sites in South Africa. Its warm, clear waters, and stunning reefs and rich variety of corals act merely as a veneer to what rich rewards lie within these beautiful waters. Huge Potato Bass, morays and manta rays are all regular inhabitants of sites such as Nine Mile Reef, Three Mile Reef and Antons.

Despite this rich variety of marine and coral life in the waters of Sodwana Bay, it is the opportunities for scuba diving with the large populations of sharks, and particularly the Ragged Tooth Sharks that people visit the region. Here in Sodwana Bay, as well as Protea Banks and Aliwal Shoals, are some of the finest shark diving locations in world. Alongside the Ragged Tooth sharks, large populations of Bull Sharks, Thresher Sharks and Hammerheads regularly inhabit the waters off the coast of KwaZulu Natal.

Diving in South Africa is available all year round, although the majority of visitors to the region tend to visit during the summer months of late November through to February. Water temperatures vary greatly with location, with the Atlantic Ocean cooling the waters off the Western Cape to around 10 – 14 degrees Celsius whereas the more tropical waters around Sodwana Bay tend to average around 20 – 21 degrees.

Throughout South Africa, large numbers of dive operators offer a variety of scuba diving courses across all the major accreditation agencies, and overall, the standard of dive operator tends to be relatively high. Good local knowledge, well maintained equipment and boats tend to be the norm in a region that is looking to attract an increasing number of scuba divers to its waters.
Overall, South Africa offers a wide range of unique diving experiences, and has something to offer scuba divers of all experiences. With South Africa becoming increasingly aware of its rich wildlife heritage, on land and in the water, it only bodes well for future visitors to this beautiful country.

Source: Ezine Articles
Shark Cage Diving Tours
]]> http://sharkcruises.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/more-than-just-sharks-scuba-diving-in-south-africa/feed/ 0 sharkcruises http://sharkcruises.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/information-on-shark-cage-and-great-white-shark-diving/ http://sharkcruises.wordpress.com/2009/07/14/information-on-shark-cage-and-great-white-shark-diving/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:41:49 +0000 sharkcruises http://sharkcruises.wordpress.com/?p=17 ]]> We dive out at Dyer Island which is situated off the coast from Kleinbaai (Gansbaai). Between the months of May through October is considered to be the best time to view the Great White Shark, although they are seen throughout the year!

This is due to the 30 000 strong Cape Fur Seal colony that inhabit Dyer Island, which is the Great White predators primary source of nutrition. The Great White Shark is a surface feeder and thus all the activity takes place on or very close to the surface, due to this, the surface viewing from the boat is excellent.

• You do not need any diving certification to do the cage dive.
• We limit the numbers per trip to exclusively ‘12’ to insure each of our divers receives maximum ‘Cage’ time! (A larger vessel can be chartered if teams/groups exceed this number)
• The ride to the dive sight takes15 – 20 minutes where we anchor for between 4 and 5 hours.
• Diving time is unlimited, and for the first dive you stay in the cage for about 30 – 45 minutes
• We use a 5 person cage and so there is plenty of time to cage dive. (We can guarantee you at least 2-3 dives, depending on the shark activity for the day).

Scuba Diving With The Great White Sharks

Once the sharks are around, a specially designed, four-man shark cage, that floats right bellow the surface, is lowered into the clear aquamarine waters. Divers with at least snorkel or regulator experience, may enter the cage where they hold on to its inside ring still out of the water, waiting for the shark to approach closer. This part of the cage is still out of the water /40cm/. Only on the dive master ‘s command they descend. Divers are never more than 1 meter below the surface.

Divers comfortably step into the cage from the side of the boat. Once in the diving cage, they breath through the “hooker system” /air supplied from the surface on the extended hose, instead of BCD and cylinders on the back/, or just taking and holding their breath. According to our experience this is a well-suited method, providing the safest and most comfortable dive.

Shark Cage Diving

The best time of the year to cage dive with white sharks is from April to September. Four to five sharks are usually encountered in a day with as many as 18 sharks having been encountered on some outings. We have a 95% success rate in terms of daily sightings during the high season. Great white sharks prefer a diet of game fish and from May to October the latter are in abundance. Great whites are also known to feed on seals and carrion. October to December, being the pupping season for some 35,000 seals on Geyser Island, results in an ample food supply of drowned pups in the surrounding coastal waters. Although great whites may be sighted during the low season, the abundance of food in the area makes luring to the boat more difficult.

The water temperature ranges between 55° and 65° F and divers take turns in the cage, each staying approximately 15-20 minutes. A diver can expect to make two to three dives per day if good weather, sea conditions, shark activity and visibility prevails. Visibility is between 4m to 6m on average, but may exceed 15m on a clear day.
Sharks may brush the cage, but to date an attack on the cage has not been reported.

Source: Shark Cage Diving | Scuba Diving