Shark Week is nearing its end, but South African Tourism is encouraging fans to visit and get up close and personal with the toothy fish.
Here are the top five ways visitors can get quality one-on-one time with sharks in South Africa:
- At Cape Town’s False Bay, KwaZulu-Natal’s Aliwal Shoal and the aptly named Shark Alley near the fishing village of Gansbaai, adventurers can try actual scuba-diving with sharks.
- Not scuba-qualified? No problem! Opt for a face-to-face encounter with a Great White shark from a secure shark-diving cage, which actually involves no diving at all. Operators in Hout Bay, Dyer Island, Mossel Bay and KleinBaai in Cape Town and from Rocky Bay out of Durban offer this activity.
- Those looking to stay dry can book charters operating out of larger coastal towns on South Africa’s east and west coasts that offer shark spotting tours.
- Those who prefer to catch these creatures from afar should visit Seal Island in False Bay for an almost guaranteed shark sighting. Seal Island is home to over 60,000 squalling Cape fur seals – the shark's prey of choice.
- Also on land, visitors can brush up on marine life history, browse shark-dedicated exhibits, or even catch a diving show at one of South Africa’s two world-class aquariums – Cape Town’s Two Oceans Aquarium and Durban’s uShaka Marine World.