In February 2024, the second Ultimate South African Dive Safari took place, a very special package organized once again by CW Azores.
Our Mona and Marty traveled to South Africa to meet a great group of divers and nature enthusiasts and show them around with the help of the team at Shark Explorers, the local dive operator in Cape Town.
Have a read at what they got up to and saw on this epic expedition! Should you wish to join this trip yourself, then have a look at our special expeditions page for the 2025 dates!
Day 1
The first day of the expedition started with picking up our guests at the Cape Town International Airport. After a 40-minute drive from the airport to Simon’s Town, where we would be based for our stay, we arrived at the Quayside Hotel. The hotel is located right in the center of the town and overlooks the pier where most of our boat trips would depart from.
After checking in to the hotel, the guests had some free time to relax and explore the area before we headed out for our first meal together at one of the many local restaurants around Simon’s Town.
Day 2
On this day, the wind was blowing and there was a large swell running in False Bay, so we decided to wait till the next day for our first dives.
Luckily, we always have a plan B to make the best out of the ever-changing weather conditions around Cape Town.
After breakfast, we dropped off our dive gear and got on the bus with our driver, Warren, to explore the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve.
In the reserve, we first visited the visitors' center to learn more about the flora and fauna. From there, we went to the old lighthouse that was decommissioned in 1919 to enjoy the beautiful views over False Bay and towards Cape Point.
A Breezy Cape Point. Photo by Marty Schouten.
Some of our guests even decided to hike from the lighthouse to the Southwestern most point of Africa, a 45-min walk along the coast with great views. During our stay in the park we spotted baboons, gemsbok and we had a great encounter with five ostriches!
Day 3
Diving day! The weather cleared up really nicely and the swell came down a lot, so after a good breakfast, we headed out into the bay for our first dives of the trip.
On the first dive we explored a beautiful stretch of kelp forest, a first for all of our guests, and they loved it!
The visibility was great, and we spotted the first few cat shark species, many species of endemic fish, and we were all left in awe by the surprisingly vibrant and colorful reef underneath the kelp canopy.
For the second dive we visited the Partridge Point seal colony. After a short swim from the boat over yet another beautiful reef, we arrived at a spot where the Cape fur seals were hanging out in the water.
Fur seal in a kelp forest. Photo by Marty Schouten.
The guests were all massively entertained by these ocean acrobats twirling all around us for the rest of the dive.
Day 4
To the deep! The weather forecast looked good to make the long trip out into the deep to look for Blue sharks and Mako sharks.
We left the harbor early for the first leg of the trip to Cape Point after a quick stop to take a few photos of this iconic landmark. We headed offshore to look for a good body of blue water and signs of life, which we found about 10 miles from land.
After about one hour of chumming, we saw the first shark, a beautiful 2-meter female Mako.
We spent half an hour in the water, snorkeling with her and got some great photos before she decided to leave.
Mako shark. Photo by Marty Schouten.
No blue sharks showed up, so we decided to do another chum line. Only a few minutes into this new line, a big fin broke the surface next to the boat, but it was a Mola mola, not a shark. After a quick swim with this strange-looking fish, the waiting game started again, but alas, no blue sharks so we tried our luck one more time in a different area.
Oceanic sunfish (Mola mola). Photo by Marty Schouten.
It didn’t take long before we attracted another Mako to the boat, a much smaller female this time. We swam with her for a bit, but unfortunately, no other sharks showed up and we didn’t get to scuba dive in the deep.
Still, seeing two Mako sharks, an Oceanic sunfish (Mola mola) and lots of seabirds, including albatross, is a great day in our world!
When we got back into False Bay, we did a nice dive where we saw 4 species of Catsharks.
A very long but rewarding day!
Day 5
We woke up to a gorgeous day in Simon’s town, so it was time to dive again. This time, the target species was the elusive Broadnose sevengill shark. There are only very few places in the world where you can somewhat reliably see these prehistoric sharks, and False Bay is probably the best among these places, but you have to know where to look!
After a short boat ride, we arrived at the spot and got ready to dive.
As soon as we got down to the bottom we spotted a beautiful Southern diamond ray, which wasn’t shy to pose for some photos. When the ray took off, we went for a short swim in search of the sevengills,
Sevengill shark. Photo by Marty Schouten.
It didn’t take long before we spotted the first one cruising slowly over the sand. When the first shark disappeared back into the green water, the others just kept coming! We saw at least 7 different individuals and a huge Short-tail stingray too.
After this amazing dive, we had lunch and spent the rest of the day visiting Boulders Beach to watch the African penguins go about their day. These flightless birds are always a treat to observe!
Day 6
Another beautiful dive day in the bay. On this day, we went to a shallow reef with small patches of kelp to take photos of the catsharks. Again we saw 4 species: Pajama catsharks, Leopard catsharks, Dark shy sharks and Puff adder catsharks. These small sharks are endemic to southern Africa, which means you won’t find them anywhere else in the world, and False Bay is full of them!
Pajama shark. Photo by Marty Schouten.
Apart from the catsharks, another highlight on this dive was seeing a huge Short-tail stingray munching on clams in the sand. These rays can grow up to 2.2 meters in width, and this female was very close to that size!
Short-tail stingray. Photo by Marty Schouten.
In the afternoon, we went to Constantia to have an amazing lunch and do a wine tasting at the Groot Constantia wine estate, which was enjoyed by all!
Day 7
On this day we moved location to the other side of the Cape Peninsula. We met the team of Shark Explorers in the bustling harbor of Hout Bay to explore the Atlantic side of Cape Town. After launching the boat, we set out in search for Oceanic sunfish (Mola mola) and all sorts of other marine life.
View to Hout Bay from Chapmans Peak. Photo by Marty Schouten.
First stop was the duiker island seal colony, home to more or less 40.000 Cape fur seals. After that, we headed a mile or so into a glassy Atlantic Ocean. We spotted many seals, seabirds, but unfortunately no Mola mola. On the way back, we found a small pod of Common dolphins feeding of baitfish together with a flock of terns.
Before heading back to the harbor, we stopped for a dive on the Maori shipwreck. The water was an icy 10 °C, but the visibility was great, and we saw many southern rock lobsters on the wreck. After our ocean safari, we had a fish & chips lunch before taking the famous Chapmans Peak route back to Simon’s Town.
Day 8
On day eight there was a small weather gap early in the morning to go to sea, so we decided to head into the bay and do a cage dive with the Bronze whaler shark, also known as Copper shark.
Bronze whale shark. Photo by Marty Schouten.
As soon as we got to the spot and put the boat on anchor, we already spotted the first sharks, and as soon as the divers were ready, there were already at least 10 of these beautiful sharks hanging around the boat.
The bronze whaler sharks we saw measured anywhere between 1.5 and 2.5 meters in length and put up a great show!
There was also a brave seal hanging around between the sharks, and on the way we saw a young humpback whale.
Day 9
No trip to Africa would be complete without a big game safari, so that was exactly what was on the program today.
Warren picked us up early in the morning for our two-and-a-half-hour drive to the Aquila Game Reserve, just outside Cape Town. Once we arrived at the reserve, we were treated to an amazing buffet breakfast before boarding the 4x4 vehicle for the game drive.
Giraffe. Photo by Marty Schouten.
Our driver, Mike, guided us through the park for the next 3 hours, and we spotted four out of the African Big 5, with great observations of lions, rhinos, buffalo and elephants.
We also spotted many other animals, including hippos, eland, springbok, zebras, ostriches, and giraffes!
After the game drive, we had another amazing lunch at the park before starting our long drive back to Simon’s Town.
Day 10
All good things must unfortunately come to an end, but not before a final braai/BBQ at the Shark Explorers dive center!
After packing our dive gear and preparing for departure the next day, it was time for a few drinks around the fire and some kind farewell words from our guests and the team at Shark Explorers..
Wine tasting for happy divers! Photo by Marty Schouten.
But that was not all. We even had a small wedding ceremony for two of our dear guests that are about to get married in Italy on their return home. All the best to you guys in your marriage! After the ceremony, the meat was ready, and we had a great meal all together to celebrate another great trip to this amazing part of the world.
We will be back!