Caged and Cageless Shark Snorkelling on Durban's Aliwal Shoal

Delve into the mystical shark world with the Blue Wilderness team. Based on Durban’s Aliwal Shoal, we offer an exhilarating cageless shark snorkel, open to everyone who is comfortable floating in the water. This includes children from 10yo upwards. The trips occur early in the morning when the sharks are most active and the weather conditions are at their calmest. Spend between 45 and 60 minutes in the water with between 10 and 30 oceanic black-tip sharks on an ultimate bucket list adventure.

1. 1

   Stop 1

   1 hour

   Our shark snorkel adventure starts at 6.30am (although times may vary depending on conditions and your availability) with guests arriving at our shark centre. All equipment will be provided for you, so only bring yourself, a sense of adventure, and a bathing costume. After a wakeup coffee, our guide will present to you a briefing on the shark diving adventure. This will include biological information on the sharks and the process's that we will be following to ensure that you have a safe, educational and enjoyable shark adventure with us. You will then move to our changing rooms to be fitted with a suitably sized wetsuit, mask, snorkel and fins. Once changed into your wetsuit and stored any valuables and keys, you will hop onto our vehicle for a two minute drive down to our launch site. At the beach you will wave to your expedition videographer (who makes an edited expedition video for you), and arrive at our 8m semi rigid vessel. The guide will give you a quick boat safety briefing and hand out life jackets. From here, you will climb onto the boat for launching.

2. 2

   Aliwal North

   1 hour

   It is a 8-minute boat ride to Aliwal Shoal where the sharks are located. On arrival we will put a 'chum drum' into the water to attract the sharks. We will also deploy our 6-person shark cage that floats at the surface. Once we have a good number of sharks around (usually within 2-minutes) we will pull the cage adjacent to the boat and you can slip into the water. You can then enjoy viewing between 10 and 30 black tip sharks circling you for up to 60 minutes. Our guide will be in the water with you at all times, and assist you if required. The guide will assist you into the water and ensure your are feeling comfortable. They will then assist you across to a floating beam that you can hold whilst the sharks circle you. Once you are feeling comfortable in the water, you are welcome to release the beam and swim around with the sharks unaided. If you are an experienced free-diver, we are happy to provide a weight belt that will allow you to dive down below the surface to view the sharks from below. After the shark snorkel, we climb onto the boat and head back to land. At our shark centre, you can enjoy a hot shower and dry towel. Whilst our videographer is busy editing your expedition video, you can eat a light snack of sandwiches and soft-drinks. When the videographer is ready, we all crowd around the TV to watch your expedition video - prepare to gasp in amazement!

• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.