SKUBADUIK SAAM MET KOEIHAAIE IN kAAPSTAD - INLEIDING

Hoekom wil mens in ‘n hok sit en haaie deur tralies sien as jy saam met hulle kan swem naby aan Kaapstad?

Moenie bekommerd wees nie; die haaie waarvan ons praat is gewoonlik nie aggresief nie. Koeihaaie (wat partykeer die Sewekiewe-haai of die Gevlekte Koeihaai genoem word) is een van die primitiefste haaispesies ter wêreld. Hierdie haaie is ook een van net twee spesies wat sewe kiewe het en hulle grootte varieër van ongeveer 1.4 tot 3.5 meter. Dit is interessant dat hulle nie die dorsale vin het wat algemeen by haaie gevind kan word nie.

Hulle is gewoonlik baie nuuskierig en is bekend daarvoor dat hulle teen skubaduikers skuur soos hulle verby gly. Hulle is gewoonlik nie aggressief teenoor duikers nie, en is normaalweg ietwat traag –maar, soos met alle wesens in die see, moet hulle nie geterg of uitgelok word nie.

Hierdie skuba-ervaring vind in die kelpwoude naby Simonstad in die Kaap plaas, waar ons gaan soek na ons kolonie koeihaaie. Hulle is groepvreters en hulle groepeer altyd saam, wat sorg vir ‘n uitstekende ervaring. Tot en met 18 individuele haaie is al saam gesien.

Wanneer ons saam met Koeihaaie gaan skubaduik, is die waterkanaal waar ons duik ongeveer 12 meter diep. Dit sorg vir ‘n waarlike unieke ervaring omdat Kaapstad een van die min plekke ter wêreld is waar mens in sulke vlak water saam met hierdie haaie kan skubaduik.

Soos hulle op en af in die kanaal swem, sal jy genoegsame geleentheid kry vir foto’s, en teen die einde van die duik behoort jy die individuele haaie te kan uitken op hulle kleur, bytmerke en ander kenmerke.

Daar is ander dinge ook te sien met hierdie duik naby aan Kaapstad. Die duik is in ‘n kelpwoud met oorvloedige lewe – dit is algemeen om die bedreigde Rooi Roman hier te sien, en ook seekatte, jellievisse, Pajama-haaie, ensovoorts – dit lys is feitlik eindeloos! Ons sien per geleentheid ook die kortstert-pylstert.

Koeihaaie - Skubaduik Feite

Galery

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Wat het ander gesê oor in die blou Duik Sentrum?

Globetrekker Oxford

“Top marks for safety and professionalism”....

The reason for giving five stars is not because my dive day was good - it was horrible, a complete washout, no viz, unpleasant swell, just all round yucky conditions.

However, that's nature, and dive operators can do nothing about it. What all dive operators should do is be as professional and customer-focused as the guys from ITB diving.

First thing to note is that ITB is considerably cheaper (by almost 1000.- Rand) than Simonstown operators, which is baffling considering that they also have the transport cost from Cape Town to budget for.

DMs, Instructors and Shopfloor staff are all super friendly and helpful; I even got picked up from my Cape Town digs and dropped off afterwards, free of charge.

On the boat, I saw all the emergency and redundancy gear I like to see: twin engines (VERY important!), Oxygen, comms gear, flares, the lot. Briefings were thorough, and buddy check was insisted on.

The trip to Seal Rock in the RIB was fun in the swell, but when we got there the captain did not let us dive because of the unsafe conditions. Disappointing as this was, he was totally right. Low tide and heavy swells are a dangerous combination this close to the rocks, and as for trying to get back into a RIB in seas like this....
We then tried the PMB wreck, where zero viz and nasty vertical swell separated the group and forced us out of the water after 25 minutes.

The captain did offer to try another spot but was honest enough to tell us that in his opinion it was going to be rubbish everywhere, and so we called it a day.

Back at the dive shop, we were all offered a re-schedule, but as I'm out of time I was given half my money back. I know from experience that this is not the norm in the industry, sadly.

Into the Blue is a top notch outfit that does things by the book, with a strong safety focus and very customer centered, on top of offering reasonable pricing and a fair refund policy. You'll have a hard time to find a better operator anywhere around. They'll definitely be my first choice when I pass through next, and for doing my IDC sometime this year.

Just hope mother nature will be in better mood then.

Visited April 2017

 

Amy Musto

Had the best diving experience with Into the Blue, first...

dive was a ship wreck followed by doing yoga moves with the seals. Would highly recommend diving with these guys, very professional and fun! I sadly lost my go pro whilst diving with the seals but I'll always have the memories!

Jacques Vermeulen

Best dive shop ever! People are friendly and helpful!...

Cape Town diving for the win!