Gansbaai

Gansbaai is a working fishing town on the southern side of Walker Bay, about two hours’ drive from Cape Town beyond Hermanus. The name means bay of geese. Shark cage diving has been its main tourist draw since about 1995. The sharks have become scarce, but the boat trips to Dyer Island, the whales close to shore and the cliff and cave walks at De Kelders still make it a good day or overnight on the Overberg coast.

Getting there

Gansbaai is about 165 km southeast of Cape Town. Take the N2 towards Hermanus and turn off onto the R43, which runs through Hermanus and Stanford to the town. De Kelders, the cliff-top village, is on the edge of town as you arrive. Boat trips leave from Kleinbaai harbour.

When to go

June to August, the southern winter, has traditionally been peak shark season, though that counts for less now (see below). Southern right, humpback and Bryde’s whales all use this coast, and the cliff path at De Kelders is a good place to watch for them.

What to do

Dyer Island lies about 8 km offshore and is home to some 5,000 African penguins, while neighbouring Geyser Rock holds around 60,000 Cape fur seals. The narrow channel between them is Shark Alley. Boat operators sell marine big five trips covering seals, penguins, dolphins, whales and sharks.

Be realistic about the sharks. A pair of male orcas known as Port and Starboard began killing great whites off the Western Cape around 2015, and the sharks have largely abandoned Gansbaai since. Trips still run, but a great white at the cage is far from certain; one operator’s log for 11 March 2026 records orcas at the dive site and no sharks, and the boat moved on to the seal colony instead. Ask operators about recent sightings before you book.

On land, the Walker Bay Nature Reserve gate at De Kelders gives access to Klipgat Cave, reached by boardwalk, where people lived between about 65,000 and 85,000 years ago and Khoi herders much later. The reserve gates are open from 07:00 to 19:00. Danger Point, at the tip of the peninsula, has a lighthouse first lit on 1 January 1895. Just offshore is Birkenhead Rock, where the troopship HMS Birkenhead sank in 1852 with heavy loss of life; it is remembered because every woman and child aboard was got into the boats and saved while most of the men drowned. A plaque on the lighthouse records it.

Good to know

Fishing is still the core of the local economy. The fish factory is thought to be the biggest employer in town, and its canning side is reckoned the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Local menus lean on fresh fish, seasonal crayfish and perlemoen (abalone). Elim, an 18th-century Moravian mission village, is also in the area.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, CapeNature (Walker Bay Nature Reserve), Wikipedia (Danger Point Lighthouse), Down To Earth, Marine Dynamics daily trip blog (sharkwatchsa.com).