Testimonials

Our list of satisfied guests over the years have included the likes of The BBC , National Geographic, Discovery Channel, CBS 60 Minutes, Animal Planet, MTV-Wild Boys, German, Dutch, Spanish, French and many other films crews. Well known personalities and hosts have included the Sex Pistols, Tiger Woods, Peter Benchley , Charles Howell, Nigel Marvin, Simon King, Steve Leonard, Sigurd Tesche, Terry Nutkins, Michaela Strachan, Mark Cawardine, Mike de Gruy, Jeff Corwin, The Kratt Brothers to name but a few. More importantly however are the thousands of people who have become friends and great ambassadors for the sharks

What Our Guests Say About us and Shark Diving South Africa

Hi Chris and Monique,

It has been hectic since we left your boat on the 13th, and I really wanted to reply with a big thank you.

Jackie and I had a terrific time on the morning trip.  Your local knowledge, and personal level of attention to all the details, was superb and really is a standard that all small operators should attempt to duplicate.  Even with a film crew on board, we really did feel like it was just us, a couple of friends (the joy of a small boat, everyone gets to know each other!) and our own private "guides".  We could tell that you really love your work and that you take pride and ownership in what you do, and that makes all the difference.  Both of you had a knowledge of everything to do with the local sharks, seals and surrounds which comes from being in that environment day in and day out, and not just from reading some magazine; you were the REAL thing.

Although we really feel that we had the opportunity to see so much of beauty of South Africa in our time in SA, the boat trip with the natural predation, dive and commentary is truly a favourite when recollecting our stories to friends and family.

We booked with you because of the credentials of the "boat of choice" for National Geographic and Discovery Channel, but after being on the boat, it is clear that you are the experts that teach the commentators!

The home-made sandwiches by Chris's mom really nailed it down; Apex Predator is a labour of love.  Keep up the great work, we will recommend Apex Predator as a true highlight of the Cape Region.

Best regards,

Mike and Jackie Zimmerman

Hi Chris & Karyn,

It’s Matt, long time no chat! I just want to tell you that I had 2 clients (Mark & Dorothy Braaten) who went to visit the sharks with your company on Monday, May 16, and it was the highlight of their whole trip!!! Yes, they enjoyed seeing the sharks very much, however, it was your staff/crew that they raved about and what made the experience so amazing for them. The passion of the crew and the excitement of sharing knowledge and stories with guests was amazing to the Braaten’s.

They were overwhelmed by the care and compassion the crew had with the sea and the sharks. Apparently on the way back to shore after the shark experience, the crew was picking trash out of the ocean every time they saw something floating, the Braaten’s were thoroughly impressed with this behavior. Of course they both want to come work for you now!! So, thanks so much to your crew on May 16, and thanks to you for instilling such values; you all can be very proud that your level of service and passion were the highlights of what was a very great trip!!!!!

Kindest Regards,

matt

Hi, Monique & Chris,

Just got "Great White", it's gorgeous!! Monique, you may or probably won't remember I wrote once before--after I'd gotten that poster of the leaping female shark that hangs in my room. I had to write again! Your images are so beautiful...But the essays were also amazing! I wish you both lived here so I could invite you for dinner and just listen to you tell me about your adventures with these wonderful creatures. Although I will probably never fulfill it, my one life dream, aside from the continued health and well-being of my family, is to be close enough to a great white shark to see the pupil in that black, black eye, so often described as "dead" without me or the shark suffering any injury. I actually teared up when I saw Chris' pictures! Thank you so much--if I never get to experience this, at least your pictures show me what it would look like.

I have followed the WS for over 50 years--I was 12 when one attacked a young man in the waters off San Francisco--and over the years, fear turned to respect and finally to love. I can tell by your writing that it\'s that way for you too. I wish you both all the best this planet can offer—good health, good luck, much love and many years to experience the wonder of the oceans and all the magnificent animals within them.

Dianne Rogers, Fayetteville, AR; (but I'm actually from San Francisco:)

To be honest, words or pictures can never express the time I shared with you and your staff. From the first time speaking with you by email or over the phone, to the meet and greet at the airport, your organization handled everything with complete class. This does not even speak yet about the extraordinary trips you provided to see the most special animal in the world – The Great White Shark! Great whites have been my love since I was a small boy – my complete fascination. I had seen almost every single species in my life until I spent a week with you. My roommate Ralph and I had incredible opportunities the whole week in the cage. It did not matter if it was a morning trip to watch predations or the afternoon to photograph breaches and get some good cage diving in – the whole experience was off the chart. The world you and Chris showed me was like travelling to another planet in space. To see one of the most misunderstood predators in the world in his home setting was an experience on its own. Too many people perceive them wrong and what you do by educating your guests and keeping the numbers down on the boat to keep things more personal or as I call it – ¨like family¨ is a true credit to you, Chris and your staff. This family idea really came to form when we all got together one night to have a South African Braai and then gathered to talk about the Great Whites all night long. I can only hope more people in the world come down to Cape Town and spend some time with you to see the Flying Sharks. I know when they do this their opinion of the Great White Shark will change and hopefully influence others to see it in a different light as well. All the best Monique, Chris, Poenas, and Matt and I cannot wait till our next adventure together – hopefully this year and if not we need to start looking at next summer!

Sincerely
Brett Vana

Dear Chris & Monique,

Many thanks for an exciting trip Monday! It was truly amazing to witness these beautiful animals in their natural environment.

Your trip was very professional and I will definitely recommend it to anybody I meet, going to South Africa.
I got some awesome photos and videos, which I have shown to my friends and family. (Most of them got a lot of oh's and wow's)

Once again, thank you very much, and I hope it won't be long before I'll come back. It was definitely not my last time at Seal Island with you guys.

Thanks
Kristoffer

PS. You shouldn't believe every photograph you see ;)

Hi Monique and Chris,

I have just come down from my fabulous high so have now time to say a very big thank you to you guys for a fabulous time, I had the best time ever!!! I have wanted to see great whites for most of my life and now that ive eventually done it, am cross with myself that i didnt find a way to do it before now!!! The only problem is, 6 days wasnt enough!!!! I know that my brother is now also converted, he never expected to enjoy the experience as much as he did, and I havent shut up about what magnificant creatures sharks are and how everyone needs to get together to save them!!! Im driving everyone crazy!!! Anyway, just to say again, thank you for a great experience, and keep me on your website list, im after that job!!!Ha Ha!!!

Regards, Clare.

Hi Chris / Monique,

We are at home again.

I will never forget the week we spent with you, your team, and the Great White.

For me, it was one of my biggest dreams and I think I will do it again.

Please find my best breaching shot enclosed. If you think it is good, I would be proud to find my photo on your web side.

Best wishes and greetings to you, Monique and your whole team!

Kind regards
Stephan Kohr

Dear Monique and Chris,

We are the Italian group who came with you for a shark experience last 23 April. Unfortunately we didn't see the great white shark. The next day you suggested me to go to Gaansbaai. There I had the possibility to saw a shark, but he just passed near the boat for few seconds.....

So be sure that next year I'll came back and I'll stay a whole week to look for great whites in False Bay. Even if we couldn't see the great white, we are happy for the experience we had with you.

Your professional nature, your experience and the knowledge you divided with us, made our trip really unforgettable, thank you. Before coming back to Italy I had a week in Unkomaas with Craig and Shouna of Scuba Addicts. There I Had some dives with Ragged Tooth, Tiger and Black Tip Sharks.

It was amazing to see those beautiful animals in their habitat.

Hoping to see you soon.
Ciao Gianluca.

Dear Chris & Monique, Sorry for spelling. Thank you for yet another wonderfull trip, I got the breach tail but not the head perhaps Chris could use my clip to add to his, (ha ha) will be back with some more guests in the future and have confirmed our satisfaction with 'designer tours' so hope you get more bookings from Calvin, which i am sure you will, Good luck and best wishes for the future. Did & Dave.(England)

Hi Chris, Monique and the rest of the crew.

I wanted you to know that, having spent two mornings with you on the breaching trips last month, I am still trying to get back to normality. As a teacher, I have now delivered an assembly on great whites to my secondary school. Pupils and teachers were amazed by the breaching and, although I wasn't able to catch any breaches on my camera (!) I showed  part of Air Jaws to them. If I could, I'd be back tomorrow so just to say a massive THANKYOU to all of you and good luck to you and the sharks

Hi

My partner (Nicole Bornman) and I were lucky enough to spend the morning with you guy's and the sharks (not to mention the dolphins or the whales) on August 11th.

We just wanted to send a brief note of thanks for what was a fantastic trip. We have some stunning images from the day and some even better memories, so a big thanks to you, Chris and all the crew for making it so memorable, and we'll definitely be back as once just won't be enough

Thanks again
Nick

Hi Monique/Chris

I just wanted to drop you an e-mail to say thanks again for an awesome time out on the boat during my time with you, the sharks were incredible and I can't believe how lucky I was with the weather and number of predations. The cage diving was brilliant and I'll certainly never forget the name 'roundfin' again! What an experience. I learnt so much from being out there with you guys, Ponous and Jenna it really was great.

I'm hoping to come back again next year, I'm already missing it all!

Looking forward to August's reports from you!

Hi, Chris and Monique,

I just wanted to say thank you for taking such good care of my family and for providing them with such an amazing experience.  I have only heard the bare minimum in text messages, but even that much indicates it was the experience of a lifetime.   Thank you, thank you, thank you for the great white day and for the safe lunch for Lacey.  I can't wait to come give it a go one day as well.  If there is ever anything I can do for you here in the Washington, DC area, I sincerely hope you will give me a shout.

Thanks again.
Bridget Williams

Hello!

I am now back in Sweden and already daydreaming of South Africa and sharks.

This means that my holiday was absolutely fantastic and I wish it could have been just a little bit longer.

Cape Town was a short adventure but also a good one.

Just wanted to thank you all again for making my time in SA something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Say hello to Chris for me and Crystal thanks for taking care of my requests and answering all my questions.

Take care of yourselves!
Krister

Hi Monique and Chris!

I wanted to let you know again what an incredible experience we had on your boat!!  Being able to witness those incredible creatures so close was one of the most amazing experiences of our lives!  I also wanted to express our admiration for your efforts in preserving an environment which is respectful of their natural behavior.  If you think it would be helpful, we would love to send along our support and thoughts for keeping False Bay a low traffic/protected area to your tourist board or other government agency.  Just let us know what would be most beneficial.

Also, I know that Chris got some great pictures of the breachings we saw on 25 July.  Is there a way to purchase and download a few of those pictures?  We love the pictures you already have for sale but, of course, would prefer images from our actual trip.  Thanks so much for the experience of a lifetime!!

Allison Cohen

Hi Chris and Monique,

Well we have been back home a week now but are still missing South Africa and of course the sharks. I know you must get many emails but we both just wanted to send you our thanks again for a fantastic three days at Seal Island. We have some amazing memories that we will never forget and to see the Great White Shark in its natural environment was a dream come true. As i said to Chris last week the way that you run the trip is a credit to you both and your team and was everything and more than we had expected. The only thing i'll do differently next time is bring a bigger and better camera !!!

Anyway, we wish you both a successful shark season and will look forward to reading the monthly news letter.

See you next year and thanks again,

Roger and Rachael Ashcroft

Thank you, thank you so much for your newsletters. I get so excited when I see it's time again for an excellent read. I know nothing about sharks, but having subscribed to your letter, I'm learning about a whole new world.

I'm from Cape Town, but living in Canberra, Australia at the moment. I hope to return home someday - something about Africa that yearns.

Please keep up the good work. Know that your letters do make a difference and are so appreciated! I can sense the love and passion you put into your work - it comes through your news.

Totsiens and God Bless,
Trace

Firstly I want to say that the pictures and your website is totally awesome and breathtaking. Never have I seen my passion and obsession i.e. sharks worshipped like that before. I've been in love with sharks ever since I first saw "Jaws" when I was about t or 6. What was fear at first later turned into admiration. Then the series of long hours in front of the TV watching Discovery and National Geographic soon followed. Now I'm 20 and still the animal is able to make me awe-struck.

Sorry I forgot to intro myself. I'm Prashanth Nambiar from Malaysia. I want a job like yours. Can you tell me hos do I get it? What should I study and which college should I go to? Please help me. I would really be grateful. Thanks.

I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoy your SHARK BYTES column! And it has inspired both my wife and I to finally complete our dream of becoming certified divers so that we can someday see some of the marvels you have expereienced. Thanks for the wonderful and timely information!

Ryan Meffe

In case you haven't been told in a while.....Thanks for the newsletter. I am a biologist stuck in a chemistry lab. Your readings are appreciated!

Well seems as if we now have a very excited group of divers back in Mauritius and shark fever has hit them all. They will get back to me with all the recent sightings around the island. They asked if you could please supply them with the info you have on sightings in the area.

Regards
Ian

Just wanted to tell you that your pictures are awesome. Whenever I have a chance I go to your website and look at all of the beautiful sharks. I would consider myself a shark admirer and hope one day to see one in person. Thanks for bringing the beauty of sharks to my home computer.

Lori A. Gonser

Dear Chris,

Words cannot adequately express how much we enjoyed the pelagic birding tour. A most sincere thanks to you and your crew.

And yes, one day I  hope to return to experience the Great White Sharks.

Warm wishes always,

George.

Dr. George Archibald

Co-founder

International Crane Foundation

For more information on shark diving in Cape Town, contact Apex Shark Expeditions today to make your booking!