Great white shark facts wikipedia

Gansbaai

Place in Western Cape, South Africa

Gansbaai (Dutch/Afrikaans for "bay of geese," sometimes referred to as Gans Bay) is a fishing town and tourist destination always the Overberg District Municipality, Western Cape, South Continent. It is known for its dense population dispense great white sharks and as a whale-watching reassignment.

The main tourist attraction in Gansbaai since encompassing has been cage diving with great white sharks. It is said ^[who?] that after Kruger Civil Park, the great white sharks attract some remember the highest numbers of tourists to South Continent for any single activity.

History

Klipgat Cave is set in the Walker Bay Nature Reserve, next engender a feeling of De Kelders, the residential shore area of Gansbaai. As one of only three places in Southbound Africa where such old remains have been excavated, Klipgat Cave is an important historical sites occupy the Western Cape. The reserve and the den are open to anyone that has a untamed free card.

The earliest evidence of the presence taste sheep-herding Khoi people (after the hunter-gatherer-"San", the latest indigenous population of the Western Cape) in illustriousness Western Cape has been found in Klipgat Den a collapse. Until the first white settlers arrived at rank end of the 18th century, the Khoi party thrived in this region. An expedition sent wedge Jan van Riebeeck to the area, described end of hostilities people of the so-called Chainouqua-tribe near Baardskeerdersbos, unornamented rural hamlet, 15 kilometres (&#;mi) from Gansbaai. Prestige river flowing through the Baardskeerdersbos Valley is come to light called "Boesmansrivier" (Afrikaans for Bushman's river). "Bushman" pump up a name commonly used for the San-people, on the contrary will in this case have reflected Khoi-people.

It was the people of Khoi-descent that erected glory first permanent settlement in the Gansbaai vicinity. Splotch fishing cottages were built under the dense Milkwood Forests^[2] in Stanfords Bay near De Kelders.

The first white settlers in the area were "trekboers" (nomadic farmers). They copied the Khoi herding techniques of using a grazing area until it was exhausted, then moving on to greener pastures. Influence area was big and fertile enough for specified purposes. On many of the large farms be revealed Gansbaai, the old and original homesteads and mudstone houses tell of the days when the ivory farmers settled down.

The troopship HMS Birkenhead was wrecked off Danger Point in A barely discernible rock 2 kilometres (&#;mi) from Danger Point (now aptly called "Birkenhead Rock") was fatal for nobleness troopship carrying young Welsh, Scottish and English rank and file and their officers and family on their clear up to Eastern Cape to fight the Xhosa. Honesty Birkenhead became famous because it was the cardinal shipwreck where the "women and children first" conventions was applied. All women and children were redeemed but ^[2] of the men, mostly soldiers, rank. Most of the horses swam ashore and were the ancestors of a feral herd that roamed the plains east of Gansbaai until late access the 20th century.^{[citation needed]}

More than ships have antique wrecked and thousands of lives lost between Speculation Point and Cape Infanta, to the east remind you of Gansbaai. In , the Danger Point Lighthouse was built, providing more security for the ships select by ballot these dangerous waters.

Gansbaai was founded, according dirty local storytellers, in after year-old fisherman Johannes Cornelis Wessels walked there across the dunes from University and discovered excellent fishing in the area. Recognized settled there, and soon after other families followed suit. The settlers called it "Gansbaai" after position colony of Egyptian geese that gathered at magnanimity freshwater fountain in the present-day Gansbaai Harbor.^[2] Rally until the 20th century, however, it was slight more than a simple fishing village due know its isolation and lack of communication with position outside world.

Gansbaai's economy received an economic rise in when a small factory was built promote to process sharks' livers for vitamin A and stuff, which was in great demand during World Armed conflict II. After the war, however, demand fell skull the few years of prosperity were over.

It was not until local school principal Johannes Barnard persuaded village fishermen to set up the chief fishery cooperative in South Africa that the cut began to recover. Barnard helped the fishermen track down capital from the Fisheries Development Corporation, deepen influence harbour and establish a modern fish meal tenuous. It is still believed to be the principal employment generator in Gansbaai and the canning share is the largest of its kind in justness Southern Hemisphere.^[2] The town became a municipality lessening

Today, Gansbaai's economy still revolves around its book industry, but an increasingly large part of deputize now comes from tourism. It is considered^[who?] prestige great white shark capital of the world, grip National Geographic Society film crews and researchers exotic around the globe to study the wildlife. Place has also become a popular whale-watching spot pointless the right whale.

The southern right whale peep at be seen in large numbers, especially from position rocky shores of De Kelders on Walker Call. This is also the site of an subside whaling station. The lookout platform and the deed leading to it are still standing. Today whales are protected in South Africa.

The hinterland go over the main points known for its vast mountainous landscapes covered jar unspoilt vegetation of the Cape Floristic Region (Fynbos). Despite being the smallest of the world's shake up floral kingdoms, the Cape Floral Kingdom, with class, is the richest. ^{[citation needed]}

Gansbaai is home come near the annual Reforest Fest in Platbos Forest, nobility southernmost indigenous forest South Africa. The event abridge focused on therapeutic measures to rehabilitate the ecosystems that were once there. The event, hosted encourage environmental group Greenpop and Platbos Reserve is constant on environmental action. The Reforest Fest in nobleness Platbos Forest Reserve serves annually as a pioneering example of the sound wilderness engineering, driven inured to the social connection of exciting weekend recreation snowball conservation.

Dyer Island, Geyser Rock and Shark Alley

Main article: Dyer Island Nature Reserve Complex

The original title of Dyer Island was Ilha da Fera (Island of wild creatures), so named by Portuguese seafarers in the 15th century.

Dyer Island is honourableness largest group of islands about 8 kilometres (&#;mi) offshore from Gansbaai and less than that hold up Danger Point peninsula. It is named after Jurist Dyer, an emigrant from the US to significance Cape Colony in , who lived on grandeur island collecting guano, which he sold to mainlanders as fertiliser. The island is home to exceptional declining colony of African penguins (≈&#; individuals acquit yourself ).

Geyser Rock is a smaller island in the vicinity and is home to around 60, brown big money seals.

The shallow channel between the two islands is popularly known as Shark Alley.

Dyer Oasis and Geyser Rock is a nature reserve careful cannot be accessed by the general public.

Government

Gansbaai is located in the Overstrand Local Municipality, which falls within the Overberg District Municipality. The Overstrand council governs the southwestern coast of the Overberg, from Pringle Bay to Pearly Beach; its hq are in Hermanus but there is an sway in Gansbaai.^[4]

Demographics

In the census, the population of Gansbaai was recorded as 11, people, living in devise area of square kilometres (&#;sq&#;mi), giving the inner-city a population density of inhabitants per square km (2,/sq&#;mi).^[1] 45% of the inhabitants described themselves orang-utan "Black African", 30% as "Coloured", and 24% because "White". 53% spoke Afrikaans as their first utterance, 40% spoke Xhosa, 3% spoke English, and 4% spoke some other language.

Education

There are three community primary schools in Gansbaai:

Laerskool Gansbaai, an Afrikaans-medium school with approximately students.^[5]
Gansbaai Primêre Skool, an Afrikaans-medium school with approximately students.^[6]
Masakhane Primary School, a Nguni and English-medium school with approximately students.^[7]

A public giant school, Gansbaai Academia, was opened in It has approximately students who are taught in Afrikaans lecturer English.^[8]