Charles Maxwell
Underwater
Video Services

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford”: Samuel Johnson (1777).

Why, however much I travel and dive in exotic locations, do I love to return to the often cold and murky waters of False Bay? It is a place with which I never tire. It may be the fact that I learnt to dive there many years ago or the amazing reef biodiversity or the fact that I can see anything there from white sharks, dolphins, seals and whales to a baitball as intense as any to be seen on the famous Natal Sardine Run. The kelp forests, that dominate the western shore of the Bay, support their own unique and complex ecosystems. Here may be found large sevengill sharks or small catsharks that roll into a ball, putting their tails over their eyes when held by a diver, thereby getting the local name of “skaamhaai” or “shyshark”.

“South Africa is one of the sharkiest coasts on earth”: Sir David Attenborough in his narration for the BBC’s “Shark Coast”

In the Beginning

In 1987 I had the privilege of leading a team of divers to explore Dragon’s Breath in Namibia, the largest subterranean lake in the world. It was in this mysteriously magical place that I found “a world within a world”, bringing back childhood memories of reading Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Centre on the Earth”.

I have been working with tiger sharks for many years and, while they can become a bit aggressive near the baiting station, I have found them to be remarkably docile for a shark with the reputation of a dangerous “man-eater”.

There is a place in False Bay, conveniently positioned in the protection of the rocky coastline, called Pyramid Rock. Here a pointed rock protrudes through the thick kelp to the surface. This is a great place to dive with sevengill sharks as they cruise through the kelp forest.

Cape Point is situated at the southernmost point of the Table Mountain National Park. This impressive sandstone headland, sculptured by the sea over millions of years, represents the theoretical boundary between the cold Atlantic and temperate Indian Oceans.

Article by vianne Venter

Published in The Callsheet - September 2008

CAPE Town-based underwater cinematographer, Charles Maxwell, has worked on numerous marine documentaries over the past 21 years, including the Emmy Award winning episode of The Blue Planet, Seas of Life; Planet Earth: Shallow Seas; and Air Jaws, which captured spectacular footage of great white sharks breaching in False Bay. With more than 40 years of diving experience, he is the first port of call for clients from the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and Mythbusters when it comes to marine wildlife on the South African coastline. Charles surfaced for a chat about his underwater adventures.