Sorry Mom...I Went Shark Diving

Before I start this blog, I would like to wish an embarrassingly late happy birthday to my incredible Grama, who I truly consider the inspiration for this trip. Ever since I saw her pictures of South Africa almost fifteen years ago, I've known that one day, I would end up here. I'm having the time of my life, and if it weren't for you, I don't know if I'd have made it. I love you!

This morning, I found myself wide awake and raring to go at the very early hour of 5:00am. This was because after a year of waiting, today was the day I was finally going to climb into a steel cage and be immersed into shark-infested waters. Today was the long-awaited shark cage dive!

Since a family friend recommended the cage dive as a must in Cape Town over a year ago, I haven't had any doubt in my mind about it. I know for a fact that a lot of people at home think that I'm a crazy person for even thinking about it, but I can now tell you first hand: when in Cape Town, DO NOT MISS IT!

It is by no means cheap to do a shark dive. I paid about R1400 (roughly $230), but keep in mind that this included transport from my hostel to Gansbaai (two hours away from Cape Town), breakfast before the dive, lunch after the dive, snacks on the boat, and most importantly, the once-in-a-lifetime experience of looking Great White sharks in the eye!

The drive to Gansbaai is stunning. The mountains combined with green orchards and farmland as far as the eye can see are quite effective at calming a person down, even though the occasional glimpses you get of the ocean and its huge swells definitely bring the adrenaline up again!

Before the dive, I had heard horror stories about violent sea-sickness, and when I arrived, there was a notice saying that the water was 12 degrees! At this point, sharks were the least of my worries.

After popping some Gravol, and eating a quick breakfast - which I tried to balance between nutrition and not eating so much I would vomit on the boat - our guide Anthony gave us a briefing about what to do in case of the boat sinking (God forbid), and then told us some interesting facts about the sharks. For example, they lure the sharks with a bait that is basically the blood and guts of fish, so they are attracted to the scent, but there's no food for them, so they aren't trained to chase boats in the future. We were also told that while the bait was in the vicinity, the sharks could not care less about us in the cage. Although they do have good eyesight, so they would be able to see us!

Finally, we walked down to the boat. It was so windy that I was afraid of being blown right off the pier. I had stupidly checked the weather report in Cape Town instead of Gansbaai, and as a result, worn shorts. I don't know if I've ever been so cold in my life.

The boat ride started out over huge swells (I would guess they were 6 - 8 feet). It felt like being on a very wet, trecherous roller coaster. My stomach was doing a weird sort of Irish jig. After about three minutes of this, the water either smoothed out, or my Gravol kicked in like a champion, because I was able to enjoy the ride out, and did not get seasick.

For almost an hour, we sat in the bay by Dyer Island with the crew doing their darndest to lure the sharks. They had a sort of foam decoy (which would probably look like a seal to the average Great White), as well as the fish blood and guts on a rope. I also noticed a man at the back mixing more blood and guts together with a shovel, and then splashing it behind the boat. Let me just say that shark bait is the absolute worst.

At this point, I was starting to panic a little bit. What if no sharks showed up? I had waited for so long, and I was dying to see a great white! I know it would be circumstances beyond anyone's control, but I knew I would be disappointed. And then...

...SHARK! A baby Great White swam out of nowhere and all but launched itself at the foam decoy! The people on the boat erupted, and all but shoved each other off the sides to get a picture. Since I had been wedged right by the side since the beginning, I had the prime spot. Gradually, more and more sharks started appearing. It wasn't a Jaws-esque circle or anything, but every few minutes, one would lazily snap at the bait, and then go back to whatever it was doing first. Now, I know this is needless to say, but sharks are BIG! A few of them that passed by were easily four metres long! Interestingly, the smaller sharks were more keen on jumping for the bait, whereas the giants just passed on by.

Upon the arrival of the sharks, the crew started putting people in the cage. It was freezing cold, but hell could freeze over before I decided against getting into that cage! Myself and seven other people put wetsuits on, and were instructed to climb over the side of the boat into the cage. At first, I didn't realize that there was a bar in the cage to put one's feet, and I had a terrifying moment where my right foot floated through the bars.

Once I was in the cage, I actually felt pretty safe. There were bars to hang onto, and we weren't completely submerged; whenever a shark would swim by, we would hold our breath and duck to the bottom of the cage. It was definitely a rush when one of the crew members would yell, "DOWN! RIGHT!" And we would all duck under the water, look to the right, and watch one of the sharks drift - literally - in front of our faces.


Remember when I said the big ones didn't jump so much? There were a few exceptions. One more than the others. About a minute after I got into the cage, one of the biggest sharks I saw the entire time jumped at the bait, landing on the cage for a split second, which shook it with the force of a truck. For a moment, I was completely stunned. When the seven other divers in the cage with me came up, we were all whooping! A shark had jumped on us! Top that!

I was lucky enough to take two turns in the cage. The second time, I was on the far right side, and at one point found myself eye-to-eye with a Great White! I still have the shivers. I had been so worried about not seeing any of them, and within the course of about four or five hours, I had seen tons of them, both from the deck and in the cage. It was a lucky day for shark-viewing.

I found this trip exhilarating, educational, and all-round amazing. It was definitely one for my bucket list, and probably one of the best travel experiences of my life! Massive props to Downhill Adventures, Anthony and the crew, and I suppose the sharks themselves (even though I'm still feeling a bit of ocean motion as I type this). The shark cage dive was truly an incredible experience beyond words.

I would also like to say a massive, massive thanks to my amazing boyfriend Myles for the camera! Not only did it work perfectly under water, but I now have a video of a 4-metre shark going right by the cage!

Oh, and for the record, I'm typing this blog with all of my fingers, and I walked to the computer on both legs. Just so you know.

Questions? Comments? Criticisms?
the-wanderingjew@hotmail.com