Shark Cage Diving!
When I decided to go to Cape Town, South Africa with a group of other volunteers over New Years Eve there was one thing I wanted to do more than anything else on my to do list, and that was going shark cage diving!
I had planned on
going with two other volunteers. We were booked and the night before I had
trouble sleeping because I was soo excited! I got up and met the other two
girls while we waited on our ride. The van pulled up, but there was a
problem….my two friends' booking was messed up somehow and they weren't on the
list to go! I was really sad and didn't know what to do! Eventually after some
calls it was determined that they weren't going to be able to go. I crawled
into the van full of strangers and off we drove. This was the first time I was
going to do something thrilling and
adventurous completely by myself (well I mean I did join the Peace Corps and
moved to Botswana for two years, but that's a little different). Now don't get
me wrong. I love doing awesome/crazy things but I've always had a friend or
family member right there with me. This time that wasn't going to happen. I was
still really excited but not having someone to experience it with made me more nervous.
The trip to Gansbaii
from Cape Town was a beautiful 2 hour drive through the mountains and wine
country. There were two groups from Italy and another couple from Sweden in my van. At least they all spoke English. Being my out going self I quickly made friends with them.
Once at the place we
were given some breakfast and then briefed on the cage and what was going to
happen when we got out on the boat. It was finally time to get on the boat! The
boat ride was pretty rocky out to the cage. I had stayed on the lower deck and
got a little motion sick but the views were gorgeous!
Once at the cage we
all suited up while they chummed the water to attract the sharks. After a few
minutes some sharks started to come and it was time for some people to get in
the cage. I was part of the first 5 to go. The water wasn't too cold, which was
good. We waiting a little bit and then next thing I know I hear "Divers
DOWN!!!". This meant a shark was
nearby and I needed to dunk myself deep into the cage to see it. The adrenaline
rush was ridiculous! I shoved myself down as fast as I could and there he was!
A huge great white shark swimming right by the cage. I popped back up and it
was time to wait for another one. We got to be in the cage for 3 more sharks to
come by and then we had to get out to let some other people have a look.
Once back in the
boat I decided to go up to the top deck to watch the sharks. The view from the
top was great because you could actually see the whole shark in the murky
green-blue water! Man were they big!! (the sharks were
about 3 meters long) I watched and tried to get some good
pictures as the sharks came up to the cage or tried to get the bait. A few
times they jumped out of the water and one time "Nemo" (as the guides
called her because she had a damaged fin, which made her more aggressive)
jumped out of the water and hit the corner of the cage with her tail. Wish I
had been the guy in the cage then.
After everyone went
it was time for me to go again. This time I had the positioning down so I was
able to actually see the sharks better when I pushed myself down into the cage.
At one point a shark jumped out of the
water with mouth wide open, teeth baring at the cage. That was pretty sweet.
He/she was after the bait line which was being pulled back towards the boat and
up over the cage. I wish I had gotten a picture of that!
After everyone went
twice we all got out of our wet suits and headed back to shore. I made sure
this time to sit up on the top deck, which helped tremendously and didn't get
sea sick. Once back at shore we got some lunch and got to watch the highlight video.
I talked to our guide a little bit. He had some great stories from doing this
for 7 years. Pretty cool job, I would have to say. Then it was time to head
back to Cape Town. I ended up sleeping most of the way back. Guess being out on
a boat in a high adrenaline situation wears you out.
