We had decided yesterday that this would be the only chance we had this trip to dive with the Great White Sharks (well, you don't really dive WITH them lol) so Bob and I passed on the helicopter ride we had been discussing and booked the Shark Adventure.
The van picked us up at the hotel just after 9 AM and we were the last to be picked up. There were 5 people already in the van. The drive down to Gaansbaai (Shark Alley) took 2 hours and the driver was a fountain of information as he told us about apartheid and pointed out the townships, (Ghettos) and also District 6 (Remember the movie "District 9"?), which was quite the eye opener.
We had not gone too far down the road when I asked if I could sit up front with the driver as there was far too much stuff he was saying that I wasn't quite hearing. His name was Tyrone, and we got along great!
Once we got down there we found out there were about 20 other people on this adventure, the tide was quite low, so we had to wait a good hour before we could go down to the boat. We were given 7mm wetsuits, boots, hoodies and a rain jacket..... It was sunny....?
The wind was blowing and it was the first chance they had to go out in a week because of the winds and rain they had been getting. They told us the vis was only about 1.5 meters and that the sharks were quite lazy from the earlier dives they had already done that day (It was not about 1:30)
As we boarded, Bob and I went to the top of the boat hoping to get a good view as the water was a pretty azure blue and there was lots of wave action. As soon as we headed out it became apparent the reason we were given rain jackets was because the waves were big, there were large swells and the wind was also contributing to make for a rough 20 min. ride to Shark Alley.
There were 4 other boats anchored there and it took no time to set a couple of anchors and put the cage into the water. Even before the cage was let down, the chum was being put into the water and attracting about 30 seagulls who were acting like pigs!!
A few minutes later our first shark appeared in the stern of the boat. It now became "clear" that the visibility was not that great as we did not see him until he was close to the boat, even tho he was at least 8 ft. long!
8 people went into the cage at a time, and a couple of large cod heads were attached to a 3/4 in. rope which was thrown out over the cage to attract the sharks. It did just that, and when they went to bite into it from underneath, the crew pulled the cod heads towards the cage, which brought the shark right up to the cage, much to the delight of everyone.
Bob and I were in the last group to go down, and we were able to see and photograph lots of exciting action with these sharks. There were mainly 3, and the largest was 4.2 meters long, as they get to know the sharks after awhile and can recognize them by their fins, same as Orcas.
Bob and I went down and waited, and waited, and waited..... Finally the sharks came back (I think they go from boat to boat lol) and the action started. We were not on SCUBA nor did we have snorkels. We had masks obviously and were instructed that when told (Divers - DOWN) we were to take a big breath and go under the water in the cage.... This was because "bubbles scare the sharks", which I really don't believe, but whatever....
Anyway, the sharks did come, and let me tell you, when they are trying to bite into that cod head inches from your head, and are thrashing about with their body banging the cage, it is very exciting to say the least. The first time I actually shrank to the back of the cage!
It was a lot of fun, except Bob lost his small waterproof camera in the heat of the action. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were late for the introductions and meeting of the safari, which was to start tomorrow. We did manage to catch about 3/4 of the meeting. We went out for a great supper with Tim and Mike afterwards.
They had a videographer and photographer on board, and there were photos and videos you could purchase afterwards.
Which we did!
