After a further day of wait for the swells in the Atlantic to calm down we finally made the 2 hour drive north of Cape Town to Gansbaai. We were picked up at 4 in the morning by our driver and headed for the ‘Great White Shark’ Capital of the world. When I asked the driver if he had done this before he responded cooly “What? driving people out to go shark diving? Yeah all the time.” Of course I was referring to him shark diving and not driving people. Once I re-phrased the question he said “oh no I would never go shark diving, that’s just crazy.” That was exactly what I wanted to hear before the long drive. A quick nap later and we had arrived still questioning our sanity and contemplating pulling out. We were going to be in a cage, but still the water was freezing and these are some of the most deadly creatures in the world. What were we thinking???
After breakfast we got a crash course on how the whole sharkdiving thing works. Simply get in the cage, and don’t be the wise guy that thinks he can put his hand out and touch the shark once he has swum by. And so we set out on the boat into shark alley in the deep blue. 20 minutes in and we anchored. The crew gave us wetsuits to put on and when I saw the wholes that looked like bite marks on the rear end of my suit I think I might have had a little heart attack.
The chumming begins; all sorts of tuna fish and blood was thrown out into the water in order to attract these sharks toward us. We were summoned to the top of the boat while the crew worked on bringing the sharks in. 15 minutes later and the first shark was spotted, we got into the cage. What a rush. I was so scared I couldn’t breathe, I started to panic in the cage. Swearing like never before, turning around frantically, looking underneath the water at the shark as he swam by and still struggling to breathe. It’s a feeling that I cannot describe, a combination of scared, shock, excitement, adrenaline.
The next shark came by, this was one 12 feet long. A monster. Nobody saw him coming though. We were told sharks swim around the boat and don’t attack the cage. Well we were told wrong apparently because this sucker came from underneath the boat where nobody could spot him; he turned around and started crashing against the cage with the side of his body. I have video of all this but I can’t post it because its probably ‘R’ rated with the language used. All the things I went through at the first sighting was nothing compared to this experience. He was out to get us, and I know this because the crew member told us later that it is a sign of hunting. (he may have been pulling my leg, but I totally believe him). We managed to get by unscathed at the end, but this particular bad boy was back for more. At our last sighting he came back around and grabbed the big tuna head on the rope we used to lure him in. He wrestled with the rope for 30 seconds, the boat started rocking heavily but luckily enough he managed to rip the tuna off the rope and swam away.
I know I have said this tons of times, but this was literally one of the most adrenaline rushing experiences I have ever gone through. The fact that I was so close to these predators was absurd yet moving. They are harsh but unbelievably stunning at the same time. I can’t believe I went through with it. I even have a certificate to prove it.
Me heading down toward the cage for the first sighting
The big guy grabbing on the Tuna on the end of the rope
Then swimming away
Me in the cage once things have settled down a bit