Day 3 - Shark Cage Diving

Andrew - We got the wake up call 40 minutes early when the van came to collect us for the diving. Since we had gone to bed at 3:30 the night before we definitely weren't ready and scrambled to get our stuff together. At about 3 minutes to 9 we got in the van, and after a couple of hotel picks ups, and were on our way to Gansbaai to the site of the shark diving. It was about a two hour drive from Cape town and although the scenery was beautiful, we all slept through most of the drive. We arrived at the shark dive office, which was really a house near the harbour and had a light lunch and instruction on what to expect for the day. We were all a little tired and Lois offered around the gravol to fight sea sickness. Jeff, Jes and Martin took it but Lois, Jess and I did not. I have never been sea sick in my life and figured I could do without it (this would prove to be a fatal error).





We loaded into the boat with 14 other people and went off to Dyer island. This is the worlds largest population of great whites sharks and is where about 70% of all shark documentaries are fillmed. It was about a 20 min ride out to the island and I started to feel rough about 15 miutes into it. We dropped anchor at our location and sat waiting for the sharting. It was pretty wavy and pretty soon I knew I was going to be sick. I now have the honour of being the first person to be sick on this trip. In total I threw up 6 times and felt terrible the whole trip...I felt so sick I could not even manage to get a wet suit on to dive...I spent most of the day throwing up over the side of the ship...the pictures of the sharks look very nice though!





Jess - Fortunately, unlike Andrew, I did not get sea sick and loved spending the day out on the water. Although a little aprehensive at first, I was pretty excited about what I was about to do. It took a little while for the staff to bait the sharks, but they eventually started coming around our boat so the first cage of divers went down. I was part of the second group to go. As I climbed into the cage in the 15degree water I kept repeating the instructions that the staff had given us over and over again in my head - feet on the red bar, hands on the lid - otherwise, the sharks could mistake them for the bait. The 5 of us sat in the cage waiting for the staff to give us the cue to dive down. As I waited anxiously, I heard them yell "down! down!" so I took a deep breath and dove down. I looked around as carefully but didn't see anything. The next dive was much more successfull. As soon as I dove down, I could see the shark swimming towards me. It was at that moment that I realized the bait was about 3 inches from my face, so as the shark approached I got the greatest view that I could have ever imagined. In total, we saw 7 sharks. One of which was nearly 4 metres long, which is apparently very rare. I enjoyed the diving so much that I dove in 2 of the 3 cages. All in all, it was an amazing and unforgettable day for me! An incredible experience considering the great white shart could be extinct in as little as 15 years.





Lois-I puked 6 times, went in the cage...saw great whites heading straight for me....was feeling so terrible that I was hoping they would eat me. I even had a bloody leg from my adventure the day before but they weren`t biting and chomping me to death. Got out of the cage and spent the rest of the trip on the side of the boat throwing up with Andrew for the entire group to witness. Andrew and I now have a new claim to fame...we puked 6 times, over 7 sharks. I recommend this trip to anyone with a death wish taht would love to be covered in rotten fish bait and tuna blood....I almost threw myself off the side of the boat in order to be eaten by sharks over experiencing such severe sea sickness!!!!





Jeff- I had a fantastic day! A bit surprising considering the amount of drink I consumed last night but I think I may owe it down to a magic little pill called Gravol (sidenote: Andrew nor Lois took this pill even though it was Lois that brought them). The trip started off a little slow with no sharks in sight for first hour and a half but then the sharks must have felt like showing off because seven of them got curious and came to show off for us. Truly they are as beautiful as they are vicious creatures as they came for the bait from all sorts angles giving us full view of everything they are capable of. So although Andrew spent the day looking like Casper the ghost and Lois shared her breakfast with half the sea life in the Atlantic, I'm pleased to say I had a great day and recommend it to anyone who is thinking of coming this way.





Got home around 9 pm, orderedd pizza and went to bed...quiet night after a long day.