Following a great recommendation from BT, we booked a white shark cage dive in celebration of Good Friday.
Our boat left the Gansbaai Harbor (about 2 hours east of Cape Town) and headed out into “slightly rougher than usual” waters near Dyer Island and the seal colony on which the great predators feed. Twenty bouncy minutes later and some anchoring/maneuvering around the bull kelp, and the next thing we knew we were suiting up in 5 mil full suits, booties and hoods. Prior to suiting up, Todd had seen a pretty good size dorsal and tail fin even before the chumming started! Five other passengers had the first go in the cage and were almost immediately joined by quite a few six-foot-plus sharks while we watched and took these photos and video:
When our turn came, those same sharks turned into eight to twelve footers! One shark in particular seemed to be taking passes in front of our cage and was more interested in us than it was in the bait. Its curiosity eventually peaked as it lunged and chomped at our cage within six inches of our masks!!! It was so surreal. Strangely, and worth noting, the fact that we were in a cage made it so we felt completely detached from any fear. Honestly, neither of us felt the least bit scared or uncomfortable (except for the occasional leaking in of 11 degrees Celsius water into our wetsuits). We were in the cage for about 45 minutes with the sharks and although the water was super murky, we took some close-ups with a disposable underwater camera that we got on the way there. Once we get the photos developed (which is ridiculously difficult here) we’ll post them.
Of the sixteen passengers on board, Todd was one of three who managed to keep his breakfast down. Kristina held out as long as possible (we think she was the last one to add to the chum). Suffice it to say, there wasn’t a lot of conversation on the twenty minute ride back to the harbor. All in all, our white shark cage dive adventure was well worth it!
On the way home, we took the even more scenic route and happened upon a little sheltered beach in Gordon’s Bay where we bumped the volleyball around before dinner. We got a recommendation for a fish-n-chips place called The Tavern. At The Tavern, we got to sit outside on the terrace and enjoy possibly the best restaurant meal we’ve had in South Africa! We had the one kilo pan-o-mussels that came with about a kilo of garlic butter sauce and bread, battered hake with chips, and some white wine.
Good Friday indeed!
Of the sixteen passengers on board, Todd was one of three who managed to keep his breakfast down. Kristina held out as long as possible (we think she was the last one to add to the chum). Suffice it to say, there wasn’t a lot of conversation on the twenty minute ride back to the harbor. All in all, our white shark cage dive adventure was well worth it!
On the way home, we took the even more scenic route and happened upon a little sheltered beach in Gordon’s Bay where we bumped the volleyball around before dinner. We got a recommendation for a fish-n-chips place called The Tavern. At The Tavern, we got to sit outside on the terrace and enjoy possibly the best restaurant meal we’ve had in South Africa! We had the one kilo pan-o-mussels that came with about a kilo of garlic butter sauce and bread, battered hake with chips, and some white wine.
1 comment:
ARE YOU BOTH OUT OF YOUR @#%@#$@ MINDS????? THE LAST TIME I TALKED TO YOU I SAID "BE SAFE", IS THIS ANYWHERE, EVEN REMOTELY, SAFE????? I THINK NOT!! OMG!!!!!!!!!! SO, ON THE SAFARI ARE YOU PLANNING ON SLEEPING IN A LION'S DEN?? JUST A MINUTE, I HAVE TO PUKE............
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