Don't Tell Our Mothers

Thursday March 26, 2015

Not content with the sedate gripping pace of Golden Oldies cricket we decided to do something nail-biting and inject a bit of excitement into our holiday – so we went cage diving with great white sharks. YOLO (Mums, that means You Only Live Once).

After a two hour drive under overcast skies we found ourselves at Gansbaai at the bottom of South Africa. Next stop: Antarctica. We were given breakfast, signed an indemnity release and got our kit.

We walked down to the ocean which looked calm and peaceful.

The Team.

Yep; still calm and peaceful as we head out.

We hurtled our way out to the cage site, bouncing through the waves and getting drenched from the spray; it took about 15 minutes. Here’s the cage – a high tech contraption made of what looks to be the same mesh that we use on our chook pens at home; construction looked about the same too. Not sure what story that bent panel in the lid could tell.

Here's the victim Gibbo. Still celebrating.

Dressed like seals we were all manhandled into the water.

Hanging on for dear life.

Fin No 1.

Just before we pulled up the crew threw out tuna oil and burley to attract the sharks, fish and seagulls. Then they threw out a big bait – a ball of fish heads secured with rope through the eyes. As the sharks came close the person on the line would yank the bait back towards the cage so that the shark followed it in – when that happened, the skipper would yell, “down, down, down” – that was the cue to grab onto the yellow bars in the cage, pull yourself down under the water as far as you could and look up towards the surface. See – no heads above the water.

All good Mare. Don't worry; I'm still here.

For several reasons the operators don’t like to let the sharks actually take the bait. They prefer them to chase it in towards the cage; makes for better viewing. If the sharks actually take the bait, they eat it then leave. Also, they don’t like the shark to come too close in case they hit the cage and damage themselves.

Series of 6 photos, same shark.

After only a few minutes in the water I was shivering uncontrollably but didn’t get out; it was totally awesome to think I was in the Atlantic ocean off the southern tip of South Africa floating in a cage that was tied to a boat, with someone throwing burley and bait into the water around me to attract great white sharks. On purpose.

Underwater photos from Cat F.

We survived, all limbs intact. Back at the house we got changed into warm dry gear and had hot soup and bread. We watched a video of the dive; it started with the ominous beats of the soundtrack from Jaws. We bought it for your viewing pleasure.

The two hour return drive to Capetown was a quiet affair; just the two of us went out for dinner to Beluga, a very popular seafood restaurant. There was no shark on the menu.