South Africa, Eye To Eye With “Jaws”
 

I hardly need an external alarm clock to wake up at Hermanus Backpackers Hostel as I have been excited all night about today's event. For R$995, not only have I received one night's accommodation in one of the coolest hostels but I have also paid for what should be an exhilarating adventure.

By 6:15am I am on the road again headed southwest. It is a beautiful drive through sleepy coastal communities then an open road along the ocean front with towering mountains to my left. I am headed to the fishing village of Gansbaai about an hour's drive from Hermanus.

Just of the coast of Gansbaai is Dyer Island along with an area known as “Shark Alley”. This area has the largest population of Great White sharks in the world and it is where a lot of the famous Discovery Channel's “Shark Week” footage is shot.

I arrive at White Shark Ecoventures around 7:30am where a light breakfast is being served as others are being signed up for today's outing, shark cage diving with “The Great White”. It is comforting to see that I might not be the only possible victim. While having breakfast a safety briefing is given and about US$140 is paid for the adventure.

I watch as our boat is being prepared then we climb on board before it is launched into the water with the help of a tractor. Our dive site is about a 15 minute boat ride away towards the notable Dyer Island. Interestingly, this time of the year the best sightings for the Great White are away from Dyer Island. Not surprising, the sharks are more popular there during the birthing season for resident penguins and seals.

Although the forecast is for strong southerly winds, the sea is relatively calm with light swells as we drop anchor in about thirty feet of water. Somewhere out there we hope an interest has been taken in our arrival.

On the upper deck of the boat we are given more information of what to expect from our experience. The upper deck is the best place to see the sharks approaching because unlike in the movies, there is no soundtrack and no dorsal fins sticking high up out of the water to give you heads up.

Today, the water visibility is good but our guide prefers it to be a little less. This way, once we are in the water we cannot see the shark approaching until it is almost too late. As we wait, the crew members setup the shark cage we will be using and they also bait the water to attract the sharks to our location. About five large tuna fish heads along with a drizzling of a bloody fish mixture into the water is a part of this process.

It is less than ten minutes before our first visitor shows up. We are collectively awed and excited by it's arrival. The time has come to make it feel welcomed. A few of us head downstairs in our wet suits to be a part of the first welcoming committee.

The water is at first startling frigid as I enter the cage where I bounce up and down with the sea swell. A diving weighted belt is placed across my shoulder to help deal with the problem. However, I still have more buoyancy than I thought I ever had. I always knew I was light on my feet just not this light.

There are five of us in the cage and we wait for instructions from the boat to go below the surface of the water. “Down, down, down”. I take a quick deep breath and for a few amazing seconds, I watch as one of the most feared animals crashes into our cage and swims just mere feet away from me. I now have even more goose bumps inside my wetsuit. I can see why we were earlier given warnings not to reach out of the cage and scratch it's belly. The temptation is there but all of us wisely resist it.


Back on the surface we are all sharing our excitement as we wait for a repeat of the previous instructions, “Down, down, down”.

Another submersion and I have one of the quickest and most awesome experience I have ever had. I can clearly see as much as the underwater visibility allows, as a huge Great White goes after the hooked tuna fish heads. A full set of razor sharp teeth are exposed as it charges the bait and creates a bubbling surge in the cold ocean water. More goose bumps and exhilarating excitement.

With about twenty other passenger on board, we are rotated out of the cage and I get to witness this amazing animal in action from a different perspective.

Soon we have more than one visitor which we are told is uncommon. We can tell they are different because of their visible scars and markings. At one point, we determine that there has been at least four different ones. Most of these sharks the smallest of which has been about ten feet are all considered juveniles. The larger adults won't waste their time or energy going after the bait that we are offering.

Waiting my turn for a second visit to the cage, I watch as a shark appears out of nowhere and charges directly into the cage as other passengers are trying to get in. I think I hear some thrilling expletives as the shark momentarily continues to rattle the cage. Fortunately, the water around the cage does not change color but I cannot be sure about what happened to the water around the wetsuits below.

My second time in the cage is for sure as breathtaking as the first. The anticipation to have another encounter has become more relaxed and I feel like a seasoned shark diver. It is amazing to think I am floating in an area that has the highest Great White shark population in the world. Only a few bars of steel separates me from this fearsome creature but at the same time it allows me the chance to have an unforgettable experience.

“Down, down, down”. This time I take a more relaxed deep breath and remain submerged as a shark swims so close that I can look into it's black hole eye socket. I see no fear in it. I wonder what it sees in my eyes. I hope it sees, fascination, respect and amazement.

I have just had a close encounter with “Jaws” and I loved it.



Video:
http://youtu.be/cOXY8-GzqC8

Great description of your dive! Your comment about the water changing color around the cage brought chills to my spine.

Your video shows how much control you have as a diver and you are not forced to remain submerged.

Beautiful video, thanks for sharing that, what an experience.
A quick question, does this company offer scuba at all in the cage ?

atravelynn,

It was pretty exciting in a weird way to watch the shark charge into the cage. Guess it was just another troubled teenager :(

Yes, you pretty much remain above the water until you hear... "Down, down, down".. Then you look in the direction of the bait line but the shark can be approaching from any direction even from beneath the cage.

kellyee21,

Yes, scuba is offered in the cage but for the short time the sharks appear we are told it is not worth it.

Although we saw about 4-5 different sharks, supposedly it is not common to have more that one shark at the cage at a time. Apparently, they are loners but we got lucky during our dive :)

DMBTraveler - another big adventure for you! Haven't been on fodors much recently so I just came across your SA posts today. I'll have to catch up and see what you've been doing there in addition to - yikes - hanging out with sharks.

We leave for Antarctica in 2 hrs - hope we have half the amazing trip you had there!

Enjoy SA :)

Oh DMBTraveler I am sooooo envious of you! "life is either a daring adventure or nothing"~Helen Keller

Leslie-S,

Have FUN in ANTARCTICA :)

Are you going to hangout in Ushuaia for a bit? The harbor tour is worthwhile. Will look forward to your report and pictures!

Neuman605,

I think we can both can agree that Helen Keller has the right idea about life :)

I'm jealous. I did this same tour last year but I got so seasick, I couldn't even put on the wetsuit. I spent the entire time laying down on the side of the boat. :( Oh well, I still got to see some sharks LOL

mcbg1

Have you tried over the counter Bonine? I'm terrible with motion sickness, but this makes all the difference for me. I did a week of shark trips plus many other ocean-based outings in far rougher water, all made possible because of Bonine.

The comment above states "short time with sharks not worth it" for going in the cage. Fortunately you can have a lot of great shark vieiwng by staying on the boat. From a previous report on water clarity in False Bay:

"The best water visibility that can be expected is about 15 meters, which is considerable given the water is just over 30 meters at its deepest. Our best visibility when sharks were present about 7 meters, with most days about 5 meters. The clearest and calmest day must have been 10 meters visibility, but no sharks present."

I'm going to link this account to a post questioning what to do in Cape Town.

mcbg1,


Sorry to hear you got sea sick :(

What time of the year did you do the tour?

I visited SA in November but I wonder if there is a "Best Time Of The Year" weather wise to minimze getting sea sick.

It was in April. I was fine when the boat was going forward but once we anchored, the swell was just too much for me.

DMBTraveler -- If you check back here I'm going to throw in one quick off-topic post. We had an amazing time in Antarctica! I wrote up a trip report of sorts on cruisecritic but I'm not sure about posting it on fodors. But in any event I wanted you to know I appreciated the tips you gave at the end of your report - they were helpful. And reading about your adventure got me so psyched for ours - so thanks for that too!!

Leslie-S,

Glad to hear you had an amazing time in Antarctica :)
Can you post a link to your report (could not find it on CC), I would love to read about it!

Well this in no way compares to your wonderful report (or your trip for that matter) but this is the link.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1565960

Have you considered a trip to the Arctic or been there already?

Leslie-S,

Considering a trip to the Arctic (Tromso, Norway) end of this month or early March to see the Northern Lights. This year is suppose to be a spectacular time to see them.

Northern Europe has been pretty cold this winter, however I am glad I still have my Antarctic gear :)

Yes, I've been reading about the Northern Lights and how this would be the year to see them - I hope you get there! I'll keep looking for your name & see where you go next!

Leslie-S,

Nice CC trip report. Was MV Fram alot cheaper than Quark? We only had about 100 pax and it seems like we had more zodiac outings ... all free :)

Guess no "Polar Plunge" for you on Deception Island. You missed a "Bone Chillin" experience :(

Think I saw some of the same penguins I saw in your photos. Nice memories. I could not agree with you more that it is a more than a once in a life time experience, a nice bug to have.

Thanks for sharing your experience, will post my Northern Lights trip here.