Keep your arms and feet inside the cage - the sharks will bite!

Day 2 – September 4^th, 2009 – Shark Cage Diving

 

            The alarm went off at 4:05AM. I’m pretty sure this was my earliest morning yet! I had to meet with my group in Tymitz Square (main area on the ship by gangway) at 4:40 and we had to meet our driver at 4:45. Today is shark diving!!! I went with Jennifer, Christina, Madeline, and Barbara. I got about 4 hours of sleep the night before because I was so anxious for today so I was definitely tired. We met our driver and this other man (a little sketchy but what the heck!) who gave us the rundown of the day. He wasn’t going with us but our driver would be taking us to other locations to pick up more people, then we would be heading to Gansbaai (most popular area in South Africa for shark diving) for our adventure in the water.

            The ride took about 2 ½ hours but we finally arrived at the restaurant for breakfast. The sign said “Right of Admission Reserved Restaurant” so I’m not sure if that was the name or what the dealio was but it was a cute little place! Breakfast was very good and they gave us a lot of food! We also had coffee made out of a coffee bag which was a new experience for me! During breakfast we watched a video about sharks and shark diving just to get our adrenaline going. Dixie, one of our guides, began our instruction of the day explaining what to expect and that they can’t guarantee sightings but it should happen. Then we boarded the vans again to head to the dock. When I first saw the boat, I was a little weary. It looked like a fishing boat for tourists, which is pretty much is! I could see the cage hooked on to the back of the boat and it looked like it had been on its share of shark dives. I wasn’t sure if it was going to last through ours! We didn’t waste any time leaving the dock so very quickly we were on our way. We had a group of 26 people but the boat usually takes out 40 people. I was glad that the trip wasn’t full so we could get more time. The boat felt pretty packed with 26 people though so I couldn’t imagine it with a full 40. Dixie said the ride would take about an hour to arrive at the spot where the sharks had been spotted. We dropped our stuff in the bottom cabin and made ourselves comfy on the top of the boat. It was freezing. Very windy and cold and definitely not the weather I was hoping for on my shark diving adventure. Luckily, I brought long pants and a long shirt but I was kicking myself for not bringing a sweatshirt. There were people from Sweden, Australia, and a few other places on our tour. The two girls sitting next to us were actually from California! Imagine that! Sheena and Megan were twin sisters who were about 24-25ish and are traveling around South Africa for a month. They were so sweet and we hung out with them during our shark dive! On the way, we spotted about four Southern Right whales!! At one point the whale was really close to the boat so we got a great look at it. It was so exciting!! We also saw a few seals on our travels.

            When we arrived at the shark spot there were a few other boats already landed. We stayed for a few minutes then found a new location away from them. We didn’t want anyone hogging the sharks! The boat crew dropped anchor and we headed downstairs for our dive lesson. The dive instructor was pretty cute but very to the point! He didn’t want us taking any risks and getting hurt. There would be six people in the cage at a time and we would go in four groups. He handed out the wetsuits and booties and we began putting them on. There were still wet from the dive before so it made it even harder to squeeze the thing on. It was pretty entertaining watching all of us struggle! We headed out to the back of the boat when we were all wet suited up to get ready! My group wasn’t the first to go in which was kinda nice because then we could see how it works. They had a huge fish attached to a buoy to use as the bait. The rule is they aren’t allowed to give the bait to the shark because then sharks will associate humans with food. The whole shark diving thing isn’t the best for the relationship between humans and sharks either, but it’s all in the fun of the sport, right?! Anyway, there was one crew member pouring sea water into a bucket filled with random fish parts to use as chum too. They would pour that into the water to attract the sharks. The first group was finally in the water and it was all about waiting for the sharks. It took FOREVER but when a shark finally came everyone was so excited! We all ran to the side and we could see it through the surface! We went to the top part of the boat to get a better view and the shark came back again and it jumped out of the water at the bait. We saw teeth and all! It was crazy. It was starting to hit me that I was about to get in that cage and have a shark that close to me. I was getting more and more nervous. The dive instructor and Dixie are yelling “look down”, “look right”, “look left” throughout the whole process so it makes it even more exciting. Another group went and we saw another shark while we were in the boat.

When it was our turn to jump in the dive instructor handed me the goggles and helped put them on. I climbed over the side of the boat and put my feet on the buoy ledge and jumped in the cage. I was on the far left so I was right on the end. It was pretty scary once you were in the water because all you had between you and the ocean was a rickety, old cage. Every time I went under water my goggles would fill up with water so Christina told me to push down on the top and breathe out. It helped so much! The wetsuit was very buoyant so when I would go under water I had to hold myself down by grabbing the cage. This freaked me out because if a shark came up my hand would be right there. I eventually figured out a system that worked and kept me under for a little while. I kept looking to the side of the cage because I was paranoid a shark was going to come out of nowhere. The crew member kept throwing the bait right in front of the cage too, which didn’t make me feel much better either. The water was really cold but my adrenaline was pumping so much that I barely noticed it. The wetsuit also kept me pretty warm. The water was very murky and dark so I couldn’t see too far from the cage. I think that’s why I was so scared, because I couldn’t see if anything was coming at us. We were in the cage for what felt like eternity, but all of a sudden Dixie yelled “down in front!!” As soon as I dove under the water I saw a huge great white swim all the way in front of the cage nearly three feet away from it. It didn’t bite at the bait at all so it didn’t come near the cage. As it swam by it was so peaceful and just stared at us. It was the wildest experience! The shark didn’t stay long at all and just swam off into the distance. We waited a little longer for it to come back but there was no sign of any more sharks. We had to get out of the cage for the next two groups to get in.

The next group spotted a shark but the last group didn’t get to see one at all. It was such a dreary day so the sharks weren’t around us at all really. I guess it wasn’t our lucky day. I was just happy I got to see at least one while I was in the cage! People from the last group were complaining about not getting to see any sharks so Dixie gave everyone a coupon to come back at any time (no expiration date) for a free shark dive. I was pretty excited that I’d get to do it again at some point in my life. We had to take our wetsuits off and get ready to go back to land. The wetsuit was much harder to get off than put on, though! I went to the back room where there is a storage unit and bathroom to change. The room smelled terrible from the bathroom and the floor was all wet and I was praying it was just water I was stepping in. I eventually got my wetsuit off without falling and breaking anything! It was hard to get warm with the little clothes I did have but we all piled on the top of the boat to watch as we floated along. The girls and I had a great talk about our lives at home and on the ship and all got to know each other better. It had been a great day! When we got back to the restaurant we sat down for lunch. I had another great cheeseburger! It was nice that all the meals were included in the price for the shark dive. We watched the video that Dixie recorded while on the shark dive. She got some great shots of the sharks but it wasn’t worth buying. We had an underwater camera that we used so we figured that was enough. For lunch, we sat with Sheena and Megan and got to know them better. We had exchanged e-mail addresses so we could keep in touch.

I slept the whole way on the ride back to the ship. Going on four hours of sleep was pretty tiring after shark diving. I sat next to one of the guys that was on our shark dive because the rest of the seats were taken. He took up both of our seats pretty much so I slept in the aisle half the ride. We finally made it back to the ship and I headed straight for the hot shower!! The girls and I met up to go to dinner and wi-fi after we showered. We ate at a popular steakhouse called Spurs. I had amazing quesadillas which was just what I needed! After dinner, we went to the hotel for some wi-fi. We actually went inside this time because if you order something from the bar they will let you sit in the lobby. The whole place was taken over with SAS students but we found a comfy couch to sit at. I ordered a peanut butter cake with ice cream which was delicious!! I Skyped Britt and her family which was so awesome to see them all!!! It’s nice to talk face to face instead of through e-mail. The connection wasn’t good at all because there were so many people using the internet but I was just thankful I got to for a little bit!!! (MISS YOU BRITT!). Then I Skyped Mom and she had Allison with her! We got to talk longer than the night before because at this point some people had cleared out so we had a bit better connection. I got to see Lewie and it really made me miss home! I’m doing alright with the homesickness thing as long as I get to talk to everyone here and there. It almost makes it worse when I get to see everyone. But nevertheless, it was amazing to chit chat for a bit and get to see their faces! (MISS YOU TOO MOM!!). I headed back to the ship pretty early because I was so tired from the last two days. I needed a good night’s rest before my township visit the next day! At least it’s not until 1:30J