A Seriously Jaw-some Day!

When I first found out I was travelling to Cape Town, I immediately envisioned myself doing two things—climbing Table Mountain and cage diving with Great Whites.  When it comes to adventures, I’m a pretty motivated person, so with the help of my leftover birthday money, I set off on a cage diving adventure. 

At 8:45am, ten of us piled into a van, with our knowledgeable tour guides, Hilton and Arlene, and of course some pre-shark diving jitters, and headed off to Gansbaii.  The two and a half hour drive was nothing short of breathtaking.  As we drove along the coastline of False Bay, we got to see baboons running along the road and even a whale out at sea! 

When we finally arrived at the venue, I was so excited I just wanted to get on the boat and go! After a quick lunch and a short presentation on great whites, we were off—in our bright orange raincoats.

The ride out to our final destination was filled with beautiful scenery and the smell of the open ocean, but we couldn’t wait to see our first dorsal fin—and then there it was!

All I could think as I stared at the great whites circling our ship was “Is this real life?”  I’ll allow some pictures to speak for themselves—

 As I watched group after group enter the cage, I became more and more excited.  I just could not wait any longer to get in the water, no matter how cold it was! So a few of us zipped up our wetsuits, put on our water shoes, and hopped in.  It is impossible to describe the feeling I got in my stomach or how fast my heart was racing when I watched a great white, jaws opened wide, swimming directly toward me.  I actually screamed out loud underwater, “OH MY GOD!” when I took the following picture:

The entire experience was unreal, plus we got some great pictures of a few of us in the cage—

After everyone had their chance to get in the cage, the boat headed toward the Gansbaii version of Seal Island.  It was just that—a very small island that is home to what seemed like a million seals.  I’ve never seen—or smelled--so many seals.  It smelled like a million wet dogs.  Needless to say, when the sharks hang around this island, they never go hungry. 

The day came to a close as we headed back to shore.  All of us were exhausted and in need of a shower, but excited to tell our tale to the remainder of our group when we got home.  It was a phenomenal experience overall, and I would highly recommend seeing these magnificent creatures up close!

Stay tuned for my account of our climb to the top of Table Mountain!

-Kim