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sorayaadventures-blog · 6 years

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You Can Look, But Don’t Touch

Ok Shark Week Fans, this post is for you. Day 2 for us consisted of up close encounters with Jaws. That’s right folks. Great White Sharks. Live. In color. With all the teeth.

We were picked up from our hotel in Cape Town by our intrepid guide, Leslie, early in the morning to make the two hour drive down to Gansbaai for our Shark Cage Diving excursion. [Leslie would be our guide for most our time in Cape Town and he couldn’t have been a more perfect match for our lively group.]

I was pretty adamant that our shark diving experience have an environmental focus, so we selected Marine Dynamics for our dive company. Every dive with Marine Dynamics has a Marine Biologist on board so you can learn a lot about sharks, the environment around shark alley, and the conservation efforts.

We went out on a fairly calm day and the swells were still large and rolling with pretty significant drops. All is well and good while the boat moves, but for those who get seasick when that anchor drops in the middle of Shark Alley, you will wish you had Dramamine, sea bands and a magic trident.

Putting on our wetsuits proved to be quite the work out. The suits are significantly thicker than the ones used for surfing and they were men’s suits, which meant there was some additional compression in key breathing areas. I am sure our fits of laughter from all the tugging and pulling didn’t make it any easier, but I take comfort in knowing everyone aboard the ship that day needed an assist from the crew.

Once your suit is on, you are quickly shuffled into the cage before you can even decide if you actually want to see the inside of a great white’s mouth that close. As the cage door shuts, you are highly aware of the fact that the distance between the outer bars and inner bars of the cage isn’t very big and your fingers could quickly become a snack. Suddenly, there are calls from the boat trying to direct you to where the shark is. Down! Down! Down right! Down left! Down front! It’s irrelevant because in a few seconds that shark is going to bump into your cage and you will know EXACTLY where it is.

Truthfully, while thrilling, it wasn’t terrifying at all. The sharks didn’t charge at our cage. The bump was merely a passing casualty of trying to get to the lure that was well away from us. Before you know it, you are back in the boat- desperate to be out of the suit and breathe again- on to the next portion of the excursion.

As any shark week lover can tell you, the reason South Africa has a “shark alley” is due to the adorable little Cape fur seals that live on Dyer Island and Geyser Rock. The Great Whites come to prey on these playful creatures as they move to and from the islands to hunt in the sea. Luckily, we didn’t have an Animal Planet moment with a shark and seal. Instead, we were able to enjoy the seals’ antics and acrobatics before heading back to shore.

Even though we were already a bit delayed on our timeline, Leslie (our guide) decided we couldn’t got back to Cape Town without a stop in Hermanus; this seaside town is know for the population of Southern Right Whales that make their way into the bay every year during their migration. It’s one of the few places in the world you can whale watch from shore. For us, it was a few weeks too early to see any whales, but the views are still worth a stop any time of year. Leslie let us loose to explore the area, but wasn’t prepared to see 8 women go off in 8 completely different directions. After a little wandering and selfie taking, Leslie was able to collect us at a local restaurant for dinner. Don’t miss a chance to try bobotie! It’s a popular Cape Malay dish that’s basically a bowl of comfort. A perfect end to an exhausting day.

TL;DR

Don’t Miss: Post shark dive relaxing in Hermanus

See: The Cape fur seals at Dyer Rock

Skip: The “meal” the dive company gives you prior to embarking

Eat: Bobotie – a yummy, comforting Cape Malay dish somewhere between moussaka and shepherd’s pie

Pro Tip: Make sure the Dramamine your friend gives you isn’t expired and get an amazing guide like Leslie Edgar at Cape Elite Tours.

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