Blog #27 – Shark Cage Diving

I had a good sleep last night, but it was short. The cold snap at night, that I was so used to in Maun never came and the light poured in the windows as soon as the sun rose. I was awake since just past five, but stayed dozing in bed until seven. Sarah and I decided to get-up and go for a walk. It was a nice walk and I was amazed at how wet it was. Considering Maun hasn’t seen rain in nearly two months, to see everything here covered in water was a little shocking.

The streets had quite a few “safety officials” on them, which was comforting, but also a little odd. We passed through some different shops and underground routes (quite similar to the PATH actually) and then through a small market-place. We grabbed some breakfast from Spar, a grocery store – which was really cheap and deliciously fresh! Then we had to book it back to the hostel. Our shuttle was coming to the hostel at 8:45am and we didn’t want to miss it.

Today we were spending the day on the ocean going Shark Cage Diving. It was going to be AMAZING! We spent a good part of the morning driving west out of Cape Town and to an inlet on the southern coast. It was a gorgeous drive with the mist, the trees and the hills. It was so odd to see so much green and so much life. The deserts of Botswana definitely carry a different kind of beauty.

At one point on the drive we stopped right along the coast in a little town. The scenery was breath taking. There was something about the rocks, the cliffs and the water that was so powerful. Apparently on a good day you can see whales just off the coast, which is pretty cool – but today was about sharks!

We pulled into a small ‘fisherman’s’ town right on the ocean and parked. We spent about an hour inside in the morning for pre-departure business. However, this was much better than before a plane ride. We had a buffet breakfast, complete with anti-seasick pills, some liability form signatures (don’t worry Mom and Dad I put you guys down as the people to contact just in case…) and then some general safety and cage diving orientation.

It was overcast and a little bit rainy, so they gave us a ride down to the boat. The boat was pretty big, with three outboard motors (I think 200 horsepower each), and two levels for sitting. They slowly lowered the boat into the water and we were off. Being back in a boat was great! It was the little piece of my summer cottage that I could hold onto. The weather could have been better, but we were just so excited to see sharks that it really didn’t matter!

After a short ride out into the insides, the boat anchored behind the protection of two small islands, in what they call ‘Shark Alley’, which sounded like an appropriate name to me. They dumped some fish (guts, bones, blood and all) into the water. On average it was between 5 minutes and 5 hours before we would see a shark….

In the meantime we decided to suit up. It would help in case it started raining and also with the nippy wind. The suits were full body wet suits, which are both entertaining to try and put on, but also entertaining to just see people in. It was definitely a little awkward and freezing having to be just in a bathing suit before putting on the suit. However, that cold would be nothing compared to the ocean water we were going to spend an appreciable time in. There is nothing like a full body wet suit to bring people closer together.

They also set up the cage during this time. The cage was about fifteen feet long, three feet wide and eight feet deep. It was dropped into the water and then tied onto the boat with string, I mean rope, haha. I would have been better if there was chains and locks…but I guess they are professionals?... Basically the cage held up to seven people and you just had to jump in and hold on. However, it was just like a rollercoaster ride; no hands, feet or heads out of the cage at any time (and probably for good reason)

The first shark showed up in less then fifteen minutes. We could all see it from the boat. They tied a huge piece of fish ribs onto a rope on the end of a long ten foot pole and then cast it out. Then they would ‘chum’ the shark and tempt it with it, but the goal was not to feed them, only to keep them interested…interested in staying around, or interested in the fish and not the people in the cage?...

There were fourteen of us that went diving today and don’t worry they all made it back in one piece! The first group went into the cage as soon as they were equipped with their masks. I can’t lie, it was a bit entertaining to watch these seven eager people jump right off the boat into the cage with a shark swimming right round it. Anyways, it was really cool to watch the shark come and attack the fish and then swim away and then from out of nowhere reappear completely where it had not gone away. The guides were amazing at spotting it coming and gave great warnings for where they were.

I decided to wait. To let some other people test the system and its limits before I went diving in headfirst. The first shark eventually got bored and so I got ready and jumped into the cage for the second one. I was SO EXCITED to do this…I mean swimming just feet away from a great white shark, how ridiculously awesome!

I was not prepared however for the cold water. The shock to my body and the fact I was shark cage diving definitely tripped the adrenaline. It was amazing at how HUGE the sharks were. They were easily the length of our cage (15 feet), yet they were oddly graceful. What I found the eeriest was how quiet it all was. You couldn’t hear anything except for us under water. That is what the disconcerting and uncomfortable part of sharks is in my opinion. I kept of diving down and watching as this mammoth of an animal would swim close to five feet from the cage.

One of the times that I was up at the surface giddily sharing how sweet this all was with Sarah, when Cait grabbed me, pulled me under and spun me around. I was at the very end of the cage and the shark literally brushed up against the side of the cage. I had no idea it was even there let alone that close! That was the highlight of it all for me. I was so close and really appreciate what an amazing creature these sharks were. They were massive hunters; the kinds of the ocean – comparable to the lions on our safaris. Being this close and witnessing all this was a privilege!

We were probably in the water for close to an hour…who knows? All I know is that once I got out I realized just how cold I actually was! When I got out, I had originally planned to just warm up a bit and then hop back in. How wrong I was. Once I got my booties off, I could tell there was no way I was getting back in the water. One of toes – that’s right only one – has went completely white, while the rest filled with colour. I was wet everywhere, it was windy and my dry clothes seemed to far away.

We stripped down quite quickly and peeled off our wet suits and clothes and quickly put on what dry clothes we had left and wrapped our selves in towels. We huddled inside the boat and I put down a few bags of chips and caramel popcorn. It was one of those moments where you are like I was crazy for doing that and I can’t believe the state I am in right now, but it was SO WORTH IT! Haha!

Anyways, we wrapped up the shark diving a short while later and once everyone was changed and settled we started out boat ride home. However, this time we stopped at a seal colony and witnessed the horrific scent and ridiculously overpopulated island that these hundreds, if not thousands, of seals occupied…future meals for the five sharks we saw today!

The drive back wasn’t quite as smooth as before. The swells had increased to nearly ten feet, and we have quite a wavy, splashy time getting back. It was an entertaining drive back and by the time we hit shore, everyone piled out of the boat and headed straight for the house. We drank out weight in bush tea and were finally beginning to feel warm again.

We started the two-hour drive back home as the sun was beginning to descend in the sky. The landscape here is beautiful and it would be amazing to live here for a while, or at least visit for a long period. We got the driver to drop us off at the V&A habourfront, by the mall. This was no normal mall. This was one of the nicest malls that I have seen in the world. It was full of shops and then the outside all along the water and habour were places to eat: ranging from Subway and a food court, to some very fancy dining establishments. Renne was looking for a place that she had eaten at nearly a decade ago called St. Elmo’s Pizza. We found it and had a great meal there, not quite what she remembered from way back, but still satisfying after a long day of diving. I am not sure whether we were the best sight at the restaurant…we smelled like fish oil and seawater and our hair was matted, wet and dirty. Our cloths were damp, but we were happy!

Sarah and I decided that we wanted to go out tonight – we only had two evenings and it was a Friday. There were no clubs back in Maun and how many times would we be in Cape Town? We didn’t really come to Africa ready for that kind of action though and so we did a super quick shop before the stores closed at nine o’clock.

We got back to the hostel and started getting ready. Today was the first day I have shaved since I left Canada. It was just under one month and I was SO READY to have a clean face again! It took me about half an hour with the razor to shave…the longest and most tedious experience of my life. I had a great shower and cleaned off all of the fish guts and salt from the day. After I dressed for the night, I felt as if this was the cleanest I had ever been. My face was so soft and it felt as if I hadn’t touched my skin in forever!

After we were all cleaned up we hung out in the hostel downstairs for a while. They had tables, couches and chairs and a little bar. We met Tom and Natalie, two travelers from the UK that were planning on coming to the Rugby game tomorrow, and were mildly interested in coming out. Fifi, the wicked lady who helps run the hostel was also a lot of fun to talk to. It was a really nice evening and it was good just to chat and chill after a long day.

However, that wasn’t the end of it for Sarah and I – we wanted to go dancing! We walked downtown and went looking for a suitable location. We were looking for somewhere to dance, but there wasn’t too much activity tonight from what we heard and saw. We decided upon a bar called The Loft. It was a trendy-ish club with different levels. We sat and chilled on their open outdoor patio and talked about life, politics and policy. It wasn’t the wildest night, but it was fun. We headed home after a little while deciding to save some for tomorrow and to try and get some decent sleep for all of our adventures yet remaining. Day two in Cape Town was done.