Great White Shark Cage Diving

Day #20

19 today!! Today is my birthday and I have now reached the 19 year milestone and I had a good day ahead to celebrate it! 

Just like a little kid I was awake extra early with the excitement of my birthday. I woke up at 7am and got to open my birthday cards and present. With my birthday T Shirt on I headed outside for my 8am pick up. 

Today I was going Great White Shark Cage Diving and I was very excited! We first headed into the city centre topick up two fellow divers. An American father and daughter from San Franscisco joined the mini bus, the daughter was same age as me and on a gap year as well and her mum and dad had flew out to pay a visit. 

It was about a two and a half hour drive around the coastline to a small fisherman's town called Gansbaai. This is the number 1 place to go shark cage diving with a huge seal population which attracts these might beasts. 

We arrived around 11 for a 12 o'clock departure time. Before that there was a breakfast waiting and chance to change into swimmies before we set out. 

The boat was waiting and before long we were all aboard and ready to set sail. The boat was rapid and we flew out of the harbour and raced towards our anchor spot. 

After letting the anchor down the crew started to attract the sharks by jumping in the water dressed as seals... Only joking, they used something called chum, a mixture of blood and guts used to get these sharks interested. It took about 15mins until the first shark came and not long after another joined him. At this point the first group of divers were called. 

How it works; 8 divers get wet suited up and then climb into the cage, once all 8 are in the close the top and you then wait with anticipation usually not that long, there is a yellow handle to hold and foot holdings at the bottom, when the guy who is in charge of the bait who was called the "Master Baitor" (which sounded very funny in a South African accent) saw a shark approaching he would shout "DOWN DOWN DOWN!" At which point to get a big breath and go under looking for this Great White to charge right at you!

I was the fourth group in and at this point I was not feeling very good. The strong travel sickness tablets weren't helping much instead they just made me feel very very drowsy but I had it under control, for now. I got wet suited up and then got my weight belt put on (this is a belt of heavy weights to make it easier to go under the water quickly). As he tightened the belt it triggered the sickly feeling and immediately I ran to the side of the boat to produce the goods. Not the best feeling. But after letting it all out and a quick sip of water I got my goggles on and climbed into the cage. 

The water was freezing! But you didn't think about it much as you eagerly anticipated a shark attack! "DOWN!" Under I went to see this huge great white come face to face with me, it's crazy how close you are, I'm glad I was this side of the cage. Cage diving gives you an amazing experience to see these predators of the sea in great detail, every tooth and gill you can clearly see once they get up close. What made it more interesting is that the visibility under water is only about 2m so they come out of nowhere which keeps you on your toes. 

Out I climbed and with my freshly provided towel I took my seat. Seconds later I got a pat on the back, they needed 1 more diver in the cage and I was the only single rider so being on my bill worked to my advantage. Still wet and cold from the last dipped I climbed in again, this time closer to one of the ends which offered a much better experience. This round was sooo much better. Two times a shark bit the cage right in front of me and then one big mummy came out of the water and began to attack the top of the cage it was incredible!!! Really exciting! It's hard to describe. These are just huge beasts, most of them around 4m long. 

I got out and began to get changed back into my warm clothes. Sadly I did produce the goods again over the side of the deck but this time I didn't have any money left in the bank after my earlier deposit. (If anyone is confused; I threw up again). 

I got changed and took a seat. I wasn't feeling great at all, sea sick, extremely drowsy and shaking so much with the cold some guy offered me his jacket. But I manned up and moved into the sun and before long I was just about OK. I was happy to finally reach land I'm not going to lie. 

After buying a DVD of videos of today's adventure we set off again in the mini bus. On the way down we stopped off to see at least 6 whales right close in breaching. It was amazing to see. At the moment it's breeding season and we did see a group of whales all together, who knows what they were up to. 

It was good to be home after the long drive and even better to see lots of food left over from Bruce and Louise's Braai earlier today. A birthday feast

And even a little birthday cake as well...

What a way to celebrate my 19th birthday! Blessed to be here!!

God Bless.