Diving With Sharks

Shark diving is probably the most amazing thing I have ever done.  Initially we were not going to go, but my friend Melissa told me how great it was so we decided that we would take the plunge (literally) and do it.

We booked our trip with White Shark Diving Co. and I'm glad that we did.  They picked us up around 4 AM and drove us two hours to where we would be departing for our dive site.  Since my body clock was so messed up, I didn't sleep at all during the ride so I got to watch the sun rise over beautiful scenery.  It was absolutely stunning.

When we arrived, we were fed breakfast and coffee.  After we ate, we were given the safety overview and then we boarded our boat.  On our way out to the dive site, we saw two whales.  They were pretty close and it was amazing to be near such massive creatures.

Once we got to the dive site, it was slow going for about 45 minutes.  Because there was no wind, the chum that was being thrown in the water to attract the sharks was only going in a circle around the boat.  But then the wind started to pick up and we got some sharks!

The sharks got even closer than you see in the picture above.  The captain on the boat kept throwing massive tuna heads, which they explained to us were like crackers to these sharks, in order to get them to come closer.  I believe that there were about eight sharks that paid us a visit.  The biggest one was 3.5 meters long, but when you're that close to a killing machine, they're all huge.  A lot of them even jumped out of the water when we were in the cage, which was amazing.  I was never scared of them but rather freezing because the water was about 55 degrees.  Talk about cold.  I had some trouble breathing when I first got in but then I adjusted.

After about two hours out at the site, we went back for some lunch.  One of the crew members filmed our dive, so we watched the footage while we ate.  When we finished our meal, we were driven back to Cape Town.  On our way back, we had some time to kill so our driver asked us if we wanted to go whale watching.  Of course we jumped on that opportunity.  We saw upwards of eight whales.  It was beautiful.

Watching some whales.

On our way home, I passed out.  I was absolutely exhausted.  Luckily, we were the first ones to be dropped off.  Needless to say, we were useless for the rest of the day but that was okay.  It's nice to have a relaxing day, especially after spending close to an entire day traveling.  Next up, our day in Cape Town.  It was powerful and beautiful day.  I can't wait to share our experience with you.