Heading out the waves were pretty high and the boat was bouncing around and slamming down hard after each wave... but we were told that it actually was quite a calm day!
When we reached Seal Island (yes, Walker Bay also has a Seal Island) the crew started to pour a scent trail of “fish soup” into the water and it only took about one minute before the first Great White showed up.
Important to point out is that the encounter doesn't make the sharks associate people with food because the bits and pieces in the soup are too small for them to actually get anything to eat; only the gulls get to feast. 
The group consisted of six Americans and four Swedes and was divided into three smaller groups , since a maximum of four people can go into the cage at the same time. Jonny and I were in the first group jumping into the cage, wearing wet suites and goggles. The water was quite cold and in a wet suite two sizes too big, I wasn't very happy. 
From deck the crew shouted “Down down!” as another shark approached the boat. A deep gulp of air and we stared into the blue-green depths for a glimpse of the most feared predator in the oceans. 
The cold water was totally forgotten when the Great white propelled itself from below us toward the bait. For a second it was close enough to touch... if we had been stupid enough to try something like that. 
At first the fascination made me forget that I had my camera with me, but as the four sharks kept swimming by us, I remembered... You might think an experience like this is frightening but we were actually too excited to be afraid.
Since quite a few of the others this day were suffering from sea sickness, there was enough space for me to jump into the cage with the other groups as well, which entailed that I was in the water the whole time! After an hour in the huge wet suite, in 14 degree water, I was blue and shaking... but happy./A
Errr... 'continued' adventures? What's going on guys? Hope you two are still having fun!
ReplyDeleteGraham