I’m not exactly the adventurous type, but when the
opportunity presented itself to go shark cage diving I jumped. I figured when
would I ever have the chance to see Great White Sharks in their natural habitat
again, and I’m so glad that I did. As I learned it is estimated that there are
only about 1,500 Great White Sharks left in the wild and soon there maybe none
at all so the chances of me having this experience ever again is slim. Many
critique shark cage diving as environmentally unfriendly and dangerous to the
sharks but there are eco-friendly options available and one of my housemates,
Jessica’s, friend found such an option. This company was based out of Simon’s
Town and prided itself on its ecologically sound practices.
Bright and early (very early! At about 4:30 am) Jessica, her
friend and some other girls from another study abroad program began the drive
to Simon’s Town. We quickly boarded the boat and in about a half hour were out
to the spot where we would be diving. The staff was clearly passionate about
wildlife making sure they pointed out the different sea creatures that we past.
We went by a small island covered with female seals and their pups, which was
adorable. The first group got their wet suits on and headed down into the cage.
One of the staff members put two lines of bait in the water, one that floated
on the surface and one that hung below to pull the sharks in towards the cage.
He would make sure to pull the line before the shark could get it though
because feeding wild sharks is illegal. We saw some massive Great Whites
swimming lazily around the boat. Though I was very seasick (I seem to forget
how much I don’t like boats until I get on them) the time went by quickly. We
quickly put on our wetsuits and plunged into the freezing cold ocean. After a
few minutes someone yelled, “Shark!” and we dove under the water to come face
to face with a Great White. Granted my knowledge of sharks comes almost
exclusively from shark week in the Discovery Channel, but I thought that the
sharks would come at us, biting the cage, trying to make us their breakfast. Rather
the sharks swam lazily by paying little attention to the tourist in the cage gawking
at them. After a half-hour in the cage and multiple shark sightings we had to
(begrudgingly) get out. After only about 5 minutes on of the staff said to me,
“see those waves over there? Those aren’t waves, they’re dolphins.” We started
to head towards the dolphins and found ourselves in the middle of a pod of
about 3,000 dolphins all herding schools of sardines into the harbor to eat
them. Everywhere I looked there were dolphins diving in and out of the water,
flying towards the harbor. I even saw quiet a few mothers and babies in the
pod. As the dolphins jumped in and out, I got splashed a few times by their
flippers. I could see millions of sardines swimming in schools trying to escape
the dolphins. As the predators got closer the schools would panic causing the
fish to flop on the surface as though they were trying to fly away. As the dolphins
past, I noticed the water was glittering from what I thought was sunlight, but
on closer inspection turned out to be fish scales of the unlucky ones who couldn’t
get away. I though, this will probably never see anything like this again. I noticed
that this was out of the ordinary when I saw all of the staff had out their cameras
and GoPros to capture the moment. They seemed just as excited as all of us. While
staring out at the dolphins I muttered to myself, “this is the coolest thing I Bright
and early (very early! At about 4:30 am) Jessica, her friend and
Once the final group went, we started to head back to the
harbor. have ever seen.” I didn’t realize how close the skipper was but he
replied, “You will probably never see anything like this again. Only about 10%
of the tours see dolphins, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it as good as
this.” He ended with an enthusiastic, “I love this place!”
As we headed in towards the harbor leaving the dolphins
behind I realized that part of the impressiveness of the moment was the fact
that I was a witness to nature. I had never seen so many animals in their
natural environment before, acting on instincts that have been a part of their
DNA forever. Whether we were there for not those dolphins would have been
herding those fish into the bay, and that’s what I liked so much about it. It
has been so long since I have seen something that wasn’t touched by the human
hand; it was inspiring to see, as a human, everything doesn’t revolve around
us. Even though a week has past, as I reflect on the experience I can still say
without a doubt that was the most impressive thing I have ever seen.
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