Shark Cage Diving

We're alive! Yay. Neeti, Didi and I decided to wake up at 5am and get driven 2 hours toKleinbaai, on the southern coast of South Africa (near where the *true* meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans is). We were, to say the least, frigid -- it's not really all that cold here (it's summer after all), but with 34 km an hour winds blowing at us it sure feels cool!

We were nervous but our fears were allayed by the really cool marine biologist researcher (Alison) who assured us that everything would go smoothly. Which it did. As luck would have it, we were dilly-dallying around in our wet suits (quite stylish, I know) because we were nervous about getting into the cage after the first shark sighting -- but there were four people already in the water, and then there was only room for three more, and no one else wanted to go in. So Didi seized that opportunity to take the plunge, so to speak, and she went in the cage. Neeti and I soon followed, and the water was incredibly cold...but the allure of seeing a shark from 2 feet away was enough for us to conquer the cold. The baitsmen (likely just local kids who were interning on the marine biology cruise vessel for a summer holiday) had a lot of fun hauling the bait (the head of a large fish) and a decoy (wooden plank) into the water in front of the cage, and watching the sharks go after it. We saw three sharks (all male, all juvenile 2 meters long) while we were in the cage, and then after resurfacing we saw another 7 sharks (10 total!) including a massive 4 meter male. It was, to put it bluntly, exhilarating.

Here is an awesome video of one juvenile (yes, it's a small one!) Great White Shark getting baited but then actually snapping the fish off the bait line:

Favorite line of the day: "Who thinks it's ironic that *we* are in the cages and the sharks are roaming free?" -Didi

Some more pics, since the video doesn't seem to be loading on most computers:

(Isn't it odd that a baby shark is called a "pup"? Sharks and dogs don't look anything alike...)

(Yes, that red line is the decoy bait, and yes, it is literally 3 feet from us in the water!)

Well, that was pretty darn cool. Now we shower/change and go out to Asian fusion food for dinner and some local jazz afterwards.

BTW -- a plug for responsible eco-tourism; I really liked the message that Marine Dynamics (not to be confused with Veridian Dynamics) gave us. We had a 10 minute powerpoint before we began outlining the research they do, how it helps the sharks overall given their status as an endangered species, and I appreciated having a marine biologist and not just a tour guide on the boat. Highly, highly recommended group.