Swimming with the fish

April 27th

The alarm went off at 4am. We were in the lodge ready to go at 4:30am. Our ride showed up at 4:40am. Right on time. There were 3 other people in the van. We picked up two more and after some small talk, we all fell back asleep for the two hour drive. We picked up two more people right before we made it to Gansbaai.

We were greeted as soon as we walked into the Marine Dynamics Shark Tour house. Yeah, we decided that jumping in a cage and swimming with Great White Sharks would be fun. And we were so right! So after a quick breakfast and safety video, we were on our way to our boat, Slashfin.

The boat ride out was so pretty and such a different landscape then what we had become accustom to in South Africa.

We made it the spot that we were going to hang out with the sharks, anchored, dropped the cage into the water and handed out wetsuits. So we all threw on our wetsuits and waited.

We had one crew member baiting the sharks with fish heads tied to a rope & buoy and the other crew member baiting with a wood cut out of what the sharks would perceive as a baby sea lion. It wasn't long before the sharks started coming around.

The cage was attached to the side of the boat and once the sharks were coming around, it was time for the first 8 adventure seekers to hope in the cage. It was pretty funny that we all came out to get in the cage but when it was time, no one volunteered. So we did. We were a part of the first 8 in the cage.

The water was FREEZING! But it didn't matter, there were sharks around that we were going to check out. So when the crew members that were throwing out the bait yelled instructions, we would go under the water and look for the shark in the direction they told us.

The water wasn't super clear but there was no mistaking at 12+ foot Great White shark when it went swimming by.

We were in the cage for around a half hour before it was the next groups turn to get in the cage. At the end of our time in there we had seen two different sharks (regulars, Nemo & Maureen) pass by us quite a few time. It was such a fun experience.

After drying off, we hung out on the deck check out the other 5 sharks that came by to visit. It was so fun to watch and listen to all the people that rotated through the cage. And pictures (although not great, they came out a lot better from the boat).

 

You can really see how close they come here.

I think the highlight of the trip was as they were baiting one of the sharks, the angle that the shark took to get the bait caused the shark to ram face first into the cage. The lady that was at that part of the cage when it happened was hysterical but in a positive way. She LOVED it! It was such an incredible thing to witness.

The trip ended way to early and we were so bummed to have to head back to shore but it was such a memorable trip. The organization & people at Marine Dynamics were great! They were so knowledgeable & helpful and spend a lot of time on research and conservation of these fascinating animals. One member of the crew was even from Nebraska so we spent lots of time talking to Tami about sharks, South Africa and college football. They blog about everyday and even create a video from each trip.

Check their blog out here. There are way better pictures then what I took and there are more fun pictures of us!

We drove back to Cape Town in the afternoon and had the evening to explore and check out this new city. By the time we were dropped off and started walking around, most things had started to close up. But it didn't stop us from exploring for a little while. We were able to walk by Castle of Good Hope, Greenmarket Square, different town centers, government buildings, Bo Kaap area, & saw part of the Berlin Wall that was given to South Africa.



Castle of Good Hope with Table Mountain




Entrance to Castle of Good Hope



Piece of the Berlin Wall



Bo Kaap Area



Bo Kaap Area

We loved exploring the city and had a great time wandering for a while. We finished our evening having dinner down on Long Street. The cab drive the night before told us of a place called Mama Africa's so we decided to check it out. We were not disappointed. This place had a ton of atmosphere, great people and fun food & drinks. So glad we were able to stop here. After dinner we walked around Long Street for a little while and then headed home for the night.



Long Street definitely had a New Orleans feel to it