We were driving for over an hour when I finally realized how beautiful it was outside. The day couldn’t have been more perfect, it was about 20 C, the sky was a perfect shade of deep blue and white fluffy clouds floated by, one by one. I had been too preoccupied with my own thoughts to appreciate the perfect day. Since the van came to pick us up at our hostel in Muizenberg my mind had been racing with thoughts of excitement and anticipation. The other passengers in the van were anxiously waiting to get to our destination where we would embark on an adventure of a lifetime and go cage diving with great white sharks. I had dreamed about this moment since I was 10 years old, and I watched my first episode of shark week.
When we reached our destination I followed the crowd to the sign-in desk, put on a wetsuit and was escorted to the surprisingly small boat. As soon as everyone was on board the boat took off for Shark’s Bay, conquering slightly rough waves in the process. The whole event seemed surreal.
I stepped into the Indian Ocean and felt the cold water saturated my wetsuit, sending chills throughout my body. The chills made me realize what I was actually about to do, and how blessed I was to be doing it. I had watched people cage dive on countless episodes of Shark Week, now it was my turn. This was another opportunity for me to live my life to the fullest, I took a deep breath and let the excitement began to take over.
I climbed down the boat’s ladder, entered the cage and took my place next to the four other people who were anxiously waiting for the experience to begin. The instructor yelled for us to drop down into the water. I grabbed the metal bar and descended into the cage. Directly in front of me only three feet away, was a beautiful four-meter long (13-foot feet) great white shark swimming towards me. Before I could even blink, the shark was right in front of me chomping on the metal cage. Then the majestic beast let go of the cage, turned to the left and I watched as it disappeared into the dark, endless sea.
I pulled myself up out of the water. As oxygen filled my lungs, I excitedly yell out, “That was awesome!”
Three Things Shark Cage Diving Taught Me:
1. Dreams do come true.
As I mentioned above, I had literally been dreaming about going cage shark diving since I was 10 years old, (I was wild at heart since I was a kid) and 10 years later, I did it. It was also the last thing I had to do on my original bucket list. Getting in the cage really made me realize that anything is possible. If you truly want something you can make it happen. All you need is to believe in your dreams, believe you can do them, and take every opportunity you get to make them come true.
2. Sharks are seriously misunderstood creatures.
I have been a shark fan for as long as I can remember. I have always thought that they were so cool, and fascinating. Getting to see the beautiful great whites up close made me realize how majestic they truly are. Sharks get a bad rap because they are huge, have a lot of teeth and movies like Jaws, have made them out to be the villain of the ocean, but in reality, they are just big, ok giant, fish just trying to live their best lives.
3. Completing your bucket list isn’t the end, but a new beginning.
When I was 18, before I set off to see the world, I made the perfect bucket list that I wanted to accomplish before I died. It was filled with fun activities like surfing, scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef, drinking a cappuccino while staring at the Colosseum and of course cage shark diving in South Africa. Once I started travelling I started crossing off every item from my list and as I mentioned getting to shark cage dive with great white sharks was the last thing I had to do. I completed my original bucket list at the age of 20. At first, this made me feel anxious, but later as I drove back to my hostel from cage diving I felt pleasantly pleased with my accomplishment. In that moment I knew that I was truly capable of achieving all that I wanted, and even though I completed what I set out to do, I knew I was able to come up with more wild adventures to embark on.
Why You Should Go Shark Cage Diving
I think that everyone should add shark cage diving with an eco-friendly company to their bucket list because it is an amazing adrenaline-filled activity that allows you to better understand the beautiful and complex fish that the media has portrayed so poorly. As I mentioned above I think that sharks are misunderstood creatures and getting to see them live and for a brief moment co-exist in their natural habit, made me fall in love with them even more than I already did.
Where To Enjoy Shark Cage Diving:
1. Gansbaai, South Africa
This is where I went shark cage diving, and it was amazing. If you have ever watched Shark Week, you might have heard of Shark Alley – a location in where a lot of great white sharks travel through. Well Shark Alley is in Gansbaai, South Africa! It is about 175km from Cape Town, and a lot of the tour companies will pick you up from the city and take you to Gansbaai.
2. Farallon Islands, California
The Farallon Islands are off the coast of San Fransisco and actually a wildlife sanctuary. They see a lot of migratory species come through including great white sharks. Great whites usually start hunting along the California coast around mid-July and stay around the coast until winter starts.
3. Isla Guadalupe, Mexico
Located off of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, Isla Guadalupe is an excellent location to see some sharks, including great white sharks. This volcanic island has become one of the most popular cage diving spots in the world. Nautilus Liveaboards, a local diving company says that they have spotted 322 individual great white sharks!
4. Neptune Islands, South Australia
Located near Adelaide, The Neptune Islands are a breeding ground for both seals and sea lions. So naturally, great white sharks, migrate to these islands to feed on them. If you are in Australia and want to fall in love with these beautiful creatures, definitely visit The Neptune Islands.
5. Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Cocos Island is home to lush green plants and picturesque waters, and is the perfect spot for shark cage diving if you are looking to many different species of sharks. This location is visited by whale sharks, hammerheads, bull sharks, nurse sharks, whitetip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks and the less popular, Thresher shark.
I hope this blog inspires you to add shark cage diving to your bucket list and motivates you to learn more about my favourite misunderstood creates.
Sending you all of the love,
