Our wonderful Canadien friends hooked us up again! We had a full day at leisure in Cape Town to end this Africa trip.....and they invited us to go along with them on a shark dive! We sure couldn't think of a better way to waste our hard-earned money!!! So we tagged along to Gansbaai.....The Great White Shark Capital of the World!
They had arranged a private breaching/cage dive tour with world-famous "Sharkman"....Mike Rutzen. This guy has hosted several celebrities and filmed multiple documentaries while swimming with the Great Whites. He runs a company by the name Shark Diving Unlimited.
Well, our day started at 3:30am from our hotel. We were picked up and transported over 2 hours to Gansbaai for a sunset launch on his boat, the Barracuda. On a sidenote....it was FREEZING....and we couldn't believe we'd be getting in the water in a few hours. It was very rare that Mike Rutzen actually joined these "tourist" trips (someone asked him how cool it was meeting Matt Damon...and his response was Matt Damon came here to meet me!). So I guess it was our privilege to have him drive the boat and engage with us for the morning breach/dive.
We began the morning by experimenting at three different spots to find sharks that would breach the surface and go after the seal decoy toyed along behind the boat. Our only instructions were Do NOT take your eyes off the decoy! So we all sat in a trance-like state for over 30 minutes trying to focus on this little seal bobbing through the giant swells behind the boat. Suddenly, WHOOSH! This huge shark broke through the surface and launched into the air to snag the decoy.
Unfortunately, we only saw one breach during the first hour. Another shark surfaced and clamped on to the seal decoy....but did not propel out of the water. It seems sharks are smarter than we think! We did get to witness another cool sight.....a seal thrashing apart an octopus. Sorry, no pictures!
Well, our day started at 3:30am from our hotel. We were picked up and transported over 2 hours to Gansbaai for a sunset launch on his boat, the Barracuda. On a sidenote....it was FREEZING....and we couldn't believe we'd be getting in the water in a few hours. It was very rare that Mike Rutzen actually joined these "tourist" trips (someone asked him how cool it was meeting Matt Damon...and his response was Matt Damon came here to meet me!). So I guess it was our privilege to have him drive the boat and engage with us for the morning breach/dive.
We began the morning by experimenting at three different spots to find sharks that would breach the surface and go after the seal decoy toyed along behind the boat. Our only instructions were Do NOT take your eyes off the decoy! So we all sat in a trance-like state for over 30 minutes trying to focus on this little seal bobbing through the giant swells behind the boat. Suddenly, WHOOSH! This huge shark broke through the surface and launched into the air to snag the decoy.
Unfortunately, we only saw one breach during the first hour. Another shark surfaced and clamped on to the seal decoy....but did not propel out of the water. It seems sharks are smarter than we think! We did get to witness another cool sight.....a seal thrashing apart an octopus. Sorry, no pictures!
Now, it's time to cage dive with the Great White Sharks! We suited up in full wet gear, strapped 20lb weights around our shoulders, and lowered ourselves into the cage. The cage could fit up to seven people side-by-side (our group had 5). We kneeled into the cage and awaited the signal (Down!). Mike Rutzen was watching the sharks from above and relayed when we should dive to see them underwater. The sharks were literally right beside the cage. Our hands grabbed a bar underwater and we held ourselves below while the sharks would swim by. It was mind-boggling!
The Canadiens had an underwater camera that caught a couple giant sharks on both film and video. Check out our Shark Attack blog page to see more pics and video! I really enjoyed this trip! Jenesa and I spent roughly 40+ minutes in the cage with the Canadiens. The largest shark was over 5meters long! Even "Sharkman" Mike was astounded we saw such good numbers and size-able sharks.
Researchers estimate there are only 1000 Great White Sharks left in the entire world.....with 300 residing in Gansbaii, South Africa. The final tally when we were finished the tour was 9 (different great whites) that appeared this morning.
Researchers estimate there are only 1000 Great White Sharks left in the entire world.....with 300 residing in Gansbaii, South Africa. The final tally when we were finished the tour was 9 (different great whites) that appeared this morning.
Eat your heart out, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt! We've got our picture with Mike Rutzen too! Doubtful it will be hanging on his wall with all the other celebrities (Halle Berry, OneRepublic, Prince Harry, etc).
0 comments:
Post a Comment