Are you one of those crazy people with Shark cage diving on your bucket list? I must admit I never really saw the appeal of being under water while having a huge shark come swimming past mere centimeters from my face!
However, after my recent Shark Cage diving experience in Cape Town, I now understand the attraction to this unique experience.
My shark cage diving in Cape Town adventure started in the Apex Shark Centre where we were signed in and greeted by Brandon who then showed us a presentation on what to expect on our upcoming voyage.
After experiencing the passion and knowledge that Brandon had to share, we were all so excited to get to the boat. We had a quick 2-minute walk down to the pretty harbor and stood there in awe of the cage and excited crew waiting to meet us.
We were carefully helped on board and then introduced to the rest of the crew by Ryan the Captain and given a safety briefing and a recap on what to expect. Once we were all settled in and had found our seats, we left the harbor and headed into False Bay. There is just something so magical about the morning light on the water as you enjoy the view of Simon’s Town and the surrounding Mountains.
Chatting to the rest of the passengers I realized that they had come from all over the world to experience this trip and I was lucky enough to only live a few hours away. The 30-minute boat ride went by fast and when we came to a stop, we were greeted by what sounded like a few thousand sheep! We all walked around to the front of the boat to watch thousands of seals diving, swimming, calling, and splashing in the waves.
I loved how they bobbed up and down in the water calling to their friends like little lambs. Seal Island certainly was an unforgettable experience.
We moved away from Seal Island and a few minutes later the anchor was dropped, and the cage was put into the water and attached to the side of the boat. This was it, no turning back! I was handed my wetsuit and now had to get into it.
I had visions of me jumping up and down in my swimming costume trying to get into the wetsuit while everyone stared! Thankfully I managed to get into the wetsuit easily and was helped by the crew to get zipped up and booties on. The Bronze Whaler Sharks wasted no time in coming to the boat to say hi.
Ryan excitedly told the first group of divers to get our masks on and helped us step off the boat into the cage. I was expecting the cold water to hit me but it didn’t. I don’t know if it was the adrenalin pumping through my body or the wetsuit doing a fabulous job of keeping me warm. Probably a bit of both.
My mask was barely on when Ryan yelled dive and the three of us took a big breath in and went underwater. Moments later the shark came swimming past us in what felt like slow motion. It honestly felt like a dream seeing such a big shark swim past me and being able to look into its eye as it calmly traveled past us. We all went back up for air, holding on to the inside bar and excitedly talking about what we had just witnessed.
We had barely been up when Ryan was telling us to dive back down. What I never expected from a shark cage dive is that you are guaranteed to get a workout. I had to make sure I held on and managed to remember to breathe! After a few sharks, we climbed out and let the next group climb in. We stayed out there for quite some time and once we had all had the opportunity to be in the cage a few times we decided to head back to Simon’s Town.
I sat there listening to all the chatter amongst the other passengers and realized that this is an experience you can’t just do once. You have to come back again and relive this magical experience as I’m sure each trip comes with a different story. Shark cage diving in Cape Town is definitely something that should be on your bucket list.
(Words by Natalie Van Eeden)
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