Remember the first time you watched Spielberg’s Jaws? With their great, gnashing, razor sharp teeth and thrashing tail, Great White Sharks became the resident monster that lurked in the ‘depths’ of the swimming pool and on the ‘other side’ of the bath tub. I don’t know about you, but I was a scaredy cat to the core and have always had a fascination with these amazing creatures. Locals here in South Africa have an unspoken understanding with the wildlife inhabiting shared spaces. Basically, it comes down to leaving one another alone – you can admire from afar in ‘oohs and aahs’ of appreciation and wonderment, but you just don’t step over the line and take advantage of what is a very good living arrangement.

Enter Andrew, a New Yorker and the new MD of the India, Middle East and Africa Client Relations office. When I first met him, he very eagerly bounced up and down in excitement at the prospect of going shark cage diving. I, and the rest of the Cape Town CR office, cocked an eyebrow at the very thought; this is more of a tourist activity rather than one for the locals! To say that our arms were twisted would be an understatement – after much boyish excitement from our resident New Yorker, we were all buoyed by the prospect of diving with the oceans’ apex predator.

Gansbaai is situated approximately 180kms outside of Cape Town and is considered the world’s capital for Great White Sharks. It’s a fishing village and very reminiscent of the type of lifestyle many coastal towns in the Western Cape are like…very simple, untouched by the fast-paced lifestyles we are all used to, and rich in unique cultural history.

Come dive day, we could not have asked for a better way to spend our Saturday… the sun was shining, the seals and mullet fish were out in full force, a positive sign for shark sightings according to the highly experienced crew onboard the Shark Fever, and we were surrounded by the Cape’s glorious mountains at the bow and the open seas to our stern. It was only a few minutes after arriving at Dyer Island when we were joined by a pod of Southern Right Whales. During the months of August to December the Southern Cape Coast becomes a breeding ground for hundreds of these majestic creatures and your spring days are spoilt rotten by the frequent sightings of whales breaching and slapping about in the water having a general fun day out and about. It was not long till the first screeches of heightened expectancy were greeted by our first shark…5m long; he was a male and was apparently “bigger than average”. Large or not, he was big enough to take down Chuck Norris, and ironically, we all ran downstairs and suited up, ready to get started with our dives.

Over the next few hours, six of us entered the cage during each ‘dive’ for between 30 – 60 minutes long, depending on the activities of the shark. The experience itself is pretty surreal and to be entirely honest, you imagine life will flash before your eyes upon getting up close and personal with a Great White, but this is by far the experience you have. They’re incredible animals and demand utmost respect from observers. Calm, inquisitive and awesome are characteristics of these creatures and they are larger than life itself. Almost the size of an SUV, they glide past you effortlessly and with such grace and ease that you can hardly believe they are stuck with a stigma that sees the depletion of shark populations across the oceans due to ancient traditions and the notion of fear itself. Conservation is a big part of Shark Cage Diving and operators take it upon themselves to educate and train the general public as to the true nature of these animals, and your experience throughout the day is testament to their passion in preserving this endangered species.

With four different shark sightings under our dive belts and after much screaming from the crew of “dive to your right…shark to your right…look straight ahead at the bait, shark going for the bait!”…the trip was finished off with a boat ride through ‘Shark Alley’…the drive thru equivalent of MacDonald’s. Every year between summer and winter, sharks and seals play a game of cat and mouse roaming the dangerous waters off Dyer Island in search of food. Whether you’re the shark’s food or a seal in search of mullet, this is definitely one body of water you do not want to find yourself in regardless of what’s on the menu.

As a whole, the day was awe-inspiring and it was a shared experience with a team of colleagues who now appreciate a truly unique experience spent together.

Whether we reminisce over a couple of drinks one night after our work or laugh about a shared moment, we’ll always look back on ‘dive day’ with a new appreciation for Great White Sharks, and come Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, we can actually jump up and down in excitement screaming at the TV “dive, dive to your right…the shark’s right infront of the cage!”

Note: the views and opinions presented in this blog post are personal and unique to the blogger. Meltwater Group does not endorse nor promote recreational shark cage diving. This was a recreational activity voluntarily shared by persons outside of work and the Meltwater offices.