Dah-dum, dah-dum...yes there is a huge Great White Shark powering its way towards me, dorsal fin poking through the surface of the water like a great triangular warning sign. But it's ok, because by all intents and purposes I should be in a large boat which is resistant to all of these kinds of things, too solid to be worried by anything as small as a fifteen foot long, two tonne shark. Oh no what's that? I'm actually in the water less than a foot away from this beast as it crashes into the cage in front of me. Slightly nervy at first, I'll tell you that much.
To be honest, it wasn't really that bad. More fascinating than frightening. Just to see these epic fish up so close and to experience their awesome power is something else. Their teeth are like shards of ivory just rammed into their gums and their mouths are so massive I'm pretty sure they could swallow me whole (I've lost a bit of weight recently, you see), and if not me they could definitely swallow your children.
Despite being told about how agile they were - apparently that is the only advantage they have over Orcas (killer whales), who are their only predators; that and the fact that Great White Sharks just leave their children to die if under attack - they all seem quite cumbersome to me. Charging in to grab some cheeky tuna heads left on the surface of the water by the crew, the sharks seem to just charge straight through (at 20 knots, apparently) and then smash straight into us. Which rattled me a bit, I don't mind telling you. It rattled the cage slightly more though.
Shark cage diving is just as contrived as every kind of wildlife viewing. It involves getting in a big boat with lots of other tourists, motoring out across a bay, lobbing a big metal cage in the water and a couple of bleeding fish heads into the water and then waiting for some sharks to come. When the shark comes up you jump over the side into the cage, the man with the fish heads puts them right in front of the cage and you try to avoid filling your wetsuit with all kinds of horrible things as the shark comes within a hair's breadth of your position. It is good fun, and the only way to see these beasts up so close is by being in the water with them. It was cold though.
The place I did it was called Gansbaai, funny because it is pronounced 'Hanssbye', being Arikaans and all. I was staying in Hermanus, which has the most whales chilling out under its cliffs out of anywhere in Africa. So I was just walking home from Pick'n'Pay (the Tescos of SA) when I spotted about six whales just languishing in the bay. I stopped and ate my pre-pack cheese, ham and tomato sandwich there, just watching mum and baby whales having a nice time in the choppy water. I had a nice time, too. Though my photos were dire, the whales being mostly underwater and all.
And now its Cape Town until the end of my trip. The Lonely Planet says it is easy to fall in love with this place. I will fall in love with it as soon as I stop getting people coming up to me threatening to knife me, which happened twice today. And I am yet to walk home tonight yet. But I suppose that is my own choice in doing things on my own and refusing to get taxis anywhere.
On a lighter note, I went to Mandela's old prison cell today. It was smaller than I imagined; 18 years is a long time to spend in a room the size of a kitchen cupboard.
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