The drive was easy as there were so little people on the road at this time of day. The darkness allowed everyone to rest their eyes, but not me. I was way too giddy, excited about the journey we were about to embark on. I love animals, so the safari portion of our trip is going to be a total dream come true. That being said, I am obsessed with sharks. THIS was the part of our travels that I was most looking forward to....
We pulled up to the shark shop early, around 5:45am. We were the first ones there, but no one seemed to mind. By 6am, the store opened and we proceeded to sign our lives away...quite literally. Everyone is always so nice in these situations - oh, you might die? In that case, my good deed for the day is making sure your morning doesn't suck... I will take all of the positive energy coming our way today.
We made our way to the dock where we were to depart. Claire and Jason were transferred separately, so they had secured us all seats atop of the boat. Brandon and I climbed our way down to the boat from the dock, and then back up to our seats. No one sat with us, so the four of us had the whole area to ourselves. Sweet!
Remember how the sea was angry in Cape Town aboard the large navy vessel? Well, she was fucking pissed at 6am in Simon's Town and decided to bully the little catamaran that could. If I'm being honest, I was having a blast for the first 15 minutes of the 25 minute ride. Sure, it was cold, I was getting splashed by the waves and we didn't have seat belts...but the adrenaline was rushing and it was like the craziest roller coaster I've ever been on. Then we hit a big wave, my foot slipped and I almost slid under the railing. I quickly understood why everyone else was freaking out around me. I've never held onto something as tightly as I did the middle bar of our seats for those last 10 minutes to Seal Island....
But we made it! Brandon and Claire were completely soaked, they definitely got the worst of it. No one seemed to care at first - we were at Seal Island! The most shark infested waters in the world... But that seal stench? MY GOD...
We began circling the island, looking for seals coming and going from their hunts - prime great white shark breaching conditions. We did this for a bit, but activity was quite low. And by quite low, I mean non-existent... Strike 1.
After our first failed attempt for a breach, B was becoming increasingly closer to puking. His motion sickness combined with the smell was not boding well. Meanwhile, the crew began prepping the decoy - an effort to create better chance for breach. We got Frank into the water and were praying for some action. ANY action...
This went on for quite some time. The entire boat sitting in silence. About 20 minutes in, it happened. So quickly that if you weren't paying attention you would have missed it. Guess who wasn't watching due to motion sickness??? Poor Brandon... I think he does feel better knowing it wasn't that great of a breach though. It was a smaller great white, and he came from the side. So we did not get the amazing vertical jump that these flying sharks are known for, unfortunately. I still thought it was awesome...
We pulled the decoy a bit longer, but nothing happened. Strike 2. Onto the cage diving portion of the excursion we went. By this time, Brandon was not in great shape. He was drenched, freezing and also on the verge of providing the chum himself. Both B and Jason stayed up top while Claire and I climbed down to check out the situation. A group of 5 had already committed to going in the first group, so we had to wait. They all changed and put their wet suits on, while the rest of the boat waited patiently...
....Still waiting.... No sharks.
Waiting some more.... No sharks.
I wish I were watching the clock, but I unfortunately was not. It seemed like eternity though, that much I can say. FINALLY! A sighting. Claire and I were both still on deck level, and I literally ran to the edge of the boat to get a better look. I didn't realize it, but Claire climbed back to the top level. The crew was rushing around, trying to get the first group of divers into the cage to get up close and personal. Still waiting my turn for the cage, I climbed back up to see if the view was better. It certainly was. The size of this thing....it was nuts. Pictures don't do it justice, but we had between a 12-14 footer they said and it was wide as ever. Amazing...
Sadly, it happened so quickly and the shark had very little interest in the chum - the boat's, Brandon decided to refrain from providing his own... It took a tiny nibble of a fish head and just as quickly as we saw it, it disappeared into the deep. I didn't even have an opportunity to reach for my good camera - only iPhone shots, which oddly enough came out better than Claire's camera shots. It just happened so quickly...
Man was it amazing though. A great white shark sighting at Seal Island, still pretty incredible. We were all on an adrenaline high, ready to rock for group 2. That didn't quite happen since Jason, Claire and I wanted to go together. Fine, we will wait until group 3... So group 2 changed and we waited....
And waited......
And waited..... Until the crew asked us if we wanted to stick it out for the remaining 30 minutes of the excursion or head back in. I was so pissed they even asked. We are literally paying you assholes for your time, so deal with it and keep chumming! I was not alone in feeling this way, so they stuck it out....
....and we saw nothing. Strike 3.
I was so upset that I didn't even have the opportunity to get into the cage. I realize why people opt to dive for more than one day - you simply cannot guarantee anything. Now we know, I guess.... Regardless, we did have one sighting and it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I think everyone shared these feelings. Except for Brandon, though even he perked up and was giddy when we spotted the shark.
The boat ride back was much better and saw smoother waters. We were having a great time, but were all a bit bummed that we didn't get group 1. We kept telling ourselves we probably got the better view of the shark, since it didn't go in front of the cage and visibility probably wasn't great for those on the left and in the middle, but we are still jealous...
We docked and made a lunch stop at the Salty Sea Dog for some fish & chips. We were challenged by our driver from the Cape Tour (same one we had on this morning and scheduled for our transfer the following morning to the airport) to compare Sea Dog's to Kalky's, which was our lunch stop during the Cape Tour. The verdict was unanimous, Sea Dog's trumps Kalky's.
We walked what we are lovingly referring to as the trail of tears, up high into the mountain side to get to our B&B. It was worth it - the views were incredible. We all went to our rooms for much needed showers and met back in the main living area for some wine. We chose to skip dinner, hang out and get a good night's sleep. The next day was to bring another early wake up call and travel to Safari, so we welcomed the rest.
While it was not what we were expecting, the shark encounter experience itself was worth it for me personally. Who knows when I may have another opportunity to even see a great white in the wild, under somewhat controlled conditions. It was extraordinary...
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