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Amy’s South Africa Photos
I stayed in Gansbaai in the Saxon Lodge, which is a fantastic place, very welcoming and homely. Linda, the lady of the house, can cook like a top class chef. I dived with White Shark Ecotours http://www.white-shark-diving.com/vessel.htm, it was brilliant. My guide was amazing—he was full of information and the crew on board were happy to help.
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I was like a kid on Christmas morning—I have had a fascination with the ocean and sharks ever since I was young, and so on the morning of the first dive it took all my effort to contain my excitement. However, I did and I was quite relaxed and calm—until the shark turned up. Then I was like Tigger, jumping up and down and desperate to get in the water. I was first in and last out, luckily for me therJune 10, 2008o it was a case of get out when you were cold! An hour later shaking with the cold and a nice shade of blue lips, Ii reluctantly got out of the water.
The sharks were amazing—unfortunately the visibility was never better than about ¾m so not so many photos underwater, but I did get up close and personal with a great white. He hit the cage where I was standing, which was an amazing feeling. I tingled all over with the rush of adrenalin—they are amazing creatures. They are beautiful, shy and inquisitive and the reputation of the aggressive, ruthless killer couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, they are powerful, but they are very nervous when there are unidentified objects in the water. I was very lucky in my three days with them and in total had about 20 sharks. They varied in length, mostly 2.5–3.5m, however, the one I remember the most was the big boy that turned up on our last day. He was about 5.5m long and very wide, he also had a huge war wound on his dorsal fin and for me was the best! I nearly forgot—and how could I—on the second day, we had a breaching shark, and what a sight it was! It is spectacular to see such a large fish dive themselves up and out of the water. The skipper said we were lucky as they usually don't dive this time of year as they save this manoeuvre for the seals in winter, but what a sight, and I feel so grateful I saw them.
If anyone has considered doing this, I would recommend it. I am going again for sure, the only thing I would change would be the time of year I go next time—I am going between July and August as the water is clearer and the bigger sharks are around as the seals are breeding.
