Sharks were becoming a highlight of my scholarship year and as I surfaced from each dive alive and bite free I was becoming ever more confident. I had just spent a few days in Perth, Western Australia, where reports of shark attacks were abnormally high. I was visiting the 2008 OWUSS Scholar Steve Lindfield but we both managed to snorkel and survive in the sea around Perth. What’s more, before visiting Steve I had been cage diving with great whites in New Zealand – in the very cage that had just made headlines because a shark had managed to “enter” the cage – I survived that too.
With sharks becoming such a prominent feature of my year there was one country that I couldn’t leave unvisited. Whether you want to see tiger sharks, bull sharks, sevengill sharks, black tips, raggies, blues, makos and of course the big man – the great white – South Africa is the country that will deliver.
So I went. As the plane coasted over the wine-lands of Cape Town and came in to land with the sea and mountains creating an almost unbelievable backdrop, I knew I would like this place. Thanks to the generosity of Shark Explorers I was about to spend a week experiencing some of the best shark action South Africa has to offer.
Shark Explorers is a shark diving operator based in the quaint town of Simon’s Town – a short drive out of Cape Town. Morne Hardenberg and Stephen Swanson run this upbeat and forward thinking company and together with their two Divemasters – Earnest and Brocq –their passion and zeal for sharks shines through in every trip. Seeing sharks is such an exhilarating experience it would be easy to run a shark diving operation and rely on your customers’ exhilaration to carry you through. Morne, Stephen, Brocq and Earnest ensure their operation is about so much more than this; Their conscientiousness and enthusiasm for sharks is evident and when a customer has a question they have the answer.
I spent a week diving with these guys and over the course of the week I had some of the best dives of my life. As well as running the great white shark cage diving trips that South Africa is renowned for, Morne and Stephen also run sevengill shark trips inshore and blue shark and mako shark trips out in the deep. I was lucky enough to experience all of their trips and as the week progressed I had to take a step back so I could grasp all the amazing sights I was seeing.
Having seen great whites in Australia and New Zealand I would describe myself as having become comfortable in their presence. But in S.Africa I realised I hadn’t seen the BIG ones. As I sat on the bow of the Shark Explorers Boat – watching Morne manning the bait line, Stephen manning the decoy line, Earnest stomping on the chum bucket to get the juices flowing and Brocq sitting on top spotting for sharks – there was the standard cry of “shark!” as a shark appeared as a grey/white silhouette through the green water.
“Wow, it’s a big one” was the first thing I heard that made me perk up, followed by “jeez, it’s massive!” When you have spent time on shark diving boats you can tell a genuine tone of excitement. This was most definitely genuine. I immediately started scanning the water for the big-un. “It has to be at least 4m” the boys conferred with one-another as I searched with my eyes for the beast. I am generally considered a quiet person, but as this this gigantic shark came into view my mouth produced a number of loud comments that aren’t repeatable … I felt a genuine feeling of fear, swiftly drew my legs into my chest and was extremely glad I hadn’t spotted this beast before taking a surf lesson the day earlier. No matter how much time you spend in the sea, how many dives you have to your name, how many countries you have visited, how many awesome creatures you have seen…there are some things that can’t fail to take your breath away.
That mammoth shark went on to chomp down an injured seal only one hundred metres from the boat. The seal’s intestines were then spotted hanging from the shark’s gills as it swam underneath the boat. Nature at its finest eh.
I didn’t spend the whole week gaping at the size of the South African great whites though – there were other dives to be done. Sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) inhabit coastal temperate waters and they can be found just a few metres from shore, just along the coast from Simon’s Town. Shark Explorers run regular trips to see the sevengills and these characterful sharks make for a great diving experience. Although they can reach over 5m they are more akin to puppies than sharks and they are not to be feared. They have two additional pairs of gill slits in comparison to most sharks, as the name suggests, and they are a very primitive species with a skeleton resembling those of ancient shark species (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_shark).
Every species of shark has its own character and when you dive with different species you start to notice the differences and similarities. I only had one dive with the sevengills but in 80-minutes I warmed to these sharks: They look happy; they swim along with a smile on their faces. They cheekily appear over your shoulder, or swim directly towards you with their cheerful faces giving you a friendly once over.
As I followed Morne though the kelp forest, weaving my way in and out of the tall fronds, I was astounded at how many sevengills kept appearing. They were evidently at ease in our presence and would meander past us as if we were just another piece of kelp. I can’t recall experiencing a dive like it. I have had sharks swarming around me in an excited frenzy; I have peered through the grates of a cage as great whites patrol past; I have hovered over an ocean trench as silky sharks appear from the blue; but I have never felt so chilled out in the presence of a shark.
It was a nice change – when you dive with sharks they tend to be on-guard. If you get too close, or if they come to check you out and are quizened by your presence, they will speedily scatter. The sevengills were different. They were inquisitive, they came super close, but they never scattered. I didn’t see one swim at speed – they seemed very comfortable as they cruised along and went about their business as if nothing was amiss, despite a few foreign beings being in their presence. They look contentedly spaced-out.
A speedier and more energetic dive was soon to follow. After powering out into the open ocean for near on 2-hours we stopped amid the easy rolling swell, the soaring mountains of the Cape now barely visible. We had come all this way to dive with blue sharks and mako Sharks – two species I had never seen before, but two species that I have longed to see. To me diving in the open ocean is the ultimate: hundreds or thousands of mysterious meters plummet below you. You cannot know what mysteries reside down there. It captivates me, it excites me – it very nearly draws me down in pure fascination. And the best bit – who knows what’s going to show up…
Hovering in mid-water I was surrounded by a seemingly endless blue as needle-like sharks nipped past me. These Blue Sharks have to be the sleekest sharks I have ever seen. They are petite, slim, shiny, and have the most alluring blue band running the length of their refined bodies. But don’t be fooled – these sharks are not as reserved as their graceful appearance would imply! Unlike many sharks that will swim directly toward you and turn at the very last moment, the blue sharks will just keep swimming – straight at you, no gentility, just an intrusive nature that took me quite by surprise. I would often feel them before I would see them. One over confident shark decided to stalk me from behind, making a beeline for my armpit as I held my Light and Motion housing out at full stretch in front of me. You may not think you can jump when you are surrounded by water, but I did. It didn’t end at armpits either: fins, cameras, hoses, legs, and my head, was bopped by a blue.
Despite the mako sharks not turning up, the blue sharks provided more than enough amusement. I often surface from a dive because I am cold or my deco-time is pushing its limits. I rarely surface from a dive because my air is running low, but the blue sharks had me completely enthralled and as I saw the needle on my air-gauge creeping ever nearer the red I was willing my breaths to slow down. As I reluctantly made my way toward the surface I looked down to see the sharks still busying themselves amongst the remaining divers, bumping into their camera lenses and nibbling at their fins.
The swell had picked up by the time it came to our ride back to Simon’s Town but every bump and jolt was worth it. Some dives are unforgettable – you look back on them and think wow, or as the South Africans would describe it: ‘lekker bru!’
My entire week with the Shark Explorers team was awesome. To get to work alongside people who are as enthusiastic about working with sharks as they were in the beginning is a rarity and it rubs off on everyone. The Shark Explorers boat is full of excitement, everyday. Whether it was spotting the giant great white, cruising with the sevengills or avoiding the bumps of the blues I was constantly in my element. Once again my time had to come to an end and I was sad to leave the Shark Explorers team behind. With a healthy respect and brimming enthusiasm for sharks I am sure Morne, Stephen, Brocq and Earnest will have many busy days ahead with many happy customers onboard.
Thank you to Morne who supplied many of the images for the blog.
