Day 73

Day 73

Amazing experience today! One that I will remember for years to come!! Shark cage diving was the event for our Monday off!

We were picked up at 8:00 by a bus full of tourists eager to get In the water with some sharks! There was a Romanian, a Brazilian couple, an Italian, some Americans, Dutch, Australian and Jeff and I who were obviously British. What a mixture! The bus held about 20 passengers for the 2 and a half hour trip to Gansbaai! The group got on really well from the first minute we departed and everyone had such interesting stories and journeys to tell everyone about!

We arrived at Gansbaai at about 10:30 and it was now time!! We arrived to the Eco adventure centre where we were given breakfast and coffee/tea before we set sail! The woman explained the days layout and what our camera footage options were!

After breakfast our host Hansah (not a clue how to spell it) explained the whole routine of diving, the do's and dont's when in the cage Etc etc.

It was now time!! We took a 15 minute boat journey which was approximately 3 miles in distance and got ready for the big moment! We all got given a wet suit and getting in the cage came on a first come first serve basis in essence, so I got in the third time round. On average, at this time of year, it's often known that you only see 3-4 sharks where as today we saw 7! The tour guy said it was quite a surprise and he didn't expect so much, so I guess luck was on our side once again! Made up for the  awful weather, it was absolutely chucking it down today and reminded me of a typical miserable English day. I felt quite nervous before departing but there is literally nothing to be scared about honestly! Once I got on the boat the nerves completely disappeared! Everything's really safe and nothing can go wrong unless you ignore the diving masters instructions. We was out at sea for a good 2-3 hours and both jeff and I got some really neat photo's! What an experience, I was literally smiling the whole way home, I was one of few who didn't sleep on the way back! The diving master asked if anyone would like to go again so Jeff and I both put our hand up plus a couple of others! There was no chance we were letting that chance go to waste! I think a lot of people were hesitant because of how cold the water is! Second time round it feels even colder! It was nice that jeff and I got to do it individually but then share the experience for the second go, being in the cage at the same time!

We rode back to shore, shivering and cold but it was all worth it! Such an awesome day. We went back in to the centre to review the day, have some food and beers and watch the DVD footage of the day! It cost 300 rand and it's another tangible item that I can always watch to remind me of being in the sea with sharks! It was lovely to meet everyone and i hope they enjoy the rest of their adventures.

We arrived back at Berghof at 7:30, had a bath and headed back out for dinner because the food on the menu today was Lasagne and we didn't want that again! We were about to leave, only to remember that it was raining! Idiots. We rang George from reception and asked if we could borrow an umbrella, but being the kind man that he is, he offered to drop us! 'Such a top bloke'as we would say in England!

Amazing day. Back to work tomorrow!

All the best

Luke