Shark cage diving

Meie elamus Hai kalakestega vees olles oli paris ponev, kuigi pean ausalt tunnistama, et seda haid me kahjuks ise ei kohanud.
See pilt on aga tehtud siiski samas kohas kus me sukeldusime, kuna huvitaval kombel on SA yks ainsamaid kohti kus Haid sukelduvad sygavasse orgu, kus nad siis heal hetkel ryndavad neist ylal ujuvaid hylgeid. Seda tehes hyppavad nad veest valja nagu pildil naha, mis on iseenesest vaga haruldane haidele.
Kyll oli meil aga voimalus naha paadist ja trellide tagant vees umbes 4-5 erinevat haid kes aega ajalt meie paadi ymber tiirutasid.

Kuigi elamus oli vahva, oli meie reisi paev siiski yks kehvemaid, kuna muidu on rohkem haisid korraga valjas ja on ka juhtunud kus hail on jaanud nina trellide vahele kinni ja hai on hypanud varava peale, enne kui see ise jouti kinni panna.
Nii siis onnestus meil kogeda miskit ainulaatset, mis muidu maksis 900 ran'i inimese kohta, kuid kuna meie reis ei olnud nii hea kui tavaliselt anti meile kinkekaardid, et voime seda reisi tasuta korrata yhe aasta jooksul. Kahjuks on meil aeg otsas ja pole aega seda teha, kuid kes meile piletid myys, ytles, et ta on nous need piletid tagasi ostma. Nii siis voib juhtuda, et meil onnestus Adamiga kogeda haidega kongis ujumist taitsa tasuta.



















Right, so for those of you that missed the Estonian classes in highschool, here's the translation.

What makes Adam get up at 4:40am while on vacation? Shark Cage Diving!!!

That's right. The other day we popped up before the sun so we could play "guess who's dinner" with the most feared predator of the sea* the Great White Shark. (Most feared predator contingent on the reader not being plakton, in which case you're more concerned with blue whales than sharks).

Anyway, that top photo you see is not fake. The unique topography of the ocean floor in False Bay coupled with the massive fur seal colony makes this the only place in the world where Great White Sharks actually breach while feeding. The 1200kg predators dive to the ocean floor then motor to the surface to catch unsuspecting seals. While it appears more science fiction than fact, there are more than enough tours, postcards, and posters to convert the most hardened naysayer. The downside to a colony of 50,000 seals, they smell like 50,000 sweatsocks after the Boston marathon.


So how was the experience? exhausting. We headed out into 10ft swells to view the sharks. In a great twist of irony, Ingrid, the person who gets motion sickness on playground equipment, stomached the trip just fine while "to tough for dramamine" Adam spent some time chumming the water on the heave side of the boat.

Once everyone was done getting sick, we suited up in wetsuits and jumped in the balmy 50 degree F (14 C) water. Let's just say the sharks weren't the only chilling aspect of the trip.

Once in the water we got to play "who goes where on the foodchain" with the sharks. It was quite a learning experience as you realized the sharks aren't just mindless attack machines. They actually look at you and follow you with their eyes as they move past. They pass by their targets several times, trying to decide if and when to attack. Once they've made up their mind that it's time to eat, they move so fast it's astounding. They lull around for the longest time then come out of nowhere to destroy their targets! That's the exciting part.

Ultimately this proved to be a tremendous learning experience, but I'll save the Dr. Echter testimony for later.

Sorry for not having more pictures, we were pretty much caught up in the experience.

And Mom, we'll chalk this up to the "tell me after it's over" pact we made when I started traveling.