A while back I saw a deal on a website called GroupOn which offers vouchers for various things at reduced prices. The ad I saw was for snorkeling with sharks at the Aliwal Shoal in Umkomaas, which is about 45 minutes south of Durban. I thought this would be a really fun and crazy thing to do when Cesar got here, so I bought it without thinking twice. Of course in my mind I pictured snorkeling not any different than any other snorkeling I had previously done, with cute colourful fish and coral reefs, except for every once in a while a cute little shark would swim by in the distance... :)
So, at 5am on December 20 we arrived at the office of Oceanworx ready for our exciting excursion. Of course the first thing I asked the instructor was, "Do you really see sharks?" He told me that he gets this question all the time and assured me that I will see sharks.
We were schedule for a 6am launch and everything was running on time. The weather was a bit on the cloudy side, but that did not interfere with our plans. We were joined by another group of enthusiastic swimmers, who also did not appear to know what was in store for them.
As we set out the boat took us deeper and deeper into the open waters of the Indian Ocean. When I looked down all I saw was dark water. There was no cute little red and yellow fishies or pink corals. In fact all I could think was, "This looks like shark infested water!" And it was!
After about 20 minutes of speeding over the waves, the captain slowed down and stopped the boat. The water was dark and bottomless. The captain and the tour guide threw chum into the water and not long after that we could see a fin, and then another, and then another. As the sharks began to arrive the captain also began to throw sardines in. I must be honest, I was terrified.
These were the instructions we were given by our guide: (1) the sharks we would be swimming with are blacktip sharks and they do not eat people, (2) stay in a group because the sharks are less likely to be interested in you and bother you, (3) do not swim with your hands, because slapping the water attracts the sharks as they might think you are an injured fish and bite you, (4) do not panic if any bigger sharks, like tiger sharks show up (which had happened the previous day), (5) now jump in the water!
Going into the water was like jumping from a building without a harness, it was contrary to any human instinct I had in my body. After all, we were out in open water with no cage to separate us from what popular media has taught us to be the scariest creature in the ocean.
It was wild though. I think it was absolutely the craziest thing I have ever done.
And it was absolutely amazing! The sharks were curious to meet us and would swim up to us to see what we are and then go on their way. They were everywhere underneath us behind us and all around us.
Cesar actually touched the fin of one of the sharks, which startled it and it ran away!
The whole experience was terrifying, but extremely rewarding. It was for sure the craziest and scariest thing I have ever done, but it also gave me a completely different appreciation for sharks. They are really beautiful creatures who are not just lurking around waiting to attack you. They are quite gentle and curious and actually very beautiful.
When I last spoke to my parents they asked me what to get me and Cesar for Christmas. I told them that I don't need anything. So they offered to pay for something that Cesar and I either do or get in South Africa. So we decided that swimming with the sharks would be part of their Christmas present for us, because it is definitely something neither one of us will ever forget!
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