a tame rollar coaster ride

After traveling from Cape Town back up to Storms River just to do the rest of the East Coast with Chanelle (otherwise I would have done it in the reverse order, saving me a ten hour bus ride), she left yesterday from Oudsthoorn to head back to Jeffery's Bay to catch some Seamen (No seriously, that's the guy's surname). I was sad to see her go since I would have to do the cage shark dive without her, but when my alarm went off in the Hermanus darkness of 5:30am I clamored out of bed to get ready for my scheduled 6:30 pick-up. Outside, just on time. The shuttle came at 7am. I boarded a bus full of French, Spanish, Austrian and American tourists. I explained to the driver that I had no money on me as I had left my wallet in the safe behind reception and was not told that they didn't open until 7:30am. I had with me my phone (and very little battery! Which would be fine except that it was playing a triple role as my phone, iPod and camera), two jumpers (thanks to mum's insistence when I left home), a bottle of water, and wearing shoes and socks that smelt of horse poo (literally, as I went horse riding the morning before) because I hadn't had the chance to do any laundry for a few days.

"Good morning everyone. My name is bla bla (yet again for the millionth time I cannot recall someone's name). We will be driving about an hour to our office for breakfast and a quick briefing before we head out to the boat for four hours of shark viewing. Those that survive will then be taken back to the office for a light lunch before being driven down to Cape Town."

I think he made a joke. I hope he made a joke.

We pulled up outside the office.

"Ok guys. We are at the office and you will be pleased to know that statistically, you have just survived the most dangerous part of the whole day - driving for an hour on South African roads."

Half an hour later fifteen of us were boarding a vessel that looked fit for seven with a cage that looked like a squeeze for three attached to the side. After a relatively smooth ride and reminder that I had forgotten my sea sickness tablets we were all handed wetsuits, goggles and 'booties'. Wet ones too.

"Right. As I explained in the briefing five people will go into the cage at once, working on a rotation basis. Once everyone has had a turn, anyone that wants to go in again may do so. Right. Who wants to go first?"

I surprised myself by raising my hand.

"I'll go. If someone hops in before me."

A few other people were eager to go and I climbed in the cage after three others, the Austrian girl I had spent the morning so far chatting to jumping in after me. My eyes followed the bright yellow rope a man on the boat had cast out to sea a few meters beyond the cage, which had a rather huge yellow fin fish attached to it. Within minutes there was only a head. Fish. Just fish. I saw a jelly fish float by and told myself I had imagined it. As we got jumbled up in a mess of arms and legs, trying to stay afloat (it was a hold-your-breath type dive, with the top of the cage about 40cm above water, the other two meters below it) I spat out the salty water that rushed into my mouth as the waves crashed into the cage.

"GO DOWN. GO DOWN. GO DOWNNNN."

Forgetting to take a deep breath, I pushed myself under, using the top of the cage as leverage, and hooked my feet under the rail that lined the bottom of the cage, a few centimeters from the edge of it.

A cloud of gray and white swam by.

I went up for air.

The process continued for the next fifteen minutes, only I took bigger breathes and the sharks took bigger attempted bites at the bait. It was amazing. Great white sharks are the only sharks that are surface feeders, so they were the target for the fiasco. The smallest we saw over the four hour period was 2 meters, the largest 3.5. We had a couple of 'jumpers', when the sharks thought they actually had a chance of getting the bait (which I am told is a rare occurrence), which was spectacular, even from on board the boat, and two even managed to actually snag the bloody meat attached to the line.

I climbed aboard after my second dive to see the same girl that had been getting sick since we left shore, still vomiting overboard.

I will not get sick. I will not sick. I kept telling myself. And I didn't. Power of the mind over matter hey? I was impressed with my stomach when on the ride back to shore the high swell of the afternoon was causing stomach drops every several seconds. The faces of those around me did not look too pleased. I actually quite enjoyed the ride back. Almost like a tame roller coaster.

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