S. Africa Cage Dive Trip

So on my last day in S. Africa we had the privilege of meeting with marine biologist Alison Towner at Marine Dynamics   who presented, Predator vs Predator , a presentation on the attacks of orca (killer) whales on great white sharks in the Gansbaai area (The peak season for seeing great whites is about March to September). This was a very unique and interesting presentation because this is a problem that has been seen in places such as the Farallon Islands but not in the False Bay area. This has really hurt & affected the great whites in the area and is something that researchers are now looking into. The researchers use the dorsal fins of sharks to identify them because they are like fingerprints - unique to each animal. Sharks, like many animals, release a death hormone when they are killed and this plays a big part in the disappearance of sharks after an attack. Great whites became a protected species in S. Africa in 1991 and so when a great white washes ashore dead for any r

I can be seen around the 4 minute mark - I'm the one wearing a pink mask. That is when my group went into the cage. We got to spend a long time watching the sharks. This video shows the entire group that went on the dive that day, including my group from Apex Sharks. This video obviously doesn't show the entire 3-4 hr trip but there was a lot of activity this day with the sharks and we had some really cool "encounters" that didn't make it to the video. *I still need to sort through my GoPro videos and post videos from my perspective and what I saw*

This is one of the cage diving companies that was part of The Great White Trail Expedition. I will be uploading a video of my cage dive soon. White Shark Africa  (click to see video)

So today we did our 7th cage dive and it was probably one of the best out of all of them. We had a total of 15-18 different sharks around the cage at various times and they all  have their own unique personalities. Some came in just for a look and didn't really go after the tuna head but there were a couple that were very interested and wanted the tuna head desperately. They came up to the cage and even tried to taste the cage in front of a couple of friends. It was amazing to see even from where I was in thr cage BUT my favorite was one when another shark actually swiped it's pectoral fin and tail against the cage in front of me. I really was tempted to touch it and DIDN'T because my love and respect from these animals has grown even more. Not only that but then the shark that bit the cage before we got out swam directly in front of my and we made eye contact. Her swimming was so delibrate,  slow, and stunning beyond words. I wasn't able to get that on my go-pro becau

We had a couple of Sub-Antartic Skuas flying next ro our boat this morning.  They are so powerful and beautiful. These guys were checking us out and hoping for fish handouts. They got a couple but had to work for it. One thing I learned is that these birds have pouches on the inside of their neck where they store food instead of eating it all at once. The pouches turn the food into a puree that they eat later on. They do this because these birds spend long hours and days over the ocean.

This morning (Aug 22) our Great White Expedition group met up with Chris amd Monique Fallows - the leaders of Apex Predators and favorite shark photographer (well Chris is), in Mossel Bay, to leatn about some predatation and breaching. We were able to watch the use of seal decoys after some time around Mossel Bays Seal Island. It was awesome to watch them work together and how much patience is needed to get a photograph you are proud of or sometimes even just one.

White Rhinoceros, Cape Zebra, Lion

Video Update  (click to see video)

Video Update during boat ride back to shore  (click to see video)

         So today was definitely not one of my better days as far as making a good impression. I was so excited this morning to get to meet Chris and Monique Fallows this morning and I even got a hug from Chris which made my morning. We walk out to the Apex Predators boat to go out to seal island and on the way there I was fine and enjoying the ride. However, once we dropped anchor and I could feel the boat rolling underneath me I was fighting to keep down my breakfast - which already wasn't much. This is despite the fact that I took Dramamine last night and this about an hr and half this morning before going on the boat like instructed. All the staff from Apex were amazing but Monique topped the cake. She seemed to know that I was fighting sea sickness and actually told me to just let it out and that I would feel better. So I walked over to the edge of the boat, leaned over, and up came my breakfast. She was such a doll she had tissues and a glass of (purified) water for me and to

First Day Overview  (click to see video)

Everyone keeps asking me what I will be doing so this post will be the itinerary that has been sent to my from Apex Sharks Expedition. As you can tell I will be spending a lot of time on the water learning about sharks. The great thing is that our time out on the water will be in the morning and I will have afternoons to do some additional activities and exploring. This is, of course, subject to change depending on weather - it's their winter. I am super thrilled about learning about the sharks, their habits, how to identify them, and learning what we can do to help protect them but I will also be in such a diverse area that I will have some opportunities to do other things and see even more wildlife. My flights are extremely long. Going to Cape Town will take about 25 hours and then coming home it will take about 28 hours. Even though I have some really cool layovers they are only about 2 hours each and so I won't get to explore some of Amsterdam or Paris. Day 1: 16 Aug

Preparing for my very first international trip was a process for sure and took several attempts to get my passport. In addition, to lots of phone calls and research. First I had to order my birth certificate from another state. Then once it came in I went to send off  for my passport I was first told that I needed to have a certified copy of my marriage license because my name didn't match the name on my birth certificate. I left feeling defeated but ordered a certified copy of it, tried again only to be  the post office I went to only takes the first 22 people. This of course was no where listed anywhere. I called several other post office locations to only be told that I needed to be there at like 4-5 am to get in line to get my passport. I finally reached a location that told me to be there 7:30ish am  and I should be able to get  a place in line. This time I was the 9th person in line but again they only take the first 22 people. Once it was my turn I handed all my paper work

I am in the final days before my trip to South Africa to do a great white cage dive. This trip has taken me 2 years to plan and pay for. I have been researching cage dives for years before I decided on my final location. In researching, I wanted to make sure that I went with a company that is more about education and preserving sharks than just a deep sea fishing trip with cage dives thrown in. There was also a desire and need to go with a company that wasn't going to attract sharks in an unnatural way. I have been watching Shark Week for over 20 years and when I saw Chris Fallows and his photography of the Great White Sharks breaching - originally aired and called Air Jaws  - I  knew that I wanted to go to S. Africa to see the sharks jumping out of the water. Following him and seeing his love for sharks and wanting to preserve them and using more natural ways to get the sharks to breach made me look into S. Africa cage diving companies. I got lucky in my research - not for cag