S. Africa Cage Dive Trip

So the first day I got to meet Chris Fallows, my favorite shark photographer - and my inspiration for working on my own photography (esp water and nature) - I literally squealed like a girl at a boy band concert (it's how I image my friend Peeper when she sees NKTOB). He came over an gave me hug and as amazing as that was then we went out on the boat for our first dive Chris and his wife went with us. His wife, Monique, is even sweeter and such a caring person and was very compassionate in helping me deal with the embarrassment of throwing up due to seasickness. It made me feel so much better when she said she suffered seasickness for about two years when she started being out on the boat.  They did not go out with our second dive but we they did tell use they would try to see us when we went to Mossel Bay.             Once we were in Mossel Bay we learned that Chris and Monique would be there for a week and we were given a chance to go ...

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 ...