Shark!

South Africa is known for its concentration of Great White Sharks. For those excited about the possibility of meeting Jaws face-to-face, suit up and go shark cage diving! Great White Shark Tours provided a tasty spread for breakfast – fruits, meats, pastries, teas, coffees, eggs, cereals, etc. After a quick pep talk, we boarded the boat. There are many people on the boat, which provides an encouraging atmosphere.

Travelers Tip: Sit in the bottom section of the boat, especially if prone to sea sickness – it is less bumpy and windy.

The water was very choppy, but I was loving it (thank goodness I have a tough stomach!). We stopped at one spot for an hour to try to lure in sharks, but none came and so we went closer to land. We were warned that the water was murky, but that if we wanted to get into the cage, it was “now or never.”

Well, I wasn’t going to go Shark Cage Diving and not go into the cage, so I zipped up my wetsuit and slid into the cage! Great White Shark Tours provides fantastic quality wetsuits, with a hood and booties included. Unfortunately, there really was zero visibility. Even when there was a shark in front of our cage, we couldn’t see it while underwater. At last, we saw a shadow of the tail.

After about 40 minutes in the cage, I got out and decided to try to see the Great Whites from the boat. On deck, we could see just how close the sharks really were. They were right there. Despite being unable to see the sharks from the cage, we were thrilled to have been able to see six or seven from the boat. To see these ginormous, dangerous sharks attack the bait was both remarkable and frightening. While I’m bummed that I couldn’t really see the sharks from the water, I understand that we can’t control the ocean and it was still an exciting experience nonetheless.

A few hours later, after a light lunch on board (sandwiches, chips, soft drinks, and water are all included), we went back to the main house and were greeted with hot chocolate, coffee, tea, pastries, and chocolates.

Before signing up for shark cage diving, you have to acknowledge that it’s an event that you can’t base around the weather – it’s marine weather, not atmospheric weather, so just because it’s beautiful outside (and it was!) doesn’t mean that the water will be clear. It works just like a safari – you either have a lucky day or an unlucky day, but the crew really does try their best to make something happen.

If you’re going to go shark cage diving, Great White Shark Tours is most definitely a reputable, reliable company for the excursion – even the Discovery Channel and National Geographic have used their services!

Travelers Tip: Expect high swells. If you think you’re going to get sea sick you probably will, so prepare properly and take some dramamine.

Merry Christmas!

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS! Despite being extremely tired, I greeted everyone with an overly enthusiastic “Merry Christmas” and was psyched for the day. You may ask how I celebrated my Christmas? Well, I did the polar plunge on Deception Island. We were on an active volcano beside a black sand beach, surrounded by run down shacks, shipwrecks, whale bones, graves, and penguins. It was 1 degree outside and heavily snowing, with extremely strong winds. And we decided to be lunatics and do the polar plunge, on Christmas, in this weather.

The idea of peeling off all of our layers alone sounded painful, muchless running into the water and dunking our heads…it was virtually unfathomable, but we committed. On the count of three we stripped off all of our clothing as quickly as possible and sprinted into the (literally) icy cold water, completely submerging ourselves in the Antarctica waters.

Amazingly that part wasn’t awful, it was the getting out that was miserable. Our toes, upon hitting the water, burned and stung more than anything we’d ever felt. Running out, we threw on our wet skins and rainboots (which was extremely uncomfortable because we were soaking wet, freezing, and covered with sand and snow). We couldn’t move, had people help us with our life vests, and hopped in the zodiac. I’d never been happier to see a ship in my life. I bolted inside, dropped my stuff outside my door, and ran through 5 floors of the ship shoeless in my bathing suit until I found the sauna. Nothing has ever felt as amazing as the sauna did in that moment. I was the first person to get there, but pretty soon after there was a sauna party – we squeezed 17 people in the little sauna. It felt that lovely.

I decided to call the parentals to wish them a very merry Christmas and to tell them about my polar plunge. They couldn’t believe it. It’s a cool feeling knowing that you did something that very few people in the world have the opportunity to do and (painfully) experience.

After a quick post-lunch nap, we headed to Half Moon Island to observe a chin-strap penguin colony. They were just so adorable waddling through the snow – and it’s quite refreshing to see them trip and fall all the time, it makes me feel better about myself. We were getting ready to leave when I was told a baby penguin was spotted so I ran up the hill to see the cute fluffy thing. Seconds later, someone shouted “It’s hatching!” Right next to us in clear sight we saw a baby chin-strap penguin hatch. It was absolutely unbelievable – quite a way to end our final Antarctic excursion.

Following the excursion we had a Christmas cheers in the bar and a hilarious Antarctic-themed 9 Days of Christmas sing-a-long at dinner. Despite totally missing the family, right then it felt like Christmas.

It was a very merry Christmas indeed 🙂