D-day had arrived!! Today I was
ticking my last natural wonder of Australia’s wildlife off my bucket list, a swim
with Great White Sharks. While my
encounter with this apex predator was to be behind bars it still had the
adrenalin running.
The morning started very early as
the cage dive was in the Neptune Islands approximately 30+ miles or 3 hours by
boat south of Port Lincoln. I was picked up by taxi and driven down to the
marina. 23 other willing and some unwilling Shark swimmers were also joining me
today. The cage was attached to the back
of the boat and was the start of the days many highlights. It reinforced the
day’s uncertainties. It is built in town
from aluminium and holds no more than 6 divers at once. The air is pumped down
to the divers via an on board compressor and the open gap that you look out
from is apparently safe and measured to a “Great White standard” so they said. So
after signing my life away and waiving all responsibilities we set sail with
the engines to the Neptune Islands, home of a 4,000+ fur seal colony that had
some hungry neighbours. The trip out was rough but pretty. We passed many Tuna
holding cages. These cages hold the Port Lincoln economy till they are ready to
be sold, fattening daily. There are many islands that scatter this rugged coast.
The islands were named after crew lost at sea by Matthew Flinders during his
circumnavigation in 1802.
We finally arrived and anchored
in the Neptune Islands marine park. The crew lowered the cage and prepared the
water with the Shark attractant, commonly known as blood, guts and Tuna
intestines on a rope! I was in the first group of 6 so after suiting up I was
straight in. The moment I recovered from the instant cold snap (14deg) I could
see the first Shark. It was smallest of the day, 2.5m and was not the one the
cage gap standards were measured from but still big enough to ripe an arm
off. The first sight close up of these
amazing creatures for me was a dream fulfilled. They are built to kill, full
stop. While there was a slight delay till the next encounter the blood and
guts that we floated in was doing its job. There were 6 sharks within the hour
I was in this cage, coming and going numerous times. The largest was closer to 5 meters long while
most were 4+ meters. The crew hurled the bait out and then drag it towards the
cage giving you a pretty darn close view of their power and teeth. Many would
swim around the bait and then swim across the gap of the cage. They would
approach the bait slowly and then with one explosive whoosh of the tail, bite
the bait similar to ripping a surfer’s leg to pieces and shaking it furiously.
Their eyes are pure black and medusa like. The smaller shark would stare you
down every time before turning and showing you who was boss. He came at one
point so close to the cage that the point of his nose was just inside the gap of
the cage before then turning to his side.
It was enough for me to drop to my knees. Lucky the compressor was
pumping the air as I was sucking it dry!!
Well time was up and we exited
the cage. The shaking and banging against the boat due to the swell had left
some memories on my body but well worth it. The rest of the day was spent on
the boat and watching the action from the surface. I was thankful by day’s end
that I was in the first group with Tony, Jason and Ann as they had a couple of go- pros so there were memories.
An amazing day that I will never forget and
another highlight in an amazing year!
P.S. - I had flake for dinner ….
[Meanwhile, Megan, Zoe and
Samantha remained behind at the caravan catching up on some schoolwork. They did get out of the van for a late lunch
and browse about the local K-Mart to break up the day.]
No comments:
Post a Comment