Shark Alley

With less than one thousand left on the planet, the Great White Shark may not be with us for much longer. In order to see it in the wild there are only a few places left where the species still thrive. Gansbaai is probably the Shark viewing capital of the world because of its close locality to Dyer Island and 'Shark Alley'.

There are a fair few companies which provide cage dives, however, I would recommend Shark Diving Unlimited not only because of the excellent experience I had with them but also because they seem to be the company of choice for any celebrities who pluck up the courage to come face to face with one of the deadliest predators on the planet! Previous visitors included Prince Harry, Brad Pitt, Halle Berry and Matt Damon - not a bad list! There were even some 'celebs' on our trip, although im not sure you would put them in the same bracket as the ones I've listed above.We were joined by a couple of members from the cast of Downton Abbey (I've never watched it but I believe this is them here) as they were promoting the series here for the BBC. 

The trips are brilliantly organised with Shark Diving Unlimited arranging to pick us up from the Berg En Zee guesthouse and transport us across to Gansbaii with a quick stop off to watch some of the Southern Right Whales who come right into the bay at this time of year. Watching the massive mammals is incredibly relaxing 
as they drift slowly around in the deep waters just a few hundred metres away. We were lucky enough to catch a few of the whales breaching and lobtailing as we sat in the sunshine (even an albino one!)  - a great addition to the day and just shows you don't need to go on the Whale tours which can cost about £40 per person!

Having had overcast weather for the past few days it was nice to be able to sit in the sunshine as the purpose built boat 'Barracuda' made its way towards Dyer Island. You could see that everyone on the boat was a bit nervous with the anticipation of seeing the sharks but luckily we didn't have to wait long. As we pulled up to the diving spot the boat was being circled by sharks almost immediately! This was before they had even started to put the Chum into the water to attract them. They looked absolutely huge as their shimmering grey bodies cut through the water underneath the boat. You definitely wouldn't survive for long in these waters without help! 

The Great White Sharks we were going to dive with are nicknamed Tommy sharks by the locals in Gansbaai as a result of the number of British soldiers they killed during the sinking of HMS Birkenhead. This was also incidentally where the 'Women and children first' protocol first came about. We just had to hope they didn't still have a taste for humans!

Once we put our wetsuits on the reality of what we were about to do really set in. Some of the sharks swimming around the boat are well over 4m in length and would probably weigh nearly two tonnes. They could quite easily tear us all to shreds just for fun. Lowering myself into the water I kept this at the front of my mind. No sudden movements, keeping arms and legs as close to my body as possible we gradually dropped under the water to view them under the water.

The crew stay on the boat to keep attracting the sharks and use a bait on a rope to play with them. It reminds me a lot of a kitten with a piece of string until you see the Great Whites catch one of the baits. The sheer power and speed of these beasts is unreal. We've all seen it on TV and in the movies but when you are in the water just a few metres away from them it really is something else! I end up spending nearly an hour in the water completely transfixed by these majestic animals. Every time one gets close enough to touch I had to really fight the urge to put my hand out and try - I would have lost it in an instant! They seem to be curious about the movement around them but are far more concerned with trying to catch the bait. The visibility under the water started to get worse so for our viewing pleasure and safety we were lifted out of the water and back onto the Barracuda.

A truly unbelievable experience. In the water with an Apex Predator. I wouldn't 

say it completely eroded any fears I have of sharks but I think I will be able to go 

into the waters understanding that if I do get attacked while surfing or swimming 

it will probably be more my fault than Tommy!