G'day Hive,
It's been awhile since my last blog post but that is due to our recent adventures through the very bottom of the world... The south island of New Zealand!
And while we were down there we got to attempt another bucket list experience..... Cage diving with great whites!!
We made our way down to the most southern part of New Zealand, to a town called Bluff
And this is where we embarked on our journey to the Titi islands and submerge ourself into the waters that these apex creatures call home.
The boat left at 7am so we were up early and awoke to another miserable weather day in Bluff haha.
It was raining and cold. And this was supposedly the middle of Summer! But as this is the closest we had ever been to Antartica, weather conditions aren't the best here year round.
We arrived at the Shark Experience (which is one of four places in the world that you can still dive with great whites) to sign our lives away. As this can be a life threatening experience if things go pear shaped...
But you got to risk it for the biscuit!!
Now we had previously booked in for the day before but we received an email saying that the tour had been cancelled due to not enough people but we could rebook for the following day.
Luckily we had two nights booked in Bluff.
But I think the company just cancelled the day before so they could put everyone onto the same boat. Which made for a packed boat!
We got the safety run down and there where 14 divers for a cage that holds 5 people at a time. So we already knew our shark sighting, if at all, was going to be very limited from inside the cage.
None the less, we boarded the boat and made our way across the Foveaux straight to our final destination Motunui island where we will anchor up for the day.
The Foveaux straight is a notorious part of sea. But luckily we had a smooth run on the way out.
We sat out the back of the boat watching the sun break through the clouds full of anticipation and nerves for what the day has install.
The ride out from Bluff to Motunui island is around one hour.
Along the way we spotted some penguins in the water as well as a lot of bird life.
Half way out to the island the boat was over run by a stench that could wake the dead... The berly trail had begun...
This is how the boat lures the great whites from the ocean to the boat, by leaving a trail of tuna oil and guts through the water. To spark the interest of any near by sharks.
Once we were anchored up. We had one final safety briefing as the cage was lowered into the water....
GAME ON!!!
We were fitted with a 7mm wetsuit, gloves and shoes as the water was 14 degrees so it was quite cold. But the weather out of the water was not much better to be honest. We're also fitted with a weight belt to keep us from floating up.
While inside the cage we use a regulator which is hooked up to an air pump on the boat so we can breath under water.
We had to do some training inside the cage. This was to make sure we could remove water from our goggles by pressing down at the top of the goggles while leaning your head back and blowing air out of your nose to blow the water out.
And also taking out the regulator out of your mouth and putting it back in and blowing the water out of the regulator so you can continue to breath.
There is a rope on the floor of the cage to put our feet under, cause even though we have a weight belt on with a 7mm wetsuit you'll still float up.
This experience in itself is a sensory overload. There is a lot of battles within your own head just getting into the cage. Let alone the fact that you will be face to face with the apex predator of the sea!
As we wait in the cold, and wet from the training. The sea starts to calm as we get a light sprinkle of rain.
My heart was slowly pumping faster as the anxiety of what I am doing starts to set in. I block out the cold and watch the burly oil slick which was running from the boat out past the surrounding islands and then out to sea.
I noticed some movement in the water at 1 o'clock from the back of the boat. At first I thought it was a big fish maybe a king fish as the burly trail had brought so many different types of fish to the boat.
Then all of a sudden a huge great white broke the surface and splashed his tail!!
I yelled SHARK!!!!
And showed the skipper where I saw it then we lined up to get our weight belts on then into the cage.
I was so excited I couldn't wait to get in there!
I make my way into the cage with the quickness.
So many fish were all feeding on the tuna head that they were using to lure in the sharks.
There are so many beautiful fish species here including wrase,
And these huge Snoek kept their distance and viewed the cage.
Then all of a sudden the fish dispersed and there he was.
The beast emerges from the deep blue. And heading straight towards me. This is the moment I had been dreaming of. Face to face with this apex predator!
Time moved so slow as I watched in amazement, the cold of the water didn't matter any more, the uncomfortable way of breathing with the regulator didn't matter. All that mattered was watching this huge creature glide past effortlessly.
This white shark was about 3.5 meters long and you can tell he is a male by his claspers on his undercarriage.
He had a couple of passes sussing out the tuna head,
But there was no food so he swam all this way for nothing really.
Apart from a quick look at the caged animals bobbing up and down just under the waters surface . Aka human zoo.
This guy left as quick as he arrived.
So it was out of the water again into the lovely summers day in Bluff - 14 degress and raining.
I had to run on the spot to try and keep my body moving and not stiffen up from the cold. But I couldn't decide if it was warmer in the water or out.
We can only stay in the water for around 20 minutes they said other wise we are at high risk of hyperthermia.
So we grabbed some hot water for the tea and coffee, and filled our boots with it to try and keep warm. As we all huddled around the one heater.
And played the waiting game.
An hour or two passed then out of nowhere a head popped up out of the water in the burly trail. It had dark black eyes and a pointy nose... It was a mako shark!!
So we got back into the cage for a closer inspection.
It's so cool to be able to see another type of shark but when another species of shark shows up then normally that means there are no white sharks in the area.
So once the mako shark headed off to do his mako business. Maybe he went on a holiday to Fin-land..
But that's purely speculation.
The skipper called it a day and put on some food as we all took off our wetsuits and into our warm dry clothes. We pulled up anchor and started our journey home.
And boy was the sea rough on our trip home.
"The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man returning soup at the Deli"
We had the opportunity to experience the notorious Foveaux straight first had. And I understand how this stretch of water got its reputation.
Everyone on the ship was exhausted from a big day on the water. And falling asleep in their chairs.
Once we made it back to the port in Bluff we were all presented with our "I survived cage diving with great white shark" certificate. Which I have now put in my resume for future job applications. Here is @terrybogan showing off here certificate 🙂
Once on land we headed straight to the bottle shop to get some beers and wash away the sea legs.
Wow what another amazing experience to tick off the list!
If you ever find yourself in the bottom of the world in Bluff, New Zealand. I highly recommend heading out and give cage diving a go it is a experience you will never forget!
Beside there is not much at all to do in Bluff haha.
Happy travels.
