Shark Bait
The theme song from Jaws is playing in my head as I lower myself into the freezing cold water. I hesitantly peer under the surface, but murky water makes it difficult to see. Suddenly a dark shadow emerges and I find myself face to face with the most feared creature in the sea.
Dyer Island is considered to be the great white shark capital of the world. It’s part of a small group of islands that’s about five miles off the coast of Gansbaai, a tiny fishing village in South Africa. Unlike the fictional town of Amity Island in Jaws, thrill-seekers actually flock to Dyer Island for a chance to see these stealthy creatures up close and personal, albeit from the safety of a reinforced steel cage.
Contrary to what popular film may show you, humans are not the meal of choice for great whites. In this area, it’s Cape fur seals they want for lunch, and you can see thousands of them lounging on Geyser Rock, which is separated from Dyer Island by a narrow waterway fittingly called Shark Alley. After dropping anchor here, one of the first things that our crew does to attract the great whites is to float a seal-shaped cut-out near the boat. The other method, which is understandably a bit controversial, is to chum the water with a liquefied mixture of miscellaneous fish parts. It doesn’t take long for the sharks to arrive.
Needless to say, cage diving with great whites has to be on every adrenaline junkie’s bucket list. The silent power lurking behind the beady black eyes and rows of serrated, razor-sharp teeth is truly awe-inspiring. But even if you aren’t crazy enough to get in the water, I still highly recommend the trip. Great whites can’t survive in captivity, so this is one of a few places in the world where you can actually (plan to) see them. I promise that your friends won’t think you’re a chicken when they see photos of the 21-foot shark swimming alongside your boat. Okay, okay … so I actually only saw sharks that were 10 to 15 feet during my trip, but it’s not like anyone will know the difference. After all, isn’t every great fishing story based on exaggeration?
Want to test the waters and see what Africa has to offer? If so, your first call should be to Lori Toledano, one of our new Africa planners.
