Not to darken the day, but....

Tourist killed by 'dinosaur-sized' shark off South African beach

From The Guardian

Witnesses today described their horror at seeing a tourist being eaten by a "gigantic" shark in South Africa's most popular holiday destination.

Lloyd Skinner was pulled under the surf and dragged out to sea by the shark, believed to be a great white, off Fish Hoek beach in Cape Town. His diving goggles and a dark patch of blood were all that remained in the water.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the story.

This story is a complete tragedy, and my heart goes out to the friends and family of this man. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose a loved one in such a terrifying way. Eliot sent this story to me with the comment "This is what nightmares are made of," and it really is.

Sharks are an important part of our eco system, and desperately need to be protected right now. However, we also need to remember that these are wild, dangerous animals with instinct that we can't even begin to understand. It bothers me so much when I hear someone say that sharks aren't dangerous. Although I don't believe they're out to kill humans, they are unpredictable and need to be respected.

White Shark Experience

So I kind of feel like this is a huge milestone for me. I don't know that I ever imagined myself getting in a cage to "view" sharks underwater. It's definitely something I've always thought about, but as far as actually doing it? I'm scared of sharks. It's a weird mixture of complete fear and fascination. I love reading books about sharks, or watching shark week on the Discovery Channel. I can't learn enough about them. But when it comes to diving? It's always in the back of my head and it terrifies me when I'm in the water.

So why did I decide to climb in a cage that's in water filled with chum and a guy throwing tuna heads off the boat? Well I guess the short answer is because I'm completely crazy. But the truth is, what scares me even more than the biggest man eater out there, is missing out on a great opportunity or experience because I was too scared to do it. So that is what made me climb into the cage on Saturday. Once I'd decided to do it, I was completely committed. But my heart was racing the whole time.

I have to say it was really cool, and given the chance again I would be back in that cage tomorrow. These sharks are really incredible creatures, and seeing them underwater takes away all the ferociousness and scary monster image that we're so often given, and turns them into the graceful kings of the ocean that they are.

All the sharks we saw were Great Whites. We were told in the beginning that there aren't any other large predatory animals in the area at this time of year. In total we saw 5 different sharks, the biggest one being around 3.5 meters (about 12 feet). A couple only did quick passes by the boat and some stayed around to check us out more.






Eliot getting psyched up


Chumming












I think these guys ate most of the guts that went over the boat.




Smiling for the camera

The Last big Thing

So this last weekend in South Africa we've planned our final excursion. It's something we've been wanting to do since we knew we were coming to Cape Town. So, tomorrow morning we're heading up the west coast to a place called Gansbaii to....get in a cage.


That's right we're going to witness THE Apex Predator that's refered to here in these waters as Air Jaws. I can't believe we're actually going to do this and I can't think too much about it because then I might not actually go through with it if I do. We're going through and outfit called the White Shark Projects, just so you know who to call if I don't update my blog on Monday morning. Hopefully we get to see some sharks up close. Yikes!