Hired cars this morning and Claire and I drove a group of 8 to risk our lives with some Great Whites. Some were excited, some were terrified, I was pretty indifferent to the experience, but thought that I should do it considering I was here and it did have a certain level of appeal.

2 hours drive and we were at the bay where we were to meet the great beasts. We had a midday launch and so thankfully did not have to get up too early this morning. The dive site is just 15 minutes off shore and a maximum of 20 people go onboard. When we booked we were sold on the idea that this company provided you with constant air whilst in the cage so that you can stay under water for longer. When we arrived we were told that the air was frightening the sharks today and so we would do the hold method, which means you just have to hold your breath and go underwater. Least they could have offered was a snorkel with a long pipe, but it was not to be. The other not so great factor is that the visibility was not great, 1.5 - 2m at the most. But this is nature and wild animals so what can you do.

I went in the third group to enter the cage. The cage stays anchored in the water all day and the boat comes out and attaches itself so that one long side of the cage is permanently against the boat. We got wetsuits, dive boots/wetsuit socks, weights and masks prior to entering the cage. The cage is 3m long and the top stays out of the water all the time. There are some rails in the cage which you can hold onto that are set in ever so slightly from the outside rails of the cage. The bait handlers continuously throw fish oils into the water and then another person has a rope with a fish head tied to it. There are no hooks, so it is just a rope loop holding the fish head on. When the shark finally takes hte bait he works to pull the bait back in which has the added bonus of bringing the shark back close to the cage. Apparently the operators are not allowed to feed the sharks, but they can tease the sharks. What I saw was sharks getting fed as for each of the 4 cage dive groups the shark got and ate the fish head.

I did enjoy the experience as we had the shark right up to the cage about 4 times. I think I would have been really impressed if the visibility was better and you could see them coming and going . As it was we couldn't really see anything until they were about 10cm in front of you and then they were gone. It was also freezing so after about 20 minutes in the water i was pretty glad to get out.

I think I would prefer to bungee or gorge swing over shark diving.