A golden day out on the ocean

A golden day out on the ocean

By Jax Bath

This week’s ocean story takes place in the next bay east of Walker Bay, in an area that has been known as The Shallows long before the Blake Lively movie. Kleinbaai has long been famed as a hive of shark activity, holding the title of Great White Shark capital of the world, until recent years when the dynamics have changed and other species have begun to surface during times when the Great Whites find themselves on hiatus.

For the first time in over a year, I had the wonderful opportunity to join White Shark Projects out on the water for a shark cage diving excursion.

After a warm welcome in their newly revamped meeting room, we set off down to the boat nestled in the quaint Kleinbaai harbour. The surroundings were painted with mist, creating an ethereal atmosphere as we launched through the narrow channel and made our way towards Joubert’s Dam. This is the other name for The Shallows, the area where we find ourselves doing most of the shark cage diving throughout the year. It’s only about a 15 minute boat ride out, and once we arrive at a potential site, the skipper assesses the sea conditions to choose a spot to drop anchor.

Click on the newspaper below to read more (see page 17).