i love my life: You may have Shark Week America . . . but we have the big boys here in Australia

It was cold with a misty rain Friday morning . . .

We woke up before the sun, but to be honest we barely slept. The anticipation was just too much for sleep. We caught a taxi with our neighbors who were also cage diving. They were from Finland and Scotland. We arrived at the Marina Hotel and waited for everyone else to arrive. We boarded the boat and left promptly at 7am. The Calypso Star was a fabulous ship. It had plenty of couch room for all 19 of us to sit comfortably. They had magazines and books with information about Great Whites and documentaries about them playing on the TV. Captain Wright came and welcomed us and then they served us some breakfast. Our hostess was Nikki and she made sure we were never thirsty or hungry. I slept for the first hour of the 2.5 hours out to the Neptune Islands. The seas, however, were rough. I tend to have a pretty good set of sea legs, but it was a struggle on this journey. I spent the last hour out on the deck even though it was freezing trying to avoid getting sick. The sea air works wonders.

We arrived at the Neptune Islands around 9:30am. We could see the Sea Lions and Fur Seals jumping and playing on the rocks. If you want to see Great Whites . . . go where the Seals or Sea Lions are. We anchored in between two islands and our captain came down to talk about going into the cage. He demonstrated how to get in, where to stand and how to use the regulators. Then they started chumming the waters. The seagulls absolutely loved the chum. The first mate Harry was in charge of keeping the water nice and bloody. If you have a weak stomach, this blog may not be for you. When Harry was 12, he was surfing with his dad and saw a guy get eaten alive by a shark. He finally was able to face his fear and get back in the water and he still surfs occasionally. He also now works on a boat with Great Whites. If that's not facing your fears, I don't know what is.

We waited patiently for the sharks to appear. Being that they are wild animals, there was a chance they wouldn't show. In the event that the sharks don't show up, you get a voucher for half off to come again. There is no way I could afford to get back to Port Lincoln, so I prayed for those sharks to show. At about noon one finally showed up. Evidently he was a small one. The first group loaded up into the cage. The shark made a few more passes and then left us.

We waited another 2 hours with no sign of sharks. As a small form of excitement, Harry started fishing and caught some fish that looked like huge goldfish. Finally, the crew asked if anyone had any bananas on board because they're bad luck. Sure enough, the two other American girls had bananas. They threw them overboard and we laughed at the thought of that bringing the sharks. Then . . . they came.

It was like a feeding frenzy. The action was so fast you couldn't look away because that might be the moment one strikes and you would miss it. As one group entered the cage, the next started suiting up so they'd be ready. Each group got to spend about 45 minutes in the cage. I stood on the deck with my camera ready to capture as much of the action as I could. Then, it was our turn. Hanne and I headed into the cabin with the two American girls to suit up. The water was FREEZING so we had full on wetsuits with hoods and booties. We also had to wear a lot of weights to keep us from floating to the top of the cage. I was the last of our group down in the cage, and I got the waterproof camera. I climbed in and stood on the ladder to adjust my regulator and get the camera. A few deep breaths and I was in.

The water was a beautiful Carolina blue but a little cloudy. I took some pictures of the girls underwater and then we waited. Occasionally they would chum the water and I'd look up to see blood and guts circling around me. It made my stomach turn, but only because I knew this would bring those beasts directly to us. I was in the corner of the cage closest to the boat on the starboard side. We were all looking all around trying to spot the first shark. Then . . . I saw it. Just a flash of white to my left. I tapped all the other girls and when I turned around we saw nothing. Out of nowhere it was directly in front of me chasing the meat the Captain was dangling. The shark had scars all down its sides and was more massive than I could have imagined from the surface. Also noticed he was definitely a male. It made a quick pass and was gone. Hanne and I looked at each other with wide eyes of excitement. The next shark passed in front of the cage. He was smaller but I still got a picture. It was hard to tell the difference between sharks and I think the third shark was the second one making another pass from the port side. This shark definitely spotted me. I was at the edge of the cage trying to get amazing pictures. But he swam up directly in front of me and stared at me for a split second. It was slow motion. I didn't even think about the camera and just stared back in absolute awe. It seemed like I could just reach out and touch him. I didn't, of course, but he saw me and if I hadn't been in that cage I'm pretty sure I would have gotten an exploratory bite. He left and I stared after him still not believing what I had just seen. We then waited for a while. Finally, Brittany thought to look down and one came up from below. The fourth and final shark was a small female that passed on my side of the cage again. Then we got the signal it was time to come up. I didn't want to leave . . . I just wanted more.

I can't take credit for this photo, but it was taken by someone on our boat with the shared underwater camera

There was still a lot more action on the surface. I got some amazing pictures of the sharks swooping in to get the bait. We had two seals swimming near the boat and thought they were absolutely crazy. Now, don't get me wrong, I think seals are adorable. But I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't hoping that a shark would notice those seals and jump at it like something right off of the Discovery Channel. It didn't happen and those seals lived to swim another day. A few of the sharks attacked the cage and showed us just how strong those cages actually are. By 4pm it was time to pack up and take the 2.5 hour journey back home. The sharks weren't ready to leave though. We loaded up the cage but the sharks stayed around the boat. If you find yourself wounded in an ocean where Great Whites live, its not a matter of if they'll show up, its when. They are drawn to blood with a fury like nothing I've ever seen before. Movies don't do them justice.

We headed back to port on a complete adrenaline rush. The crew fed us more food and then organized the video and underwater photos for us to take home. The pictures are absolutely amazing and I'll be uploading them shortly. When we got back to town, Hanne and I met the two American girls for some dinner at their hotel. We chatted about the days adventures and about our lives. We then headed back to our hotel to sleep before our long journey back to Brisbane in the morning.