Kirsty Andrews tells the story of a surprise encounter in the rich waters of South Africa ’ s Aliwal Shoal
KIRSTYANDREWS
The visitor
Kirsty Andrews tells the story of a surprise encounter in the rich waters of South Africa ’ s Aliwal Shoal
How can I describe this encounter ? I ’ m pretty sure I won ’ t do it justice , but I feel compelled to try .
I ’ ve always been drawn to sharks ; to me they ’ re so beautiful ; graceful , powerful , sleek , faintly mysterious and altogether just fabulous to be around . And they ’ re so important . It ’ s been well documented that sharks , often the top predators on a reef , are key to a healthy marine ecosystem . Not documented by the gutter press of course , who persevere with Jaws-inspired maneater headlines just to gain a few clicks , thereby maintaining a mostly unjustified fear and dislike of sharks in Joe Public .
It was my shark fascination that took me to South Africa for my overseas trip this year ; to Aliwal Shoal , on the cusp of ragged-toothshark breeding season . Many oceanic sharks had headed South to feast on sardines , but I was hoping for quality time with the goofy looking daytime-sleeping ‘ raggies ’, and I wasn ’ t disappointed .
It was the last dive of our trip ( it always is , isn ’ t it ) – we descended and dutifully followed our dive guide Spencer in the accepted manner . All of a sudden , only minutes into the dive , he dropped his ultra-relaxed demeanour and indicated rather forcibly by means of waving and other gestures that we should head for the edge of the reef , pronto , in fact faster than that if possible . Talking later , I understand that he had seen a silhouette which was unmistakable .
I duly put on a lick of speed . I thought , oooh , perhaps an animal I hadn ’ t seen before . In this I was correct . As I swam , I saw the outline of a shark ahead , and it just got bigger , and bigger , and was swimming straight towards me , and it dawned on me … this was a Great White Shark . An animal I ’ d never thought I ’ d be lucky enough to see in my lifetime , if I ’ m honest . Heading straight at me looking relaxed and curious , if anything . Time seemed to stop . Subconsciously I held my breath and just admired the spectacle briefly . As she approached , a majestic female over 4m in length , I saw her turn , swim past the group and with barely a ripple of her solid muscles , head back out into the blue , giving us a memory to cherish forever .
“ I saw the outline of a shark ahead , and it just got bigger , and bigger ”
My heart was beating hard and , after a series of delirious high-fives with my dive buddies , I spent the rest of the dive in a daze .
Friends have asked me since whether I was scared , even a little bit . The answer is a resounding no . Exhilarated , yes , mindblown , probably . I just didn ’ t have time to be scared in this brief encounter , but even if I ’ d thought about it , no , even with such a fearsome hunter .
If she ’ d thought of me as prey , that ’ s what I ’ d ’ ve been before I ’ d had a chance to think about it , but she just saw me as a confusing bubbleblowing visitor to her world . She was relaxed and a little intrigued , and I count myself incredibly grateful to have shared precious time with such a wonder of our oceans . One of our group had been diving for decades and had run a dive centre in Aliwal for 14 years , diving every day . This was her fifth Great White encounter . I wonder if I will ever have a second . I wonder if my shark will avoid the longlines and the nets and the fin trade and live a long successful life . I do hope so . �
PHOTO : KIRSTY ANDREWS
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