One of the attractions of diving in South Africa for me was the opportunity to dive with Oceanic sharks.
Fortunately it’s possible to do so at both Protea Banks with African Dive Adventures and in Aliwal Shoals with Agulhas. They both offer-baited dives in which chum is spread in the water to attract sharks. Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to learn that the baited dives were my favorite dives. I am fascinated with observing sharks so close and from any angle I can. Even more so if it’s a species like Oceanic Black-tip sharks, which I haven’t dove with before.
Despite having 17 Oceanic sharks within a 10-meter radius on one of the dives, I felt very relaxed, and never felt threatened.
They were never aggressive but they did appear (to me at least) to be just as curious about our group of divers as we were about them (more to come on this in an upcoming post).
