From climbing the world's tallest sand dunes to tracking down rhinos, Sven has had quite an adventure in Africa. He kept that going as he jumped into the water with sharks!
CAPE TOWN, South Africa - For the last two weeks, I've been traveling across southern Africa and my trip is coming to an end in Cape Town.
It's known for many things, but I decided to get in the water to see the ocean’s top predator…SHARKS!
The Cape, or the southern most point in Africa, is beautiful with dramatic mountain landscapes meeting the cold ocean. It's home to some penguin colonies - but we didn’t come here just to see penguins or scenery. We came here to see sharks!
Before we went underwater, we got a briefing of what to expect. The crew creates what’s called a "chum line" of fish debris to attract sharks that don’t stay here but pass through the area.
It worked: within minutes we had our first shark just swinging by.
The next shark came as the first group was getting ready to go in the cage.
It was then one shark after another. We didn’t see great whites but rather brownie sharks this day, which are just as ferocious looking under water.
Then, it was my turn to get in the cage. When the crew yells ‘DOWN!’ you go under to take a look. I quickly learned that the corner spot was the place to be as sharks frequently bumped the cage.
One shark gave me a great view of his mouth and razor sharp teeth! The water was cold, but it was an incredible experience!
I'll be back to work on Monday, and we have an Explore with Sven WEEK coming up in November! We're diving deeper into the science and conservation issues from the Arctic to southern Africa.
