I also did the great white cage dive and it was one of the most humbling and amazing experiences ever. Will definitely do it again.

Then you must change your name to Sealot... :laugh:

I have done a few crazy things I admit Shane, but as with Tarantulas, body language speaks volumes. I tell you, I would rather be eaten by a shark than being shot by a burglar. There is just no honor in being killed by scum.

Being in a state of high alert, adrenalin pouring out your ears, diving with a Great White in open water is a very calculated risk because they are a bit more predictable than some traffic cops. They are opportunistic surprise predators. They are insanely quick for their size. They will dash out of nowhere, stun their prey with an initial bite, then retreat and wait for the prey to bleed to death, probably to avoid injury. They tend to hunt at dusk or dawn. They are scavengers that will flock around a whale carcass and feed at leisure. All of the above taken into account, one can with with relative accuracy say that once a shark is in sight, it is unlikely to launch an attack without provocation. It's the ones you don't see that are dangerous because they will f#ck you over before you can react. Now for humans, that initial strike would normally prove fatal. One just struggles to swim without an arm or a few legs.

It would be stupid to paddle around at dusk or dawn in murky waters. I am not talking about surfers, but to snorkel for Crayfish or Perlies in Great White territory at dusk or dawn would be dumb. I always thought being in thick Kelp is safe. Boy how wrong could I be. I sat on my boat and watched a shark strike a seal in less than two meters of water among thick Kelp growth. I crapped myself and changed my views in an instant.

Why did you get me started Shane... I miss the ocean...

Everything you say makes sense, but to put it into practice....that can be a b!tch! I'm pretty sure most people don't have the constitution for something that extreme. I remember seeing something on one of the wildlife channels of a guy swimming alongside great whites. I think it might have been Steve Irwin. It looked intense.

When I went cage diving, there was a story doing the rounds of a cage full of people seperating from the boat, resulting in a lot of panic stricken people making a mad dash for the boat in shark infested waters. I'd be lying if I said that didn't play on my mind a little when I first got into the water. It was soon forgotten though.

Is this the most extreme thing you've ever done Scarab?

Is this the most extreme thing you've ever done Scarab?

No mate, I'm married... :laugh:

I don't understand the term "extreme" that well. Swimming alongside a Great White to some might be quite acceptable, while for others, ordering a Bloody Mary before 9 on a Sunday morning is EXTREME.

There are lots of extreme activities to be had, most I've participated in, but those did not necessarily touch my soul.

Have you seen the footage of those freaken New Zealand freaks that catch sharks and other game fish from a chopper? They lure the fish close to the surface, then pounce from the chopper and then try to wrestle them to the surface with their bare hands. Now in my thin little book, THAT is pretty extreme...

How about you, and some of our other members? This thread is not a dialogue, it's an ensemble !!

Most EXTREME for me, would be lane splitting at 292km/h... and yes, I had time to look down at the clocks! LOL! I didn't keep that up for long, hence the reason why I am able to type out this response. I have a friend who can do those speeds on the back wheel. He is well mental though.

I've also done Oribi Gorge. Not really EXTREME, but I kakked myself good and proper. Won't be doing that again. I basically did it, because I was kak scared. Now i can tick that one off my list.

For me, the cage diving was probably the closest I've ever come to a "divine" experience. So I can definitely relate to your view on it. As mentioned though, I don't have the cojones necessary to swim with them, but if I did, it would definitely be a moment of rapture.

The best I could do was 220, then I stopped and changed my pants...

You describe it adequately... "divine experience" indeed.

I think when confronted with one's own fragility and then going one step further in search of more, it does alter one's view of life in general, and it is addictive as hell. My wife and I share the same outlook, we would rather burn out than fade away. You see, IMO, you screw up this life with monotony, you have ONLY yourself to blame. All people die, but not all people live, if you catch my drift.

We started off with sharks, now we veer toward Philosophy. Either way, I don't mind.