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sou We drop the cage into the murky abyss of gray water where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. Sharks have been circling our boat for a few hours now. They seem unfazed, swimming at a haunting slow pace, rolling onto their side fins to gnaw a piece of kelp. Conditions are rough and the cage bangs sharply against the boat. About a foot of the metal mesh cylinder sits above the surface of the water, propped on floats. Evenrually, I get a thumbs-up from the skipper who pulls in the cage and opens the top hatch. A rather pathetic rope ladder hangs over the side of the boat and down Into the cage. Turning to me he says, "Stay relaxed. If the sharks pull the whole cage down, go on scuba fast." He smiles, ·Oh-and don't put your hands out," With those words of wisdom, I hoist one leg over the railing and take extremely careful steps down. For a brief moment there is no safety at all. I am completely dependent on the good narure of a shark larger than a sedan. In the icy water of the Agulhas current it is difficult to stay relaxed. With my head above the water, I scan the surface of the ocean, the Jaws leitmotif playing my head. Then, on snorkel, I duck my head under water and stare into the distance, grasping the cage's steel handles. Small silvery fish nibble the chum line. Suddenly the current pitches me into the side of the cage. I fumble to get comfortable and, after about fifteen tortuously long minutes, I come up again. I had seen seven sharks from the boat that moming but now they seem to have vanished. "Right in front of youl" someone shouts from behind me. I duck down again and come eye to eye with a great white shark. The shark swims past, inspects the cage, then circles back for a second look. Over the next half hour, three more sharks come to see the species encased in metal. Although these sharks are considered rampant killers, the great whites before me seem like the most inquisitive intellecb.Jals. They never bare their teeth or bite at the cage. I stay on snorkel and enjoy every second from the safety of my underwater cell. Climbing out of the cage an hour later, I take a deep breath and vow to come again tomorrow. Shark diving takes patience and guts; it's also addictive. For more information on where to shark dive in South Africa, see the Africa Adventure Guide, page 54.