On Saturday, Popular Mechanics hosted a group of 16 readers on a trip to Gansbaai, where they learned about shark behaviour, the science of shark tagging and the ongoing effort to protect these relentlessly cute animals from the depredations of humans. They also experienced a memorable cage dive, getting up close and personal with Great Whites. (In the case of Sean Woods, it was possibly a little too close: while taking photographs of a feeding frenzy, he missed the boat’s guardrail and toppled on to the cage, expensive camera and all, about a metre from the action. He emerged with a bruised toe.) A big thank you to Dyer Island Conservation Trust and to Marine Dynamics for an awesome day!
The trip, arranged in collaboration with Volkswagen South Africa, focused attention on its three-pronged “Think Blue” initiative. We arranged for our guests to drive a selection of Volkswagen cars, including the Touareg, cc and Golf, neatly introducing the brand’s Blue Motion technologies. Our guests, chosen by means of a competition, were “thrilled” with their experience, one man declaring that he’d fulfilled a lifelong dream. Thank you VW SA – it was a pleasure collaborating with you!
Watch the video of the shark-cage diving escapades…
