Volunteer Reviews: “Everyone who knows me, knows I’m slightly obsessed with sharks. I’ve received all sorts of shark themed presents over the years from a sponsored shark, t-shirts, books, even a shark jaw (it was the thought that counts!) and friends always post shark related videos on my FB page. Avid shark fans like myself know that Cape Town is home of the Great white, so when I saw my 6 week camping trip through Africa ended there, I immediately looked online for a shark related experience to take-up after. Now, I’ve already cage dived with white sharks in Australia, so I was looking for something more, something epic.
There was an array of opportunities on offer online but it was the volunteer program from White Shark Diving Company that really caught my eye. Instead of simply assisting on a cage diving boat (washing wetsuits and chumming) for a month, I would be trained up as a marine research assistant; taking on a range of activities from data analysis, shark tagging and studying Great white shark behaviour from the boat or cage.
3 months later and this dream is now a reality. I’ve just completed my first week and I’m absolutely loving it! 6 days in and I’ve already cage dived with 9 great whites, gawped at over 20 from the boat, been fishing for small sharks to tag, spent a morning snorkeling where we hand caught 7 leopard catsharks and have analysed Great white dorsal fins in order to identify who our regular visitors are.
Once the day is done, I go home to an awesome bungalow 100m from the beach where I live with two lovely marine biologists and a gorgeous dog. My downtime included body boarding, dog walking on the beach and mooching around the picturesque town of Hermanus.
It’s going to be a jawsome month!!” – Laura Wozniak
Photography: Laura Wozniak
Check out Laura’s personal blog (link below) where she will be writing about her experience with us.