Blue Wilderness - Mark and Gail Addison

Blue Wilderness, an underwater filming logistics and expedition company, is headed up by Mark Addison who has spent the past 15 years pioneering dive sites and marine experiential products in and around southern Africa.

With his wife Gail, Mark operates from the south coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal very close to the famous Aliwal Shoal, where he has developed his recreational tiger shark diving product, which is unrivalled in the world in terms of the access that it gives you to these amazing sharks, and really is a “must do experience!”

Mark also works extensively with natural history documentary crews from all over the world, including The Discovery Channel, the BBC Natural History Unit, and National Geographic, and has been instrumental is giving these crews the kind of access that they need to comprehensively document and film marine wildlife in order to share it with a wider audience.

All of my images of tiger sharks and blacktip sharks have been shot while diving with Blue Wilderness, and I rate them as the best natural history marine outfitters in Southern Africa. To contact Mark and Gail directly to find out more about what they can offer you, call them on +27833031515, or visit their website here.

Below is a short photo essay of what to expect on a signature tiger shark dive with Blue Wilderness on Aliwal Shoal, Shark Park, South Africa. Clieck on any of the images to enlarge.

Welcome and Briefing at Shark Park HQ - A crucial component of the dive is the briefing, in which divers are given an overview of what to expect, how to behave, and instructed on the protocols used on the dive.

 

Deploying the Bait Stem - After a surf launch and a twenty minute run out to the appropriate tiger territory, the bait stem is thrown overboard and anchored on the bottom in around thirty meters of water. The stem acts as a crucial olfactory and auditory attraction device, aggregating the sharks into a tightly defined area without feeding them.

Waiting for the concentration - The time between the deployment of the bait stem and the appearance of the first tiger shark can vary between five minutes and one hour, depending on the time of year and the weather and sea conditions. Generally the first to appear are the quicker more agile blacktip sharks, with the tigers generally taking around twenty minutes to put in an appearance.

Divers in the Water -  Once the shark wrangler in charge of the dive is satisfied with the shark numbers around the stem, the stem is cut loose from the bottom and drifts with the current. The divers are then instructed to kit up and enter the water, under the guidance of the shark wrangler.                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Diving with Tiger Sharks - The tiger sharks will generally swim large languid circles around the bait stem, bouncing through the entire water column, and making repeated visits to eat the fish carcases tied to the stem.