Globe Corner Blogs

There is nothing more exciting than breathing underwater.  And by exciting, I mean the awe-inspiring, nervous excitement that land-lovers get when they see the local view from the top of a really high roller coaster.  Watching bubbles leave your regulator and run for the safety of the surface is neither comforting nor an affirmation that you are doing the right thing in exploring this other world… but they are ‘pretty.’  Whether you’re snorkeling or using scuba – the strange sensation of staying in an environment that should kill you is a cultural experience in and of itself.  And a country’s underwater residents can be as varied and can eat even stranger things than their counterpart’s topside.  For these reasons, I love scuba.

And, as far as underwater residents go, there is nothing more exhilarating than meeting the characters off of Cape Town, South Africa (where I learned scuba as a student at UCT in 2004).  My first dive, in a relatively rocky and uninspiring patch of ocean, I clung to a buoy and prayed that my regulator would not fail me.  When I turned around to assess the situation, a cape fur seal was inches from my mask.  I screamed, a noise that sounded not unlike the chipmunk’s version of a whale call.  The seal did somersaults and came back to my face.

“Cute seal,” I thought, and kept on breathing, enjoying the weird Darth Vader-esque noises that my regulator made when I took a breath.  Then, I cautiously extended a hand to touch the fluffy, curious creature, and was faced with the sharpest mouth of teeth I have ever seen.  The hiss the seal made when barring its teeth was audible, I think, for miles around.  In summary; don’t touch the seals, kids.

There were little creatures scurrying around on the sandy patches between the rocks – my instructor grabbed one and wrapped it around my arm like a limp sandpaper-y bracelet.  “A shy shark,” he said, when we were topside and shivering; “they play dead.”  Now this is the kind of shark I could get used to.  Another charming creature as scared of me as I was of it.

A few dives post-certification, I was diving in a kelp forest, confronting larger fish, murky shadows, and more seals. (Although this time I wasn’t about to try to touch one – you live you learn!)  I came to a clearing in the swaying green forest, not unlike a clearing in a land forest.  Because currents bring the water off Cape Town north from Antarctica, the water is deceptively chilly considering the land it borders.  This coldness, however, makes the water remarkably clear – and the scene in which I found myself was truly stunning.  Deep blue waters filled to the brim with undulating, mesmerizing masses of goo.  If Finding Nemo hadn’t taken place off Australia, I’d be convinced I had found the place where I was supposed to “go through it, not over it.”  I found myself surrounded by a school of transparent jellyfish.

Fully covered except for the parts of my face the mask didn’t suction, I made a swim for it, through to the other side, little jellies stinging my cheeks as I went.  But it was so worth it!  Awaiting me on the other side was a cuttlefish, changing colors and looking every bit as prehistoric and strange as its environment.

And topside I went, knowing I had seen something that day that most tourists rarely see – a wild animal kingdom, just minutes from the heart of Cape Town.

Read more: Cape Town, Diving, Nature & Wildlife, Oceans, Scuba, South Africa, Travel


Meghan went around the world in 2006, and is dying to do it again. Meghan loves all things ocean and enjoys scuba diving in exotic locales.

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