On 17 July 2000, Shannon Ainslie had a very close encounter with not one, but two great white sharks while surfing at Nahoon beach. He was fortunate to walk away with only an injured hand as both sharks had circled him at the same time. A few weeks later, he was back in the water again, and still is. Shannon’s story has attracted worldwide interest. He has been interviewed countless times for international broadcasts and print media.
Tanika Hoffman has been surfing since she was a little girl. She achieved 3rd place in the first surfing competition in which she competed and the rest, as they say, is history. She travels the world and competes in various top-level surfing championships. Last year she ranked an overall 6th in the European Pro Junior Tour and won a team gold medal for South Africa at the World Surfing Contest this year.
Shannon and Tanika spend a lot of time in the ocean surfing, doing what they love. They decided to meet some of the animals that call this incredible expanse of water their home, up close and personal, with a dive at the Aquarium. Neither of them were qualified divers, so they did a Discover Scuba course with Iain Robertson of Iain’s Scuba School. After that, it was off to the I&J Predator Exhibit!
Find out more about diving at the Two Oceans Aquarium here.
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