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S. African woman marks 100th birthday with sky jump; shark-cage dive is next

Georgina Harwood celebrated after her skydive.

CAPE TOWN — Celebrating her 100th birthday with a parachute jump is not enough for South African Georgina Harwood. She plans to make her centenary even more exciting by doing a shark cage dive on Monday.

Her birthday skydive was a tandem jump in which she was in harness with another person. The jump took place Saturday near the Melkbosstrand area north of Cape Town.

Wearing a red jumpsuit, Harwood was joined in the air by 15 family members and friends who participated in groups of three. Harwood said it was wonderful seeing all the others around her.

Harwood said this was her third skydive, so she was prepared for the experience. She did her first when she was 92.

Video taken during the Saturday jump shows Harwood chatting happily with her skydiving instructor, once the parachute opened.

In her shark cage dive, Harwood will go to an area where tour operators feed sharks chum, bits of cut-up fish meat.