South Africa - Part I & II Phot Album

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White Shark Diving

“What d'ya have there - a portable shower or a monkey cage?”
“Anti-Shark cage.”
“Anti-shark cage. You go inside the cage?”
“Cage goes in the water, you go in the water. Shark's in the water. Our shark.” - Jaws

It took us a week, but we finally made our journey to shark alley off the coast of Dyer Island. The island is home to thousands of Cape Fur Seals that sometimes become the unfortunate favorite snack of the great white shark. We used White Shark Ecoventures and their 33 foot boat to take the 27 people packed like sardines out to our dive site. Although called diving, floating is probably a better adjective to describe the activity. You jump in the cage with four other people and hold your breath as the shark swims by. Within minutes of arriving at the dive site our first White Shark appears, unleashing pandemonium on the boat as everyone tries to get a glimpse.

The cage diving was well organized rotating people in the cage every few minutes giving everyone adequate underwater viewing time. The view from the surface was just as exciting as the shark would occasionally lurch out of the water in attempts to consume the fish-on-a-rope. Staring into the eyes of one of these elite predators of the underwater world is an amazing feeling. It’s not a since of fear or anxiety, but yet excitement and intrigue as the White shark glides through the water slowly approaching the cage.

While waiting our turns on deck we learned some fascinating fun facts about these fish. They can reach up to 20 feet in length and weigh in at almost 5,000 lbs! Females are generally larger than males. Males have two penises (as do all male sharks) so they are really lovers not fighters. There are several reasons these apex predators are top fish in the sea. Counter shading has allowed them to blend into their surrounding in such a way that their white bellies go unseen by the animals beneath as they match the penetrating sunlight and their darker tops camouflage with the depths below. They also have an extra sense that enables them to distinguish electromagnetic fields produced by living animals. It is said they can identify up to half a billionth of a volt.

As for the dare to dive with bacon in our wetsuits, we opted for a whole hamburger as our lovely model is demonstrating. It drove the sharks crazy!

Cape Town (Kaapstad)

It turned out to be a beautiful day in Cape Town as we explored the V&A waterfront, a harbor filled with shops and restaurants that are situated with a nice view of Table Mountain. This harbor still remains very functional as you’ll see everything from yachts, tug boats, to massive freighters. Seals also make their home among the piers as they nap and bathe in the sun. The swing bridge and red Dutch style clock tower were other items of interest. However, the clouds rolled in and we decided to hold off on taking the cable car to the top of Table Mountain for another day. In the evening we drove out to Blouberg Strand to get a panoramic shot of the mountain at sunset.

We get up at the ridiculous time of 4:30 am anxious and eager for shark diving. Not receiving any texts or calls about cancellation we begin our 2.5 hour drive back to Gansbaai. Skeptical, we decided to call the company about an hour into the drive and hear the devastating words that it would not make. Bright eyed and bushy-tailed no more we make the drive back to Cape Town to figure out our plan for the day. We chose to venture out on another of South Africa’s scenic drives beginning with the small fishing village of Hout Bay. Then we continue to Cape Peninsula National Park via Chapman’s Peak pass. However, the road was closed for maintenance and we backtracked and zigzagged our way down to Boulder beach in Simon’s Town to admire the native Jackass penguins. They are now called African penguins, but originally obtained their interesting name from the donkey like braying they produce, and not because they are jerks. We finally make it to the park and Cape Point, where you can take a funicular up the hill to the light house, but we walked it instead. You are offered spectacular views of the peninsula and we even saw more whales breaching out in the ocean. On the way out we saw a family of Chacma baboons monkeying around.

We tried our drive to Gansbaai yet again the next morning making it to about the same point when we discovered that we would be on the later boat for the day. Exhausted, we drive back and wait until it was time to try again. This attempt we made it half an hour short of arriving to Gansbaai when a text comes through that the waves are too rough. Frustrated, we decided to try our luck with Table Mountain. The cable car was closed for technical problems so we began the potential three hour hike, hoping we would make it in two. About an hour and a half in we inquire how much farther to the top from another climber and he informs us that we are only half way. Worn out and hungry we contemplate whether to turn around but someone else tells us its only 20 minutes. A little more inspired by a 20 minute hike time we decide to continue on. While we only made it to the pseudo summit, it was good enough for us. The “table cloth” cloud cover rolls over top making any view below impossible to see, but for a few minutes we were rewarded as the thick veil drifted away. We scampered our way down and head back to the apartment to pack our bags for the flight tomorrow in case the shark diving makes.

Whales and Wine

All pumped up about great white shark “diving” (especially for the cheap price of R795 per person through Hermanus Backpackers) we are told that a cold front had moved in making the weather quite uncooperative for the tours to go out. Concerned, but still in high spirits we take a pleasant stroll along the coastline board walk in search for some whales. The Southern Right Whale is the most common and inherited its name as they are slow swimmers, float when dead, and rich in oil making them the “right” whale to hunt. Walkers Bay in Hermanus is the breeding ground for these whales, so no need to search too hard, they are just there. The whales get so close to the shore that we could have jumped out and rode one, but we refrained. These gentle giants would also breach out in the distance.

We awoke to discover our tour had been postponed till later that day, but a few hours later it had been completely cancelled. Hoping for luck the next day we decide to drive to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. For centuries this coastline has proven to be a treacherous place for shipping vessels and is commonly referred to as the “Graveyard of Ships.” At least 140 ships have sunk or run aground due to thick fogs, strange currents and jagged shores. Before the Suez Canal was built, the main trade route between Europe and the East was around the tip of South Africa. In 1849, after receiving international pressure, a light house was constructed and fat from sheep was used to fuel it. The most recent wreck (1982) was a Japanese vessel, the Meishu Maru 38. It’s rusted hull surrounded by ice blue water is a reminder that this coastline is still a dangerous place for sailors. Later, back in Hermanus we splurged on sushi and beer as we prayed to the weather gods for smooth seas.

The weather was no good the next day, and come to find neither would the next two days. Crushed, we make our way to Cape Town, though optimistic that the storm system would clear out before we left South Africa. Nothing like a little beverage to cheer us up so we drove to Stellenbosch, a city well known for its plethora of wineries, to sample the local grapes. We visited three different vineyards, each very different, and sipped on merlots, pinotage, and some sauvignon blancs with Jenny enjoying some of Jason’s share since he was DD. Feeling a little more relaxed we make our journey to Cape Town.

Garden Route

The Garden route is a scenic road (N2) along the South-Western Cape of South Africa lined between gorgeous green mountain side and rocky ocean cliffs. We began our drive in Tsitsikamma and ended in the sea-side village of Mossel Bay.

Tsitsikamma National Park:

Tsitsikamma is the “Place of sparkling water,” where 7 rivers flow through the Tsitsikamma Mountains into the Indian Ocean. The most notable being Storm’s River. There is a suspension bridge where you can view the water from the lush rocky gorge run into the foamy ocean. After the trip over the bridge we went through the woods….and up a mountain to the lookout point over the coastline. Apparently you can find otter along some of the trails, but that requires five days to complete, and that was just five too many. We did see rock daisies, which we compare to mutant size hamsters, but cute. Once the mountains were conquered we explored the tidal pools and its little inhabitants. The waves crash up onto the rocky shore and can be quite unpredictable as Jason found out with an involuntary salty bath. The next day we visited the beach at Nature’s Valley, which is another section of the National park. While on our four hour hike we spotted a couple southern right whales spyhopping out in the distance.

Plettenberg Bay:

We arrived in Plettenberg happy to find that we were not staying at a nudist colony, as the description in the “Coast to Coast” booklet mentions things like “private beach” and “clothing optional.” We spent our fully clothed day hiking the 9.5km Robberg Refuge peninsula trail. This was our favorite park hike since we saw several whales playing along the coast and a colony of cape fur seals swimming and sunbathing. It is here that we came to the realization that South African National Parks are no joke and defiantly not for the faint of heart or out of shape as you scale mountain sides and leap across ocean boulders.

Knysna & Oudtshoorn:

In the morning we headed out to Knysna, which we found to be somewhat of a dud after the spectacular national parks. Knysna was known for their seahorses in the bay but apparently the only remaining one is in an aquarium at the 34 South restaurant. We had a quick bite to eat and watched the South African Rugby team beat New Zealand All Blacks in a Tri-Nations game. We don’t know how we talked ourselves into this next part, but we made our way up to Oudtshoorn. This town had been known for its feather industry, but that has since gone under. The ostrich ranchers have now found creative ways to stay afloat by offering tours and bird rides, yes, you can ride an ostrich and that is just what we did. Before we saddled up, we learned that ostriches are the second fastest creature in the world reaching top speeds of 75 km/hr, second only to the cheetah. So this sounds like an even better reason to hop on these big dumb animals. Jason went first and Speedy the ostrich just wasn’t having it, and showed Jason to the ground in 2 seconds flat. With a bruised bum, Jason watched as I tried my luck. With some assistance from the “jockeys” I made it around but my dismount was not much more graceful.

Speedy may have won this time but we got the last laugh in the end.









Mossel Bay:

We spent our time in this laid back coastal town sleeping, drinking beer and relaxing on the beach. We did walk around the town a little and watched the surfers catch some waves at the point. We figured spectating was the best choice since the shore consisted of hard looking rocks. We were also still recovering from the wrath of Speedy.

Next stop, Hermanus, for up close whale watching and (look away parents) GREAT WHITE SHARK DIVING! MMWWAHHHHH!

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"Lions, leopards, and rhinos, oh my!"

It’s been awhile since we’ve posted anything here because the last few weeks have been spent jumping around Egypt and South Africa. We just finished a 6 day self-drive Safari in Kruger National Park in search of the “Big 5;” Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion, and Leopard. It took us a couple days to find all five but we saw them! We decided to do one night safari with a guide and got lucky with the leopard sighting. Kruger is home to 147 mammal species, 507 birds, 114 reptiles, 49 fish, and 34 amphibians. It is approximately 20,000 sq km and is one of the largest game reserves in all of Africa. The best way to describe Kruger is with photos, so bon appétit: