We are finally here, the last of the south African tour, how fitting for it to finish in Cape Town, and the Cape of Good Hope.
We touched down in Cape Town on a cool evening, Table Mountain had its table cloth cloud over its peak, with the African sun setting into the ocean. After a short drive from the airport through the center of Cape Town and over to the V+A waterfront we arrived at our hotel, Oxford House.
We were showed to our room and it was an amazing room. After settling in, we headed out to a local burger joint for dinner, the place was packed. There was an half an hour waiting list before we could get in, but boy was it worth it, gorgeous big burgers with avocado, feta and bacon. After with our appetite sated we headed home ready for a 9am start the next morning.
The day has come, butterflies making themselves known in our stomach. We are going to Gansbaai, to meet the apex predator of the ocean, the great white shark. The drive to Gansbaai took 3 hours, through the stunning wine regions. We arrived to be greeted by the crew at White Shark Project as well as the brisk cold Atlantic breeze. We had a talk about the threats facing great whites and what to expect during the afternoon, and were served lunch.
We kitted up with life jackets and rather fetching orange rain jackets and headed to the boat and then out to sea. It would take 15 minutes to head out to the dive site. There was a buzz of excitement on the boat and I was anticipating my first sighting of a great white.
About 5 minutes away from the dive site, off the starboard of the boat a fin broke the water, our first shark.
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| A fin breaks the surface |
As soon as we arrived at the dive site the crew started baiting the water with a mix of fish blood, oils and other fishy parts, known as chum, as well as throwing the bait and decoy into the water. We settled down waiting for the sharks to come to us while donning our wet suits.
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| Yum, Chum |
Minutes later a fin broke rose above the water moving fast towards the bait, its jaws breaking the surface as the bait handler pulled the bait away, just in time.
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| Divers in the cage |
The first divers climbed into the cage, more sharks appeared. One young cocky shark went for the bait and got a tail swiped by an older, wiser female. The young shark would not give up, he went for the bait a second time, the bait handler attempted to pull it away, not quick enough. The shark grabbed the bait and shook its head. Eventually he let go, all this happening within a meter of the divers in the cage.
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| Too Slow! |
A large 4.6 meter female shark appeared interested in the decoy, she came up to investigate it, passed once and turned to give it a nudge with her nose, a perfect example showing how the sharks are inquisitive and not cold blooded killers. In fact Great Whites can raise their body temperature higher than their surroundings allowing them to survive in the frigid Atlantic waters.
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| Pass number one |
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| "a perfect example showing how the sharks are inquisitive" |
One of the crew shouted, “Second group, you’re up!” now it was our turn to climb into the cage to view the sharks. Climbing in, the first thing that hit us was the extremely cold 12 degree water, thank god for the wet suit. Only seconds after entering the cage the bait handler yelled “Down!” we went underwater, the visibility was shockingly bad, only about a meter. Out of the murky waters a big shark came swimming effortlessly past the cage, less than 30cm from my face, eye to eye with one of the greatest predators on earth.
At the start we saw sharks every few seconds, biting the bait meters away from us, I could really appreciate not only the raw power but also the grace of these animals up close and personal. After the manic first few minutes it calmed down and we only saw a few other sightings in the next 30 minutes.
I had just climbed out of the cage, when one of the crew asked “Do any divers want to go back into the cage?” My hand shot up. Braving the icy water for the second time, I settled into the cage. Sightings were few and far between, until finally just after the crew told us 5 more minutes, “Divers! Eyes on the bait” came from the boat, excited chatter followed. Two fins, a big shark honed in on the bait, he went for it as it was being pulled away catching his tail on the side of the cage as he did so.
The waiting paid off, after a few more passes and he swam away and we climbed out of the cage. My lips were blue and I was unable to feel my hands, taking the wetsuit off was a struggle. Finally back in warm clothes we headed back to shore with heaters and warm tea, watching the video of our day, perfect. Driving back in the dark to our hotel, we ate toast and collapsed into our beds.
We woke to a stunning day and headed down to the waterfront to catch a ferry to Robben Island, named for the cape fur seal colony, infamous for its part in the dark apartheid years of South Africa’s history. The view from the ferry over Cape Town and Table Mountain was amazing.
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| Eye to eye with an apex predator |
At the start we saw sharks every few seconds, biting the bait meters away from us, I could really appreciate not only the raw power but also the grace of these animals up close and personal. After the manic first few minutes it calmed down and we only saw a few other sightings in the next 30 minutes.
I had just climbed out of the cage, when one of the crew asked “Do any divers want to go back into the cage?” My hand shot up. Braving the icy water for the second time, I settled into the cage. Sightings were few and far between, until finally just after the crew told us 5 more minutes, “Divers! Eyes on the bait” came from the boat, excited chatter followed. Two fins, a big shark honed in on the bait, he went for it as it was being pulled away catching his tail on the side of the cage as he did so.
The waiting paid off, after a few more passes and he swam away and we climbed out of the cage. My lips were blue and I was unable to feel my hands, taking the wetsuit off was a struggle. Finally back in warm clothes we headed back to shore with heaters and warm tea, watching the video of our day, perfect. Driving back in the dark to our hotel, we ate toast and collapsed into our beds.
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| A shark next to the cage |
We woke to a stunning day and headed down to the waterfront to catch a ferry to Robben Island, named for the cape fur seal colony, infamous for its part in the dark apartheid years of South Africa’s history. The view from the ferry over Cape Town and Table Mountain was amazing.
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| Cape Town from the sea |
We arrived and met our tour guide, an ex-political prisoner who took us around and told us stories of being incarcerated within the prison.
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| Back in time: South Africa's darkest hour |
We arrived at “B” block, where the leaders of the ANC (African National Congress) were kept, including prisoner 46664, Nelson Mandela. The cramped living quarters and horrific work environment in the lime quarry was a sobering reminder of the dark side of humanity.
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| Prisoner 46664, Nelson Mandela's jail cell |
Back for a quick lunch at our hotel and we readied to hike up Table Mountain, one of the 7 new natural wonders of the world, looming over Cape Town.
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| Dad and Table Mountain |
The sign at the bottom of Platteklip Gorge said it would take 3 hours to climb, I disagreed saying we can do it in 2. As we climbed higher the views over Cape Town got better and better. Powering up the mountain, with a few breaks to let dad catch up, him mumbling something about ice cream.
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| I think he needs a break |
We reached the summit in an hour and a half! The views from the top were the best I have ever seen. Looking out over the areas surrounding Cape Town with ice cream in hand, we nearly didn’t noticed the cheeky Dassie (Rock Hyrax) sneaking up on us.
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| Looking out over Cape Town |
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| Rock Hyrax |
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| Another African sunset |
That evening we headed out to Long Street, to a place called Mama Africa. We ordered a mixed game grill, it was huge when it arrived, containing: Crocodile, Ostrich, Springbok, Kudu and Warthog. The best had to be Springbok, with the warthog coming in close second. The Crocodile was extremely chewy and not too satisfying.
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| Looking along the top of table mountain |
The next day we headed to Simon's Town, this is where the first British settlers landed on the Cape of Good Hope, known then as the Cape of Storms. More recently it is known for boulders beach, a beach where a colony of African penguins call home. It was so surreal walking amongst the penguins with them not even looking at us.
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| An African penguin judges distance |
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| A Cape Fur Seal showing off its athletic ability |
As we headed home, I found out that it was world penguin day, what a perfect timing to see the African Penguin. We got ready to get an early flight the next morning back to Jo’burg to end our amazing trip.
I’d like to thank dad for coming with me and making this all possible, it was one of the best experiences of my life, and I’d like to thank my mum for letting dad come to South Africa for 2 weeks and for looking after Ben and Lucy while he was gone.
I am preparing for my third Kruger trip with a few of my friends from Lajuma, my next post will be about this.
On the 8th of June I am heading to Phalaborwa to work with orphaned baboons in C.A.R.E Primate Sanctuary, so look forward to more posts about the playful amazing baboons.
Thank you for following my exploits in South Africa!
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| Penguin Affection |
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