Waking up to bright sunshine through the window was pleasant and surprising, given it is supposed to be winter here. The place we are staying in is beautiful. A small holiday home, not that different from the small holiday chalets you get on the Isle of Wight in the UK. Out the front is a stunning sea view, and the front door is less than 100m from the sea front. I could tell this was going to be epic!
My first outing to see the sharks was a very exciting prospect. After meeting a few of the lovely employees here at Marine Dynamics, Amy and I got our gear on to venture out to the sea with the guests.
What a sight! The sharks were definitely playing ball. I'm not sure if it was because we were the only boat out there due to a large swell that had come in, or whether the sharks were super-pumped that day, but they were jumping about all over the place. A few managed to get the bait, and one even grabbed the rope the bait was on, pulling it until its teeth actually sliced through the rope itself! It goes to show just how sharp the shark's teeth actually are! Another shark swam right up to the cage the guests were in and hovered there, staring straight in at them! What a sight that must have been. Sure enough, the guests came back up to breathe and the excitement was evident in their shrieks and laughs.
We were out there for quite a long time, although it did not seem like it. Time certainly flies when you're having fun! Mooring up, I felt quite shell-shocked at what I had just witnessed. I feel so privileged to be able to do this almost every day throughout the two months I'm here!
I was also surprised at how well the guests are treated, the whole crew is extremely friendly, and always ready to help. There was food and drinks in the morning before we left (I sneaked a little orange juice!), food on board (sneaked a packet of crisps...) and some hot, tasty soup to warm everyone up afterwards when we all got back (also sneaked a mug and some buttery bread). Of the small number of dive companies I've seen down this road, I certainly think Marine Dynamics is one of the better ones, if not the best one here!
*Note: bait in this case is some fish heads tied to a rope with a buoy designed to attract the sharks. It is illegal to feed the GW sharks in South Africa, although they do occasionally manage to 'outsmart' the bait-thrower and grab it! This does not harm the shark.*
Thursday 31 May 2012
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Simon's Town
After being picked up from the airport, it was time to go and meet Amy in Simon's Town.My driver was a local middle-aged man who appeared somewhat distracted and disorganised, but he was nice enough and told me the occasional interesting fact about what I could see from the window of the mini-van.
After 45 minutes of travel, we eventually reached Simon's Town. A wonderfully pretty coastal town with a small harbour and a naval port harbouring a large American vessel. After locating the backpacker's hostel and Amy, I set about wandering around the place whilst we waited for Amy's friend Ed to come over and pick us up.
Eventually, Ed arrived. My first potential Africa-based friend; a foul-mouthed, yet friendly man from Stoke. Exhausted from my trip, I slept most of the way, occasionally waking up and chipping in with comments about films, which seemed the main topic of discussion between Ed and Amy.
Arriving in Kleinbaai, we decided to grab a take-away pizza, and visit the local boozer to meet some of Amy's friends, the people who I would be working with for the next couple of months. Unfortunately, I was drowsy, delirious and somewhat unready to meet my new companions, so I'm not sure I made the best first impression. However, they seemed a little tipsy so I'm hoping nobody noticed!
After a while, we headed back to Ed and his girlfriend Anna's house to eat the pizza, then I managed to finally get to bed!
After 45 minutes of travel, we eventually reached Simon's Town. A wonderfully pretty coastal town with a small harbour and a naval port harbouring a large American vessel. After locating the backpacker's hostel and Amy, I set about wandering around the place whilst we waited for Amy's friend Ed to come over and pick us up.
Eventually, Ed arrived. My first potential Africa-based friend; a foul-mouthed, yet friendly man from Stoke. Exhausted from my trip, I slept most of the way, occasionally waking up and chipping in with comments about films, which seemed the main topic of discussion between Ed and Amy.
Arriving in Kleinbaai, we decided to grab a take-away pizza, and visit the local boozer to meet some of Amy's friends, the people who I would be working with for the next couple of months. Unfortunately, I was drowsy, delirious and somewhat unready to meet my new companions, so I'm not sure I made the best first impression. However, they seemed a little tipsy so I'm hoping nobody noticed!
After a while, we headed back to Ed and his girlfriend Anna's house to eat the pizza, then I managed to finally get to bed!
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Setting Off
It took me a week to pack. Partially due to excitement-induced paranoia that I'd leave something important behind, and partially because I had to vacate the house I have lived in for the past year, so everything had to be sorted.
Hauling my humongous bag into the back of Ian's car, I was desperately hoping that it would be under the 30kg limit... it certainly didn't feel like it! Here I was, finally about to make my way out to South Africa for the second time in my life, but this time I would be gone a total of two months and four days. The thought made me queasy. Over two months away from my beloved Ian! But two awesome months studying the majestic, awe-inspiring beast known as the Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias)... sorry, my inner science geek coming through there!
As the signs for terminal one loomed above me in the car, I unexpectedly burst into tears. I'm not usually a soppy type at all, but I think the thought of coming out of my precious little 'Leeds bubble' caught me off guard and the tears began to flow. Once in the terminal, a drink and a croissant with Ian managed to calm me down. We sat and chatted for about an hour and a half, before the time came that I had to head to security to wait for my plane. As Ian turned to hug me goodbye, I couldn't help it... I was full-on sobbing! Feeling sad, extremely embarrassed and worried about the adventure I had in front of me, I eventually had to let go and head into the bag-checking area with the bravest face I could muster. I knew my eyes looked red, and I was extremely jittery, and so was very surprised when I wasn't pulled aside for extra security checks!
In the waiting area I found some comfort in reading the only book I had managed to bring with me: The Hobbit. I could totally sympathise with Bilbo as Gandalf and the dwarves tore him out of his comfy little hobbit-hole off to fight a dragon.
The plane was fantastic! I've never flown with Emirates before, but the food, entertainment and comfort was lovely. By the time I was at Dubai airport, I felt well-fed and ready for the mini-adventure that was finding the correct departure gate! Powering through the airport along the travelators, sweating from the heat and stress (Side note: I don't think I'll ever live in Dubai, far too hot! Midnight and 30 degrees!!!) I eventually reached the end of the terminal, where my gate was. More waiting around and reading The Hobbit. Dubai airport reminded me of a clean and less-hostile version of Mos-Eisley Spaceport. The range of races, colours and religions all packed into one building was fascinating!
So, it was time for my final flight. The flight was nothing exceptional, except that coming in to land in Cape Town, I was surprised at how green it was. I realised it was winter in these parts, but the majority of Africa I had seen from the plane window, even south of the equator, had been a sandy brown colour. Struck by the beauty of this part of the world, I was now ready to face the adventure in front of me.
Hauling my humongous bag into the back of Ian's car, I was desperately hoping that it would be under the 30kg limit... it certainly didn't feel like it! Here I was, finally about to make my way out to South Africa for the second time in my life, but this time I would be gone a total of two months and four days. The thought made me queasy. Over two months away from my beloved Ian! But two awesome months studying the majestic, awe-inspiring beast known as the Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias)... sorry, my inner science geek coming through there!
As the signs for terminal one loomed above me in the car, I unexpectedly burst into tears. I'm not usually a soppy type at all, but I think the thought of coming out of my precious little 'Leeds bubble' caught me off guard and the tears began to flow. Once in the terminal, a drink and a croissant with Ian managed to calm me down. We sat and chatted for about an hour and a half, before the time came that I had to head to security to wait for my plane. As Ian turned to hug me goodbye, I couldn't help it... I was full-on sobbing! Feeling sad, extremely embarrassed and worried about the adventure I had in front of me, I eventually had to let go and head into the bag-checking area with the bravest face I could muster. I knew my eyes looked red, and I was extremely jittery, and so was very surprised when I wasn't pulled aside for extra security checks!
In the waiting area I found some comfort in reading the only book I had managed to bring with me: The Hobbit. I could totally sympathise with Bilbo as Gandalf and the dwarves tore him out of his comfy little hobbit-hole off to fight a dragon.
The plane was fantastic! I've never flown with Emirates before, but the food, entertainment and comfort was lovely. By the time I was at Dubai airport, I felt well-fed and ready for the mini-adventure that was finding the correct departure gate! Powering through the airport along the travelators, sweating from the heat and stress (Side note: I don't think I'll ever live in Dubai, far too hot! Midnight and 30 degrees!!!) I eventually reached the end of the terminal, where my gate was. More waiting around and reading The Hobbit. Dubai airport reminded me of a clean and less-hostile version of Mos-Eisley Spaceport. The range of races, colours and religions all packed into one building was fascinating!
So, it was time for my final flight. The flight was nothing exceptional, except that coming in to land in Cape Town, I was surprised at how green it was. I realised it was winter in these parts, but the majority of Africa I had seen from the plane window, even south of the equator, had been a sandy brown colour. Struck by the beauty of this part of the world, I was now ready to face the adventure in front of me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)