| An old school friend, Lisa, decided to come | | | | creatures. Humans luckily are not on their |
| to Cape Town and visit me for a week during | | | | list of favourite delicacies. |
| which she wanted to go shark cage diving. | | | | |
| Even though I've been living in Cape Town for | | | | We went to Gansbaai, an area infamous for |
| four years, I never got around to doing it, | | | | great shark cage diving experiences, for our |
| so when she told me that she was going to, I | | | | expedition. At first the guides gave us a run |
| reckoned now was the perfect time. | | | | through of the safety precautions we needed |
| | | | to observe whilst diving and getting us |
| But first things first | | | | geared up for action while a large amount of |
| | | | chum was thrown in to attract the Great |
| Our accommodation for the next week was the | | | | White. The more excited Lisa got, the more |
| Windsor Hotel in Hermanus. The timing was | | | | nervous I felt, but eventually we got into |
| perfect because it was September: the whale | | | | the protective cage and were lowered in |
| season, during which the Southern Right | | | | deeper to view the underwater spectacle. The |
| Whales come to this area to breed and give | | | | adrenaline rush you get from this kind of |
| birth. It is for this reason that the area is | | | | experience is unmatched. The Great White is |
| called The Whale Route. | | | | massive, measuring on average 4m in length! |
| | | | Its movements are extremely quick and its |
| Windsor Hotel is located on the edge of a | | | | senses sharp. I had to fight against my |
| cliff overlooking panoramic views of the | | | | instincts to try and not close my eyes when |
| Indian Ocean and the Overberg mountains. Our | | | | of the large robust conical-shaped predators |
| rooms had all the amenities we needed and the | | | | came straight towards the cage and bumped |
| best thing of all was that I was able to | | | | into it. It's one of those moments where you |
| enjoy my first cup of coffee in the morning | | | | see what you are made of, because even though |
| in the comfort of my own room overlooking the | | | | you are in a protective cage, you still know |
| ocean. | | | | exactly who is in control. I felt like a fish |
| | | | out of water in the cage, but extremely proud |
| On one such morning we had the privileged to | | | | of myself for having the courage to do it. |
| witness the whales at play, doing their | | | | Lisa had a waterproof camera and was taking |
| seductive dance for each other in the bay | | | | photos to add to her collection of underwater |
| overlooked directly by the hotel. Southern | | | | experiences. For someone who has never dived |
| Right Whales are rightly called as such due | | | | before, I thought it was pretty impressive |
| to the practice of identifying them as the | | | | that my first dive should be right in the |
| "right" whale to hunt because they are rich | | | | middle of these majestic predators. |
| in oil and floated in the water after being | | | | |
| killed. This made them the number one target | | | | When we got back onto the boat eventually, |
| on whale hunters' lists. After witnessing | | | | they had a picnic lunch prepared for us while |
| this display, I could hardly comprehend why, | | | | we viewed the seal colonies along the way |
| even if for money, someone would want to kill | | | | back to Gansbaai harbour. By this time our |
| such a beautiful creature. It was marvellous | | | | nerves had settled a bit, but the adrenaline |
| to watch this slow-moving whale in its | | | | rush was still pumping through my veins. Even |
| natural habitat, living a carefree life where | | | | if you are not one for any kind of water |
| all those who travelled along the whale route | | | | activities, I would insist to anybody who |
| and experienced the playful creatures was | | | | asked that they experience the rush of a |
| made in awe of its existence. | | | | Great White Shark Cage dive. |
| | | | |
| Not for the lily-livered | | | | Hermanus Whale Festival |
| | | | |
| The night before our expedition to go shark | | | | Just before our week's stay was over we |
| cage diving was a restless one. Lisa was | | | | experienced some great fun at South Africa's |
| giving me some tips for when we were going to | | | | only Enviro-Arts festivals. There were craft |
| dive. I had never dived before, while Lisa | | | | markets, local cuisine and wine. The whole |
| has been diving for the last four years. To | | | | town was celebrating the return of the |
| be honest, I wasn't really all that worried | | | | whales, standing along the cliffs overlooking |
| about the diving, but rather about coming | | | | the bay where the whales were prancing for |
| face-to-face with one of the world's biggest | | | | each other. It was the perfect ending to a |
| predators. The Great White Shark deserves so | | | | great week. Hermanus was as always: beautiful |
| much respect because not only is it the | | | | and this was for both Lisa and myself, one of |
| largest predator fish on the planet, but also | | | | the best South African holidays we had, even |
| the most vicious when hunting for other sea | | | | if it was just for a week. |