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