Before getting to the other highlights of our trip it is important to know that I spent most of my day today with the white sharks of Gansbaai and am in a happiness haze. We had a great trip with Shark Lady Adventures (Genie Clark's South African counterpart Kim Maclean started the company in 1992) and even mom had a great time. She openly admitted to me afterwards that she is a shark convert and if she ever gets back will definitely get in the cage to see the action from below. The visibility wasn't the best today which meant that the sharks needed to be within an arms length away to be seen from under water but the boat-based views were unbelievable as well, and we got several good splashes. Although right now is the off-season for white sharks we managed to see 9 individuals, some of which weren't afraid to show us their lovely white teeth. All together a great day and an amazing experience which I hope to repeat!
Possibly the greatest picture of me in existence
Mom having a 'here fishy fishy' Bert & Ernie moment
Mostly docile, but they sometimes get excited
The first stop after Port Elizabeth was Jeffrey's Bay, which had beautiful beaches, waves and people, along with one man who mom said reminded her of Uncle Ross. She continued to call him that the whole time we stayed at his B & B, and just about every day sees someone else she knows who 'reminds her of someone at home'. Among others she has seen a doppelganger for Greg, Jonathon, Mickey, Mike and Danny Williams. I'm working on a list and will compile it for my final post.
Me & Uncle Ross
One of our exploits in Jeffrey's Bay was horseback riding over the dunes and along the beach. I finally felt what it's like to be on a horse moving like Seabiscuit (well, almost) and it turned out to be a lot of fun. The next two days were misery on our legs though, and I think next time I'll try more of an 'ease into it' approach.
Possibly the greatest picture of us in existence. Doesn't she remind you of those Fraggle Rock guys?
Plettenberg Bay was definitely the more relaxing stop on our trip and we stayed at a great place close to Robberg Beach, where the cyclone turned out some pretty amazing waves. We also had a visit with some lovely elephants at the Elephant Sanctuary, where rescued elephants are kept until they are ready to be re-introduced into the wild. We walked hand in trunk with them, they showed us some of their dance moves and we got to inspect and feed them. Mine was named Marula and she was bossy but I think that's only because she thought she saw me make eyes at the boy elephants. For the record, I had something in my eye.
Yup, they really do this
On March 3rd we were in Hermanus and I woke up to a phone call saying that our cage dive for that day was cancelled due to scary weather. Needless to say I was pretty grumpy about it and the only thing that could cheer me up where Jackass (African) Penguins, so we stopped in at Betty's Bay on the way to Cape Town.
One of several areas of the penguin 'burbs
Penguin yoga pose
R44 to Cape Town
Cape Town was a whole other story and even though we stayed only 4 days we managed to get a ton in, including a Table Mountain cable car ride and a stay at the Grand Daddy Hotel in a penthouse roof airbus in the theme of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Yes, it was as crazy as it sounds.
The Two Towers
Charlie Applebee
Lunatic abseilers
Token city shot
Some people go to Table Mountain and pose. I take pictures of scat.
Carolyn, this one is for you
Only three full days left in beautiful South Africa and the realization hasn't quite hit me yet. Tomorrow night will be spent in Plettenberg Bay and then it's on to Grahamstown for the final push. Hopefully the weather stays great and I will try to put one last post up before I leave. If not, talk to you in Canada!
No comments:
Post a Comment