White Sharks & Chardonnay

Stellenbosch and the surrounding winelands are really beautiful. I can’t believe that so far no matter where we have been we have been surrounded by mountains – they seem to follow you everywhere. It’s very impressive. And of course you need the mountains in the winelands as they are a main ingredient to the environment for making such delicious wine!! I had the same whilst in the wine region in Argentina.

But I don’t really have much to tell you about our time in the winelands. We were very lazy & the weather has been lousy! Our second night we got absolutely blazing drunk with the staff of the hostel who kept plying us with shots of tequila. A great bunch at the Stumble Inn so if you’re ever in the region & are up for a party stay there!! George , Tina & Sharon are loads of fun & real big party animals – we had a blast. Although not so much the following day. To say we were feeling rather delicate is a slight understatement, so we spent another day just lounging around doing nothing, recovering & preparing for the wine tasting tour the following day.

There are so many wine farms in Stellenbosch, Paarl & Franschoek (the golden triangle of wine making) it’s impossible to decide which ones to go to. We had a quick look in the brochures & considered doing a self drive but in the end went on a tour as it’s much easier & much more fun in a group. We visited 4 farms (Simonsig, Fairview, Boschendal, Tokara) & unlike in Argentina where you tour around the whole farm & get given the process making spiel every time, here they get down to business! The first farm told & showed us how they make the wine & from then on it was in & straight onto the tasting! Brilliant! One of the farms even had a cheese tasting session to go with it which was great! Now I’ve never really been a South African wine drinker – I don’t know why – because they are DELICIOUS!! If you are a fan of red then you must try & find a Tokara Red Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 or earlier. Hands down the best red wine I have ever tasted! We brought a bottle of wine at every farm as they were so cheap!! Fairview also have some great wines, especially the Rose. Ah the whole day was just fantastic & finally, thankfully it had stopped raining! There was for certain a fair amount of drinking done & we met some great people on the tour as well which always make the day nicer.

The day after was time for us to leave Stellenbosch sadly & head down to Hermanus for some whale watching. The drive was beautiful. South Africa really is a stunning country! There is soooo much land, the further we have come along the coast the more the land just stretches out before you.

The weather had cleared up a little but was still cold & really windy. Apparently as with most of the world the seasons here are messed up here too because of global warming. It’s not supposed to be this bad for this time of year!

On arrival Tymon & I had a our first little spat. I’d been in a really bad mood all day & he wasn’t feeling great (bad stomach) & we were trying to decide where to stay next. We weren’t really talking to each other so communication was low so we had a little argument about how long we were staying somewhere & what days as we were planning the shark cage dive too. He walked off back to hostel ahead of me & cooked dinner while I stayed in the room & did my nails. Just gave each other some space & made up later. I mean we’re going to have these moments obviously! We only really see each other for about 4 days a week in total back home so we’re doing pretty well if you ask me! ;0)

The following morning all was fine & we headed off on the coastal trail to find the whales. We considered a boat trip but it was quite expensive & were told that they really do come close to the shore. However there were no whales to be seen! We walked & walked along the trail but still nothing & then finally as we neared the end we spotted them. And they were really close. It was amazing. We climbed the rocks as far out as we could get to watch them. There were 3 including a baby we think & while the photos & videos make them look miles away still, in the flesh they really are very close to the shore. It was so great to see them. We continued along the trail & then decided to head back to the hostel & head to the next stop. And finally I managed to do my first run. I was wearing my running gear under my clothes so I ran the trail back to the hostel & it felt great!! It was only a little run – 3km, but still felt great to be running after more than a month!

Next stop – the one you’ve all been waiting for – the one I’ve been waiting for – Gansbaai!! The shark capital of the world! We’d been recommended to stay at a place just outside of Gansbaai called Kleinbaai (Little Bay) at The Marine Guest House which did a great deal for the shark dive & a free nights stay, & we had booked in for 2 nights. Most people & books will tell you that there is nothing going in Gansbaai so stay in Hermanus & travel in for the dive, but that’s rubbish. I mean there isn’t much going on but it’s lovely – especially Kleinbaai. A beautiful small coastal village & the guest house we were staying in was right on the sea front with fantastic views!! And it was fab!! A big lounge with an indoor BBQ fireplace & pool table & for the second night we would have the place to ourselves. We had a nap (something we’ve become quite fond of doing around 17.00pm) & headed to the light house for dinner – a lovely old school thatched house with an open fire & the local inbred family holding an open mike evening! Hahaha. We found ourselves sitting next to another Dutch couple so joined tables & had a very civilized evening, after which we headed back to get a good nights sleep as they next morning we would be up at the crack of dawn to go swim with the big fishes!! I couldn’t believe that after years of dreaming of this moment it was finally here!! I was sooo excited & of course a little nervous, but I just couldn’t wait. I was like a little kid on Christmas Eve. I was going to see Great Whites!!

The morning of the dive I was a little hyper and the weather was a little better. Still very windy & cold but it was dry at least! We met at the company quarters of Shark Diving Unlimited who is actually owned & run by Mike Rutzen who if you google, you will find out that he is the second person ever to free dive with great whites! He is very famous & has done a lot of documentaries & the photos he has of him free diving with them is incredible!!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6trY0RdVEU)

After a hearty breakfast (I didn’t want to get sea sick) we wrapped up warm & headed out onto the boat. As soon as we got onto the sea I knew I was going to suffer! It was sooooo rough. The boat was going up & down on waves about 2 metres high & I was holding on for dear life. It was a bit like car sickness. I had to be facing front & see the sea! It was only about a 15 minute ride out but it felt like a life time. When we’d anchored up and the engine stopped I really felt rough, but before I knew it I heard that the first shark had shown up & we were barked at by the skipper to get a wetsuit, get changed & in the water. It was soooooooooooo cold, so getting undressed, bouncing up & down, feeling sick & getting in a wet cold wetsuit was not exactly how I had imagined this whole thing going down. But I managed to get into it, get a mask & before I knew it I was looking from the edge of the boat at a great white shadow swimming by! Just as I was taking in the moment & in complete awe a crew man was pushing me out onto the cage & I was in! Knees on the bar infront & back on the foam lining at the back of the cage. It was this point that the nerves set in slightly. The boat crew have quite an army mentality to get you dressed & in the water so you don’t really have time to focus on what you are doing or how cold the water is, which is good I guess. Once in the cage it’s the oddest feeling. You have to stay above water while they bait in the shark & then once it comes in they shout at you ‘down down down’ which is when you take a deep breath a drop down into the cage. Now unfortunately I had picked up a dodgy snorkel mask so as soon as I dropped down it filled up pretty quick which made me panic like hell. I took in a few mouthfuls of sea water & kept coming up to breathe but you shouldn’t be up when they tell you to go down as if the shark is above water & sees your head bobbing about it could be a dangerous situation, so they guy kept pushing me back under. It was horrible & I missed quite a bit of moments of the shark coming by. But when it does – my god they come so close & they are magnificent! I had one moment where it was baited in & came straight for the cage & head butted the cage compartment I was in. I shat my pants! Ah it was such an incredible experience not to be missed by anyone!! I have such a morbid fascination for these animals but they are beautiful and so peaceful in their own way. Unfortunately we only saw fairly small ones of about 4 metres, but it was still so amazing to see them. We had about 3 at one point circling the boat. After about 20 minutes in the water the next group (Tymon) got in & he managed to get some really great footage underwater as I was good for nothing. It was great watching them from the boat too & then I had one more chance to go in the water. I made sure I got a better mask this time & it made such a difference!! Ah it was brilliant! I loved it! I really wasn’t scared & it was such a privilege to be in the water with these animals! I wouldn’t say I’m cured of my fear but it was an awesome experience.

Once the cage was hauled back in I hurriedly got changed out of the wetsuit in the toilet falling all over the place trying to get warm & dry. It had started raining by now I was so cold & wet through as I couldn’t really get dry on the boat.

We headed back to shore & I was just concentrating on the horizon trying to keep the sickness at bay. Suddenly someone spotted a whale so the engines were turned off & we drifted a while to watch the whale at which point but stomach had had enough! I couldn’t hold it back anymore & rushed to the side of the boat & let it go – pretty much all over the whale!! Haha. Tymon was filming the whale & like a gentleman didn’t scan down to me puking my guts up but he told me to look up as it came in really close. It was stunning & all of a sudden did a small breach before diving back deep under. It was a complete bonus which just made the day. And after being sick I felt soooo much better! I felt sorry for Tymon who wasn’t sick but felt really rough!! I’ve never enjoyed being sick so much in my life!

So all in all a wonderful morning. We were back in the lodge having some hot soup by 10.30am & by 12.00pm we were at the house of Mike Rutzen, The Sharkman! Tymon wanted a portrait for his collection & he was packing to go on a 6 week expedition to Mozambique so his mother invited to the house to meet him, which was an honour.

We then headed back to the guest house where we both had much needed hot baths, set the fire going, got some meat on, opened a bottle of red wine, played pool & enjoyed the view of the sea on what was the longest day EVER!!

So that’s about it for now. Next stop Struisbaai – the most Southern Point of Africa.

So check back later!!