A Birthday Wish for a Really Big Fish

There are only a few things that are assured while spending a year on the road:  The holidays will be a lonely time, US taxes still need to be paid, and another birthday will arrive.  Instead of denying that she was adding another year to her age, Amy decided to celebrate like never before.  She slipped on the tightest fitting little black number she could find, donned the latest in head wear and jumped feet first into a shark cage!! 
After seeing the movie Jaws, she was traumatized and afraid of the open water for years.  Even though those fears are long ago and far away, Steve was shocked when she exclaimed that she’d like to revel in her birthday with a Great White Shark dive. 


This was the first birthday Amy has commemorated in the summer.  In February.  For anyone that has a winter birthday in the Northern hemisphere, she highly recommends getting south of the equator to enjoy it in the summertime.  Given that we were in South Africa in late February we welcomed the warm,  humid weather on this special day. 
We headed to Gansbaai (pronounced Hans Bay); home of Shark Alley.  There are many Great White tour operators who take out the fearless into the cold waters for a close and personal encounter with these apex predators.  We did our research and interviewed several tour operators -- How do they attract the sharks, their destination, the likelihood of seeing the sharks, how they protect them, etc…  As always, we wanted to insure that our presence has minimal interference with their natural behavior and contributes to their preservation versus their demise.  Satisfied that our tour operator does not “feed” the sharks, but rather attracts them with a tuna oil slick, we signed our life away with the standard….”You will not hold us responsible if you get chowed by this HUGE flesh eating fish!!!!!!!!”.

 
  We chose a company that is actively involved with preservation efforts of these endangered animals.  We headed out on an early cloudy morning to the notorious Shark Alley, an area in the Indian Ocean between two islands that is home to a large colony of fur seals…..the tasty snack of choice for our shark friends.  Half an hour later, we drop anchor and the cage is lowered into the chilly dark waters.  A few minutes after the tuna oil is ladled onto the water someone yelled “Did you see what I just saw?!?”  Before any of us were in the cage, a few of the stealthy creatures from the deep showed up.  These are VERY LARGE fish.  Bigger then the pictures suggest.


Shark cage diving is a bit of a misnomer.  It is actually cage bobbing.  No scuba equipment is required, not even a snorkel.  Six people get into the cage at a time and take a deep breaths and duck under the water at the direction of the shark spotter.  He tells us to look left, right, or downward as appropriate as the sharks swim by.  The gray carnivores are chasing a tuna head on a rope that is pulled through the water.  It is not allowed to let them eat the bait, but rather just play a game of keep away.  On our special day the water visibility was somewhat poor.  Even so, we were prepared with a rented digital underwater camera.   

The first six brave souls enter the cage.  We watch from the boat as these agile beings repeatedly attack the tuna temptation.  We even see a few breach the water with their classic attack from below.  It is a show of amazing strength.

Our turn.  We slide into the cage and feel our wetsuits fill up with freezing cold water.  Before we have a chance to think about how cold we are, we hear…“Look to the right”.  We take a deep breath, duck underwater, and watch as a 10 foot plus creature of the dark swims by the cage.  Holy moly…..we could have reached out and touched it.  Thankfully, all of our extremities were safely tucked inside the cage.  “Look below!”  As we duck for the second time we see one gliding underneath us.  The adrenalin kicked in, the excitement is crescendoing and the freezing water temperature is long forgotten.  We are totally focused on seeing every detail.


We watch 7 or 8 magnificent great whites, brimming with confidence and grace, and seemingly uninterested in the human meals in the cage.  They glance at us a few times but have their black eyes on the ‘chicken of the sea’ enticement.
 


It was time to share the fun with our shipmates, so we watch and cheer as the next set of bobbers enjoy their experience.  A bit later, we eagerly accept a second chance to enter the cage and again observe in amazement at these supple pelagic beasts.  Amy may have been the oldest woman on the boat but her shrieks of joy are the giddiest and loudest.  It was an unforgettable ‘summer in February’ birthday! 

Close Encounters - Self Drive Safaris

      

Have you ever rented a very small Japanese car and come literally face to face with a 6 ton elephant?  So close that you were not sure if you should reach out and touch it or slam your foot on the accelerator? 

In our previous safaris in Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda, we  traveled in sturdy 4-wheel drive vehicles with experienced drivers and guides.  We were never on our own to navigate or to manage the road system, and always had someone to determine how to best handle our way around an animal encounter.  Not so in South Africa.  Self drive safaris - good idea or disaster in the making? 

South Africa has a large system of National and private game parks that are setup to preserve the various indigenous animals and to insure the safety of the local people.  Electrified fences and tall natural barriers are maintained so that human and beast do not pose a threat to each other.  In other words, South Africa has vast cageless zoo’s covering immense amounts of unspoiled natural areas or recovered farmland.  The animals have to fend for themselves and as far as we know there is very little human intervention aside from the tourists and their vehicles.

 

 

So…..with that in mind, we took the opportunity to drive around several of these parks on our own.  Only a few rules to follow - stay on the designated trails; don’t feed the animals; and remain in your car unless in a specified (supposedly safe) area.  And yes, the animals roam freely and get very close…….in some cases, too close! 

 

In one particular life or death situation, Amy was behind the wheel with Steve navigating from the backseat.  We had been in the car for some time, and “the coffee kicked in”.  Of course we were about as far away from the rest area as one could be, and the urge became overwhelming.  Our bodies were in the midst of adjusting to the new food and water.  You get the idea.  We had to go now or it was going to get disgusting.  Our strategy was to drive to a place that looked safe and private.  We were on a road that looked liked only a few tourists dare to go.  It was VERY narrow and overgrown and things were looking too dangerous to get out of the car.  It was thick jungle and anything could be lurking.  But it was now or never.  We were seconds away from chancing it…..……when…….directly in front us was…………..a heard of elephants!

They weren’t expecting a car and within a split second of seeing us the big protective momma with a small baby by her side flared her ears and without hesitation…..she charged us.

All of a sudden it became real obvious how much of a tin can car we were in.  Amy had no time to think and shifted into reverse and floored it……backwards.  The path was too narrow to turn around in and momma was making up ground fast as she headed directly towards us.  For what seemed like an eternity, we gunned it backwards…..and yes, one of us still had to urgently go #2!  Finally after at least a 1 mile later, we broke the park rules and got out of the car to take car of some business.  Aaahh!  Gross mess averted.  And Whew!  Elephant close encounter behind us.

This was one of several very close encounters we had while in Hluhluwe - Imfolozi, Mkuze, Addo, and iSimangaliso National Parks in South Africa.  We loved being our own guides!             

Kwalazulu Natal – South Africa

After more than a month on safari, we wanted to land in an area that offered a bit more of a “civilized” experience.  We loved the animals and people of Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda, but yearned for a bit more upscale services and to look at faces more like our own.  It is draining to always be different; to stand out like a sour thumb.  We wanted to fit in more then we did long ago as awkward teenagers!

  So we set out for South Africa, our 26th country and second to last destination.  Although the population of South Africa is only 8% white, at least we blended in a bit better then in the countries with less then a 1% white population.  At the beginning of our travels we were anxious to be surrounded by people of diverse colors; at this point we were exhausted by it. 

We landed in Durban, population 3 million, on the Indian Ocean and rented a car to explore the KwalaZulu Natal region of South Africa. 

Remember the television miniseries called “Shaka Zulu”?  Well if you do, this is the area of Africa where King Shaka came from and where he united the various local tribes into the mighty Zulu warriors of  the early 19th century.  We were still in a very culturally diverse place; just to a lesser extent.

It was mid summer, in February.  Warm, humid and sunny.  And we liked it, but air conditioning was very welcome.  Durban was our first of many stops in South Africa and was used as a place primarily to catch up on all the mundane necessities like paying bills, doing laundry and hair cuts.  It provided our first look at the beautiful Indian ocean!  The beaches are gorgeous.  Soft white sand, really warm water, and lots of…….shark nets!  Over 40 species of sharks are found in this area, and there are warning signs everywhere.  The nets work to some degree, but the danger postings are very clear of the risks that lurk below.

This area is famous for lots of sea life, not just sharks.  Depending upon the time of year Whale Sharks (the world’s largest fish) and Right Whales migrate through here.  Unfortunately, we missed these gentle giants, and would like to come back to see them someday.   

We usually dread shopping mall excursions, so it’s hard for us to believe that we actually desired to go to The Mall.  The largest mall in South Africa is in Durban and has the tallest climbing wall and a huge water park, an iMax theater and of course lots of stores.  Amy had an uncomfortable, eye opening experience in one of the main department stores.  She went in by herself looking for some fresh clothes.  It was uneasy because there wasn’t another white person in sight and all of the mannequins had darker skin.  She realized how women of other races must feel when shopping in a store marketed to whites.  It’s not a welcome feeling.  

After catching up on life in this modern city, we headed north for more nature.  St Lucia and Sodwana Bay were our destinations. 

They are on the coast of the Indian Ocean and offer great diving, birding, nature reserves and a really laid back vibe.  Steve made a couple of scuba dives on the famous 2 Mile Reef off Sodwana Bay and saw 9 big rays, and 4 large moray eels.  He was in heaven.

               

There were times when we had miles and miles of beach all to ourselves with no one else in sight.

Durban and the rest of the KwalaZulu Natal were a perfect transition out of the deep African bush to the more tame end of this exceptional continent.