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