Cape Town & Hermanus

Well, I arrived early in the morning on the 25th at Cape Town airport. A shuttle dropped me off at the Penthouse on Long Backpackers. The staff aren't very friendly or helpful, but will answer questions if you ask. At least the beds are comfortable there. Felt like new mattresses.

First thing I did was arrange my trip to Hermanus for the next day, for my shark cage dive. Once that was all sorted, I went out for an explore of town. My hostel was right on one of the main streets (called Long st.) and the Greenmarket Square started right across the road. Greenmarket square is a huge flea market that sell lots of clothing, bags/purses, paintings, masks, bone and wood crafts such as figurines, spoons, bowls, etc., flowers and produce. The retailers always ask you to come over and have a look. They start talking about their goods and tell you they'll give you a "good deal" or "special price." I just told them, "thank you, but I'm not buying anything, just looking today." They'd reply with "It's free to look" and smile. Then I'd ask if they were originally from Cape Town and a little about themselves. They were all really friendly, happy to chat and most of the people were from other African countries. They were happy to hear about my home and family as well.

After the market, I walked around the main part of town. Such a lovely city. It sits right under Table Mountain and has Signal Hill and Lion's Head on the side, with the ocean on the other.

Seeing how I ate so much on my flights, I wasn't all that hungry so some fruit and yogurt was enough for dinner. After a refreshing shower, I had an early night.

My shuttle, Baz Bus, picked me up at 7 am. I met a nice Canadian couple that where on their way up the coast and we talked most of the way. We past 4 baboons along the highway, but with the driver going so fast, it was a short lived excitement. I could tell he's driven this route a lot, but he took some of those corners too fast.

Baz Bus dropped me off at Botriver where another shuttle that works for my Hermanus accommodation picked me up.

I checked into Zoete Inval Traveller's Lodge, and the lady was really friendly. She gave me a map and showed me where to go and what things to do. My shark dive was booked for the next day as I wasn't sure what time I'd arrive by. As it was, I got there late morning so I had all day to roam around. I went into the town and looked at the shops, had some lunch and walked along the coast. There was a nice pathway to follow and I went to the man-made pools so you could swim safely in the water. When I got down to the pool though, there were about a dozen dead fish floating around. Weird. Just sea water, no chemicals. But I guess they died from hitting the wall from the waves? Not sure. The water was cool in the pool, but I wasn't going in with all those dead fish. I did see a sea anemone eating one. Couldn't believe it could eat the fish for the size it was! Amazing! Now I see why you're not supposed to stick your finger in there! Lol!

With a light dinner, I chatted to the one other person who was staying at the hostel before going to sleep in my empty dorm room. Loved that! Some quiet time, and no one flicking lights on all through the night :)

I was picked up at 8 am to arrive at Great White Shark Tours in Gansbaai. We had a light breakfast and a briefing of the days events, then on to the boat. It was a comfortable ride out and there was a boat about to come in for the day, so we took over their place and sharks. We went into the cage 8 people at a time. There are two bars we hold on to in the cage, one on the inside of the cage that is under the buoys and one buy your feet to hook onto. When a shark comes, the staff yell "down, down, down" and which direction to look. You take a deep breath and pop your head under the water to watch. Apparently, the sharks don't like the bubbles, so that's why we breath hold.

The crew tossed chum out into the water to attract the great whites. They can't eat chum, as it's just blood and guts, but the smell brings them to investigate. We also had a wooden decoy that was shaped as a baby seal and 1 bait of fish head. The sharks were really attracted to the decoy. One medium sized shark caught it and took a nibble off the fin! I can imagine, if the guy reeling the decoy in isn't fast enough, they'd go through them quickly!

We ended up seeing 5 whites all together, and we all got to go into the cage twice. We had 7mm wetsuits and I found I was getting chilly the second time around. Would be warmer if I was moving around more. The first time I went in, we had a shark come at us fast, head on and when he went to turn his body to avoid the cage his tail whapped it. We were all excited, cheering as we came up to the surface. Lol!

We had lunch and then checked out the fur seals on Dryer Island. The colony can get up to 60,000 fur seals so that's why this is the prime location to see them. They also breach out of the water at certain times of the year (when the baby seals are old enough to start swimming out to deeper waters). I couldn't believe the smell! Did those seals ever stink! Glad we didn't linger too long, I think we were all a little grossed out.

I met 2 nice men from the U.S.A named Scott and Rob. We went in the cage together and agreed to share the good photos and videos with each other.

Once we got back in, Scott and Rob asked me to join them for a dinner the next day, so with a quick reply of where I was staying, I ran to my shuttle for my trip back. What an amazing experience. The sharks were just beautifully built for their purpose as a predator. Can even see the scratches on their body from their fighting and hunting. So cool.

I showered, had dinner then had a quiet evening watching a movie on my laptop.

The next day I walked around the town more and went up Hoy's Koppie hill to see the view. I saw a Dassie along the way, hiding under a rock. Looked like he was smiling at me. Amazingly, they're the closest relative to the elephant. Sure, can't you see the resemblance? Let me know, because I'm still confused, he he.

I waited for my friends to show for dinner, but by 7 pm, I figured they probably forgot where I said I was staying so I walked into town and have a wonderful South African dinner at Annie's Restaurant. I ordered the Bobotie which is a mince pie with seasonings and a egg-based top layer that you dish chutney, coconut and banana on top. Also has seasoned green beans, apricot and rice with possibly saffron? It was yellow. It was delicious. The sweet and salty was a great mix. Then, I watched a bit of a movie the other resident at the hostel was watching before bed.

After my complimentary breakfast, I walked the 5 km to the Botanical Gardens. Of course, with it being summer, not many flowers to see. But it was a nice walk. Then, after a snack, I hiked along the cliff along the town named Klipspringer Trail, Rotary Way. Beautiful day, perfect temperature and no one else along the trail. I went by the grocery store to grab something simple for dinner and headed home for a shower. As I was washing, the receptionist called to me saying my friends were here, so I quickly finished up to see if it was Scott and Rob. And yup, they couldn't remember where it was I was staying and finally figured it out. Not many places in Hermanus that start with 'Z'.

We went out to a snazzy restaurant and they ordered pizza to share and I had a milkshake. It was a lot of fun. Great guys. They were heading off to a safari the next morning before heading to Cape town, and I had my shuttle picking me up to take me there, so we made plans to meet up the next evening.

I lounged around the guest house until my shuttle took me to Cape Town. I decided to stay at the same hostel as before (it had free wifi) and then popped over to the Holiday Inn to visit the boys.

We all went out for dinner, another fancy place (where they insisted they pay, such gentleman) and they showed me pictures of their safari. Another pleasant evening.

We all met up the next day and had an adventurous walk to the ferry terminal at the waterfront (we got lost along the way, then hitched a ride with a nice man who we paid a handsome tip to), and caught the ferry to Robben Island for a tour.

Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela (past president of South Africa) and other political prisoners spent decades imprisoned. Mandela served 27 years (most on Robben island), arrested in 1962 for sabotage and other things in the apartheid era. He was fighting for equal rights of all the people in South Africa and helping to solve poverty. For that, he was sentenced :(

He did hard labour in the lime quarry, and we got to see where he shoveled the dirt There were many who lost their eyesight from the sun's glare and dust.

We also saw his cell that he stayed in. Such a small area. The rations of the food were listed on a board as well, comparing the inmates to the political inmates. Small differences, but the political inmates got more rations.

Funny thing, the prison placed all the politicians together so they wouldn't influence the other inmates and have a rebellion, but that made things more of a benefit for Mandela. He was able to plan strategy and when released in 1990 he could put it into action. Honestly, what did they think politicians would do together... talk about the weather?

He became president in April 1994 which was a step in the reconciliation of black and white South Africans. There... a little history lesson.

After the tour we had lunch down at the waterfront Such a beautiful location with great food and shops. We spent the rest of the day together.

The next day, we went to Table mountain for a hike up Platteklip Gorge Trail. Ugh, more steps. Seems like a lot of hikes nowadays have steps. Scott, in great shape, left Rob and I in his dust while we puttered along, taking photos occasionally.

What a gorgeous view. We had a snack at the top, but the clouds were rolling in fast so we enjoyed what we could before heading to the other side of the mount to the cable car. The clouds misted all down the sides of the mountain making such a mystical appearance. We stayed to watch the sunset before taking the cable car down. It was a very smooth ride too. I was expecting some jerking, but there was none.

We headed home for showers, then had dinner.

The next morning, I popped over to their hotel for breakfast and to say goodbye since they were heading home. Sure will miss them. We became good pals over the last few days and had many laughs. Relationships I hope to keep. They're good people.

After goodbye, I spent the day checking into camera shops to see about replacing my underwater camera. My "adventure" camera bit the dust. I had a water leak and it fried. I figured I'd get the same one... but newer model. In the end, I decided to wait till I got to Tanzania. Might be cheaper...

The next day, I took the local train to Simon's town to see the endangered African penguins. I met a nice English lady named Sam on the train and we went together.

It was about a 20 mins walk to Boulders Beach and there were so many! All sleeping or resting in the sheltered cove. We paid an entrance fee to the beach and we waded into the water and enjoyed the penguins. As nice as it was, we both agreed it was too crowed for the poor birds and didn't stay too long. Many people there had no respect for their space.

We went to a cafe for a snack before heading back to Cape Town. Luckily, the train we got on the way back was much more comfortable. Better seats and less graffiti. Funny how that atmosphere changes your perception of things... makes you feel safer.

We said our goodbyes and I went back home to get ready for my early flight to Zanzibar, Tanzania. Yay, warm beach ahead!