Gansbaai: Shark Alley

For my last adventure in Africa, I had to take a 3 hour trip south of Capetown to a little town called Gansbaai.
This is the starting point for trips to the famous Shark Alley. Home to the breaching great white shark that you may have seen if you are a fan of wildlife documentaries. We were on the lookout for an ever so slightly tamer view.

So, we went 'fishing' for the sharks, using this smelly bait

Beautiful animals

This was a little guy

Even though the water was not super clear, I had to take the opportunity, since I was here, to do the whole 'swim with the sharks thing'. So, for a little while, I got into the cage that you can see in many of these pics.

This is a BIG shark!

Guess he's practicing for the seals?

It was amazing to watch

So cute and little, only a little bit longer than me...

Just to give you a size reference, you can see the heads of some people in this picture

It was amazing to be in the water with these amazing animals (with a nice sturdy cage in between). It was also spectacular to stand above and watch them float so gracefully by.

Great White Sharks!

On the way back, this gull hovered for a photo. I love the way it turned out.

Another shark viewing boat

Back in the harbor, these young boys were passing the afternoon playing in the waves

Brave mothers was all I could think.
After this lovely farewell, I started my 30 hour trip home. Back to Capetown (with a shower stop at the shark peoples office, thank goodness. Can you imagine travelling 30 hours on a plane, with a body covered in salt?), strait to the airport, and on to home. After a stop in California to see my family and pick up my lovely Rinsters, I made the final 10 hour leg of the journey, to start teaching the next day. Weeeeeee, life. Isn't it grand?

Cape Town

And finally, the final destination of our GAP tour, Cape Town.

Our first sight of Table Mountain lasted quite a while, as we arrived during rush hour.
After listening to all the dire warnings to take the cable way up to the top the moment it was clear, since clear skies are a rarity and the mountain closes when topped with clouds, we decided to go up immediately
The cable ride was fun, and the view amazing, but man o man was it cold!

Sunny as it was down below, the mountain itself had a table cloth of clouds

Even though we were frozen, we were determined to make the walk around the top, the basic one at least.

It was wonderfully quiet and serene

watching the end of the world disappear into the mist was a little unnerving

It was windy up there too, and wet

It would be so easy to get lost up here in the mist

In fact, they close the mountain when it gets too cloudy for that reason, among others

Gudrun in her purple, looked pretty amongst the yellow of the flowers

The port

We meant to take a picture of us as icicles, but couldn't get our fingers to work the camera. So, this is us, slightly thawed. Like the silly hat I bought up top? Without it, I would never have been able to make the walk

The cable car ride down was interesting. The other reason they close the car when there are clouds is the wind. It was a bumpy ride. Moments after we reached the bottom, they sounded the siren that alerts visitors that the last car would be leaving soon. i.e. get your butt off this mountain!

Gurdrun, Sebastian and I ran into others of our group . Kaja introducing himself by flying into our picture

Our taxi driver kidnapped us in a way, taking us to see signal hill.

We weren't that mad, because it was beautiful, but it was kind of funny
Guinea fowl

We were just up there

Signal hill, I think

Cape Town is a pretty place, for sure

In the city itself, I didn't take too many pictures being who I am, but here are a few
The Museum

A church seen from the gardens

Some interesting buildings

Beyond these buildings you can see what was district 6, an old apartheid neighborhood that nevertheless was a hotbed of culture and art. Compared to Harlem in its heyday. It was torn down though, in an attempt to make some politician happy. Its now a big green scar on the face of the city

I took a tourist bus around the city and the mountain.

My first stop was Kirstenbosch gardens

Unfortunately, for the sake of the money I shelled out for the ticket, it was also my last stop. For good reason though, I had such a good time I missed the last bus

As I wandered through the garden, I realized I was getting higher and higher

Cool flower

Eventually, I realized that I was halfway up the mountain. And though I was completely unprepared for this hike, I thought, why not?

I was on the Nursery Ravine trail up the mountain

It wasn't an easy hike, pretty much strait up

But the view was spectacular

and it was a much warmer day then my previous table mountain experience

I did eventually make it to the top, but it was pretty tough on my bus conditioned legs (5000 km of sitting on my butt)

Worth it though, to make it to the top by my own power

Now I just had to get back down in time to catch my bus, ha!

Because I could, I made my hike into a loup and took the next trail, Skeleton Gorge, down the mountain. Not the best choice I was later to find out

It didn't look too bad from the top

But halfway down I realized that I was lost. I had no idea where the trail went from here. As my time began to run, and my legs get sketchier and sketchier, I resolved to turn back and take the nursery gorge trail down, that one at least I knew. I didn't relish the hike back up to the top though. But, luckily, a wonderful Dutch man by the name of Bart was coming down as well and undertook to guide me through the rough spot. It turned out that the trail just followed the stream course for about 1/2 a kilometer, with no warning or indication. And this was a steep little creek! We made it though. Obviously. I missed my bus unfortunately, but Bart was kind enough to give me a ride home. He was a neat man, here with his wife who was studying medicine with a renowned surgeon, and their two kids. Luckily for me, he makes the hike up the mountain often. I was really really not looking forward to the climb back up the mountain to find a more reliable trail. As it was, I literally could not walk two days later. I have never paid so much for a test of mind over body. Mostly due to the fact that I was sitting on a plane (economy, of course) at the time, perfect muscle cramping conditions if there are any. But, it was worth it! I hiked to the top of Table Mountain. Totally unexpectedly