Cape Town, South Africa - Gansbaai
Go to Gansbaai, they said. See the sharks, they said....
We're picked up from our Green Point loft at 7am. Gansbaai (baai = bay) is about a 2 and a half hours to the East so we make tracks, past the kilometers of slums and into the forest region. A pretty drive, but that's not what we're here for.
We arrive and have some breakfast and sign our life away. A short safety breifing covers all the basics - keep your hands in the cage etc.
We jump in the boat which holds about 25 of us tightly. We cruise for about 20 mins and arrive on the other side of the bay at our cage.
The assistants start making the burley and throwing it in, along with a tuna head on the end of the rope. Sharks are able to smell the burley, but need something visual to set their sights on if they are to come to the surface to play with us.
The seas are fairly high and a few people are struggling with it. No extra burley at this stage though. We chill at the front in the sun while people get their wet suits on. The sun is out, it's a great day... But that's not what we're here for...
An hour passes and the boat is moved considerably with the high seas. This is apparently not good in terms of attracting some shark action. The assistants continue with the burley.
Our guide tells us that it's rare to not see any sharks at all - 4 or so times a year. We are down to our last 30 minutes though and no signs. Some brave people have jumped in the cage in anticipation. The water is freezing. We get into our wetsuits, but won't be getting in the cage until we see something.
We have a zzz at the front of boat. We hear the faint sounds of a nearby boat. They've spotted one. Its fleeting though. None of the other boats have seen anything.
Time is up. Nothing. We head back severely disappointed. We are offered a free return visit which 2 others from our group take up. We later hear that they didn't see any on their return either. We may have to wait for Jeffreys Bay to see some...
We aren't back in Cape Town until 5. A quick trip back to the Mediclinic to check back in with the doctor. He confirms it is a staphylococcus infection. More antibiotics and it should be ok. We meet up with the rest of the crew. A group dinner will help sooth our sorrows.
Eric (our new tour leader since he has been in CT studying for a month) tells us to meet him at the Eastern Food Bazaar. We get the map out and wander into the city centre for the first time. We walk through the company gardens (more details to follow) and arrive just before dark as the large number of homeless are settling in for the night.
The Bazaar has a wide array of Turkish and Indian food and the prices are dirt cheap. The quality is decent. We all stuff ourselves for about $5 and wander up Long street (think Hindley street in Adelaide) back home.
They say the worst day travelling still beats the best day working so we can't complain. Seeing Great Whites in the flesh will just have to stay on the list for now.
We hunt down the casino and get an Uber out there (fast, easy, so cheap). It's grander than expected. It has an indoor town set up similar to how they do Venice at the Venician in Vegas.
Jeff plays some poker with the locals and does well. They call him Kangaroo and generally give no respect, which is always a good thing.
Uber home and crash.