Durban
Durban’s a really nice city with loads of beaches and a relaxed vibe. On our first whole day we went to Ushaka Marine World which consisted of a great Aquarium (with sharks, dolphins, turtles, seals and penguins – though not quite as good as seeing them in the wild) as well as Wet ‘N Wild style water park to keep us amused for the day……..all a big contrast to Africa further north and we took great joy in acting like big kids all day!
The next day we went down to the beaches to get in some surfing. Could we find anywhere to hire boards? Nope! Great waves, but nothing to ride them on – very frustrating.
We could have spent a lot longer in Durban, but as per usual, time was not on our side. In fact we figured that we’d be so rushed in the 2 weeks available to us that we couldn’t afford to lose time by using public transport – time to hire a car despite the extra cost that it would bring. So we got a little Corsa to drive. This would give us a lit more flexibility in our travels as well as a bit of a change.
Driving was a great way to see South Africa. There are also some amazing mountain roads that were loads of fun to drive on. The type that you’d see Jeremy Clarkson taking the latest supercar to test its worth……just a shame we only had a Corsa!
Umkomaas
The South and East coasts of South Africa are some great dive sites with the reputation for their shark inhabitants. We couldn’t resist and went to a small place called Umkomaas, 50km South of Durban. We weren’t disappointed. Despite it being too early in the season to dive with Tiger Sharks, we got to see loads of Ragged Tooth Sharks (Raggies) – I’d guess about 20 of them, at a dive site called Raggies Cave. Some of them were as big as 3 metres, but not in the slightest bit threatening.
Coffee Bay
Our next stop following the Coast was in a place called Coffee Bay. During the 8 hour drive, the weather took a turn for the worse. It gave some amazing storm watching opportunities, but the next 2 days in Coffee Bay were a bit of a wash out. The constant drizzly weather and the rolling hills actually made it feel a lot like England at times, it was even surprisingly cold considering it was a South African summer.
The waves were unsurfable and no sun to enjoy, but we did get to go on a guided cliff walk and do some ace cliff jumping. Tash struggled with some of the heights and sharp drops below the footpaths (pussy)(Tash:due to radical vertigo), but the cliff jumping was right up my street.
Jeffrey’s Bay
With the weather not letting up, we decided to spend the time moving on and made our way onto Jeffrey’s Bay. Those of you who now anything about surfing around the world will know that Jeffrey’s Bay (fondly known as J-Bay) has one of the best (if not the best) surf waves you’ll ever find on the world. Up until the 60’s the place didn’t even exist until it was founded………..by surfers. Understandably the whole town which has grown to quite a size revolves around surfing.
Although when we arrived the weather was still bad, the next morning we woke up to bright sunshine in a backpacker’s right on the beach. Great weather…………….but no bloody waves………..arrrgggghh! So frustrating. Even at J-Bay when there are minimal waves, you can still surf…kind of, so we went out anyway and got Tash practicing. We were both being out-surfed by 9 year old kids!
The other great thing about J-Bay is that it holds own to the Billabong factory shop. Billabong (one of my favourite brands) apparently owns most of J-Bay, but the factory shop was amazing – Jeans about £8, T-shirts from £4 and all other merchandise at bargain prices. Despite the prices, we could have spent a lot of money there, if only the budget would allow it!
Outshoorn
Our travels in South Africa so far had always followed the coast. It was now time to move inland about 50km to a place called Outshoorn, famous for 2 things – The Cango Caves and Ostriches.
The Cango Caves set in the side of reasonable sized limestone mountains go as deep as 150 metres and a long as far as 18km! Some of the chambers are absolutely massive. They even used to hold concerts in them until some of the structures were getting damaged by unruly concert goers. The stalagmites and stalactites are as much as 1.5 million years old (they know this from carbon dating).
Past the huge chambers are lots of small crevices and tunnels that we could go climbing around. Good fun, but a bit like pot-holing for pussies!
Within a few kilometres (note we’ve caught onto working in metric now out of the UK) are loads of Ostrich farms. The locals make lots of use out of these birds including food (eggs and meat), feathers for dusters, tough leather and of course tourism.
The Ostrich farms let you see the Ostriches up close, hug them, and hold the chicks. Tash got to ride an Ostrich with about as much elegance as you’d expect (You see the footage- you decide!). I (James) was unfortunately too heavy), but I did have an Ostrich give me a kiss!
Aside from a short trip to a wildlife reserve to see some crocodiles, cheetahs and white tigers, it was time to get back to the coast.
Hermanus and Gaans Bay
We went to Hermanus for one thing - to do a Great White Shark cage dive. We arrived in Hermanus in good time to the backpackers where there was a deal on to do a cage dive with a night’s free accommodation. I (Tasha) did this 6 years ago in peak season (July) without seeing that many sharks. Now, we were in low season (namely due to the rise in the sea temperature with the approaching summer) so our expectations were minimal.
There is a bit of controversy surrounding the shark dive. There are schools of thought that the sharks may learn to associate humans as food providers whether it be their limbs or the chum (mashed up fish guts) they supply to attract them in the first place. A pioneer in Great White Shark behaviour is a man called Mike Rutzen who free dives (without a cage) with these creatures observing their behaviour, to the extent where he has previously held on to a Great White shark’s dorsal fin with him being pulled along under the water as if in Sea world (but not in a Jaws way). Naturally I, (Tasha) took it upon myself to stalk this man by using his company and get him to sign my fins, but sadly to no avail as the so and so was off filming a documentary! Disappointment aside, we had a cracking day. All in all we saw approximately 5 to 6 sharks, the largest of which was a 4-5m chunker.
Marine laws stipulate that they can not feed the sharks, but they can allure them with chum on a rope whilst people are in the cage. We can honestly say this experience was exceptional. A Great White coming at your face with 30 cm to spare is nothing short of awe inspiring. We went down in the cage twice, the second time was amazing. Unfortunately we did not get underwater footage but you can get the gist from the footage above sea level. Massive, massive thanks to the contributors of this activity.
Cape Town
After the fabulous shark dive we made the 1½ hour drive to beautiful Cape Town. Upon getting there we had grandiose plans of doing all the activities on offer such as Stellenbosch (vineyard trips), Table mountain trip and the Robben Island trip (the place where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years). Due to unforeseen circumstances we only managed one of the hat trick! The wind was bad on the first day so we were banished from Robben Island due to the rough seas and from Table Mountain as the high winds would not allow us on the cable car to the summit. As a result we ended going to the cinema (Bond and sharks in 2 days is quite jet set!).
The wine tour did not materialise also. It was going to cost £60 for the both of us. I (Tasha) rationalised that I can’t even drink a tenner’s worth at home without falling over so the extra money would have been a waste of money. As a replacement we decided that we would make our own wine tour in the botanical gardens for half the price. Error- not the case! James was struck down by bum wee at the hands of his wife’s cooking, and the wife in punishment was eaten alive my merciless bed bugs in the night. Needless to say nothing but moaning ensued this day.
On the positive flip side we managed to go to Robben Island on our last day of Africa for this time. This is a National Heritage site in remembrance of the Apartheid era. We heard tragic stories direct from those who had experienced the prison first hand and their struggle to abominate the regime to what democratic South Africa stands for today.
Sadly, that was it for Africa, but it’s been an incredible first leg to our journey. One we’ll never forget and one that has made us want to come back for more. Largely due to time, but also due to money, there was so much that we didn’t get to see – we’ll definitely be coming back in the future. We can really recommend coming to Africa to all those that might consider it. You’re not going to get a relaxing by the pool holiday, but you’ll get one hell of an adventure.
Time to move on. Time to check out Asia.
