Creeping into the Cape, and heading home

Fog on the road

They started off from Citrusdal on this cloudy morning, there was fog in the valleys and since they had to take a long pass, they decided to tread carefully because of the radiator.  Visibility was not too bad but one still had to be careful. By going through the suburb roads, they made it into the Peninsula early enough. They dropped the aunties, settled them into their hotel and then went up to Peak road to  unload at Kobus & Lizette.

And in the valley

She phoned to enquire about the fellow divers from Mauritius when the guy said he was not aware of any divers coming from Mauritius!!! Hugues and Co, were arriving from Mauritius that day, so she sent them an sms too. It was one big misunderstanding that found the divers staying at the Boulders for one night because Steve (the organizer) forgot to book for them.

Later that afternoon, the aunties had to be fetched for dinner. They made one trip of it: they went to see the divers at the Boulders to find out what the programme was, they fetched Kobus from the station and then the aunties and made it up the hill for dinner. It was a nice animated affair. 

Penguin on Cape coast

The next day, at the crack of dawn, they had coffee and rusks and sped to the Simon’s town jetty to meet with the rest of the group. No one was there yet. After a while Hugues and his lot pitched, then came the guys for the cage diving. That was the plan, sail out to seal island and do cage diving. That, for her, is not diving.

Well, on the plus side, at least the lot they went with, SharkExplorers, the guys: Mornay, Steve, Ernest and Brock, seem to know what they were doing, they were organized, worked efficiently and kept a clean boat. Their PR girl was the first to arrive to greet us, and then the crew arrived a bit later.

Once we settled that for cage diving not much equipment would be needed, Coen left and we boarded. It was not only us (as in the Bluewater Diving group) but an array of other people was coming with, among others a baby of a little more than a year old, in a push chair!

Cape Point from the sea

The sky cleared and the sun was out when we motored past the  Cape Point. Nearing Seal Island, the whiff of seal, penguin and bird dropping was most pungent, not to mention the dead fish. Here, they moored and prepared chum. It was a process of squashing the fish, mixing with seawater and then pouring bucketfuls of this mixture overboard.

There was another boat, on the same mission as ours, moored not far. With the chum of the two boats, soon some dorsal fins appeared. They came after the bigger bait that hung off a rope held up by a buoy. When there were more frequent visits from these great white sharks, she got dressed and entered the cage with a couple. A few times they saw the sharks whilst still on the surface.

These sharks certainly know that they are at the top of the food chain, they seem totally fearless as they dashed after the bait. Steve was giving the signal when to dive into the cage for an underwater view. But at one point, he was also manning the bait and as he told us to dive, the shark was onto his bait and they had a tug of war with the shark struggling with the bait against the cage, right in their faces.

This was close, too close for a good look because the thing was bigger than the cage, and the cage was rocking against the boat for a while. After this close encounter, they got out of the cage to give the others an opportunity to have a go at it. The other group was not that lucky. The view from the top was nicer because they got to see the activities going on around the other boat as well.

Simonstown port

The guys had snacks and drinks on board. That helped to keep hunger at bay. Finally, the sharks had had enough and stopped coming. The cage was lifted on board and the boat headed home. They planned a pelagic dive for the next day.

That meant that it was also another day starting at the crack of dawn. This time, full equipment was required. This was an open ocean dive with pelagic sharks. The outing was done with the same dive club but with more divers on board. It was a glorious day and there were many boats out at sea, each radio-ing each other about visibility, fish and the presence of sharks.

Much of the morning was spent looking for a site to attract the sharks. In the wake of long liners there were lots of birds and even seals because when the long liners pull in the fish, they promptly cut off the head of the fish and send it back to the sea and keep the part that is going to be filleted.

Finally, after a few dead ends, they managed to attract some sharks that were circling around their fish bait tank. That day, only blue sharks came up and they stayed a long time with the divers. The water was as cold 16C and it was a static dive where everyone stays within the 10m.

These sharks are not big but they are curious. They came close, bumped into her a few times and also swam along her legs. Before she got very cold she opted to go back to the boat. There, she changed and got dry, had a drink and some nibbles while talking to the guys about their operation.

Quite a bit later, when all the divers were on board, Steve made some sandwiches and they started back. However, a long liner passed by and the guys opted to go after it and fish in its wake. That was not really fishing but gaffing whatever was getting lost from the long lines. It was a grim sight; mainly hake and kingklip were being brought up from great depths. The signs of decompression sickness were very visible: expanded stomachs, bubbles below the skin and the agony in the eyes.

The sun was getting towards the horizon when they turned back. The trip back was long and the sun burned her face in the process. Coen was not impressed at the time they landed because there was a biryani dinner at Kobus & Lizette’s and guests were waiting.

The next day, they were dropping the aunties at the airport and then proceeded onto Villiersdorp to visit Stephanus and Mariana on their fruit farm. It was good to see them again. They took them to visit the only cellar in town and then spent most of the afternoon catching up on news, having dinner and visiting some more.

Rooiberg cellars

The next morning they had to be off early because the meeting was in Hout bay at 10 for seal diving. They got there on time but parked at the wrong entrance and had to walk all the way to the port with the equipment. Steve of Animal Ocean was taking us. He was also pretty well organized.

Two dives were expected that day, on the seals and on a small formation not far, both in 11C waters. It was fun once you get the hang of your gear and find a good place to watch these things waltzing around you, trying to bite the fins and even taking a taste at the hood. Back on board, they poured warm water down the wet suits, it was suddenly more comfortable.

With a few snacks and some hot coffee they started off to the next dive. Fascinating place with crayfish, crabs, abalones, starfish among others, and kelp – quite some life that she does not see on tropical dives.

Back at port, they sorted out their kit, piled it into the car and walked over to the jetty restaurant for a snack. Patricia was driving and the best option was to take the expensive but more practical Chapman’s peak road. The scenery is always stunning there. They dropped her in Fishoek and proceeded on to their place.

Their last dive in the Cape was at the reserve, going out from a place just outside Simon’s town. It was not the crack of dawn, so there was no rush. Coen dropped her with Hugues who was in town looking for his jacket that he forgot with the Shark Explorers. They made it to the point and there came Steve and his boat. It took a while to sort the equipment and fill the boat that then had to be towed down to the jetty.

There they met with another diving outfit going out with some tourists. The blond who was there mentioned that on the spot where they wanted to dive there was a John Dory. John Dories, as it goes, in these waters, are NEVER seen at these depths. They live at great depths. But, there was one there, among the seven gills sharks.

So, off they went. Steve decided to do the further dive first, in case the sea picks up. That was off a small island with seals on it. The sea was not calm and even underwater they were churned around. So after a while, they lost the other members of their tribe, she and Alain went for an explore where it was calmer and fell on a small gully shark (or was it a shy shark). The poor thing was lying there minding its own business. But they thought otherwise. Alain needed a neat picture for his book, so they took the shark and placed it a bit more in the open and as it was slowly going away, managed to get his pictures.

Vishoek by night

After more water in the wet suit, snacks and hot chocolate, they moved to the reserve. There, somehow, she found herself with Hugues who was taking pictures as the sharks were slowly passing by. There were quite a few of them; they came very close to check on the people. One could look them in the eye and really count their gills.

Eventually, when they stopped coming by, they swam along to explore a bit. Hugues was leading and as he turned back, she saw this small fish. She was on the point of dismissing it when it opened its dorsal fin and three fine long spines and she also the spot on its flank. That was the John Dory; how could Hugues (who sees all) not have seen this. She nudged at his fins and showed him the fish. There started another photo session. The fish practically swam into her hands.

And by day

Before freezing point, she went up leaving Hugues in the water. Later, when everyone was on board, Steve was mentioning this rare fish on this site when she told him that they saw it. He stood there not believing until Hugues showed him on the camera.

Patricia went shopping and then came to fetch them when they were done. They again piled into the car and ended up at the guesthouse, the Bell. Making accounts, getting promises about photos etc, she left when Coen was ready to come fetch her. Coen had had a successful day with a good Land Cruiser mechanic.

Back at the house on Peak, she showered, had a bite and went back to work. The next few days were spent working and relaxing. They also had dinner with the Hanekoms one evening.

Calitzdorp guest house

Then, they chose to leave the Cape on Saturday. It was pouring and two oceans race was on as well. Getting out of the town was slow.

On the route 62 they went through these quaint small Cape towns. It was a pleasant drive with not too much traffic. They made it to Calitzdorp in good time but the Estate they wanted to visit was already closed.

Route 62

They settled into their guest house, had tea and cakes brought by the owner and then she sat down to work a bit while Coen had a nap.

Later, for dinner, they hit the Dorphuis where they made an excellent repast. The night was quiet and rather cool. After a great breakfast of smoked ostrich carpaccio with eggs, they started off on their road up to Graaf Reinett. Again the road was not too busy. They did meet with some people racing back home after the holidays and the long week end but it was not too hectic.

Roadside snack

On the way, they stopped by a little side road café and had a great sandwich of braai bread and home made game wors. It was still daylight when they reached Graaf Reinett. This is a cute little historic frontier town. It has well restored buildings and seems to be quite well managed. It was Sunday and it was rather dead.

Main street, Graaf Reinet

Our hosts were waiting for us; an elderly couple who seem to have a rather big family (who have all left the house). The room was comfortable and clean. The aunty offered tea and cakes before they settled for a rest and relax. Later, on the recommendation of the aunty they went to Agave restaurant and had an excellent risotto meal with Karoo lamb.

Karoo mountains

After a copious breakfast, they left Graaf Reinett and headed towards Smithfield. They had to do a bit of the highway which was packed with speeding cars, fully loaded 4x4's all driving like maniacs in order to get home, settle the kids and prepare for work/school the next day. It was hectic. Luckily they turned into a country road and trundled along slowly and peacefully to sleepy Smithfield.

Road to Smithfield

The guest house they booked into was rather 'folklorique'. The owner was not there and had to be called and then he showed them around and disappeared again. He said the doors could be left open. They noticed that in a few of these small towns, security was not an issue. People were very laid back and not too worked up about locking up.

They got there quite early and lunched at the pub. The pie was quite copious but the pub no longer has an atmosphere. It is now plastic chairs and modern décor that makes it quite cold. Had they found the 'Pig' they would not have had dinner there. Dinner was rather standard.

Smithfield dinner

That evening it was very cold in Smithfield. They put the heater on. They had seen frost on the mountains on the way. It was plain that winter was creeping in.

They left after a rather greasy breakfast. They went through country roads and saw great scenery of farms and wilderness in Autumn. Traffic was not too bad. The car's radiator was giving problems again and they opted to wait for the Johannesburg traffic to abate at Hester's place. They stopped there for tea and a chat.

They got home just before it got dark. The dogs were happy to see them.