I'm posting a summary video of our African trip below:
https://vimeo.com/133851824
7 continents - 7 marathons
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Africa 2015 - Day #13
Big 5 Marathon - 7th and final continent
We arrived into Atlanta around 5:30am eastern time in the states on Sunday morning. We passed through customs and security, threw our checked bag back on the belt and headed to our gates. I had a return flight to Denver leaving around 7:30am, while Liam had a 8:30am flight back to Raleigh.
Liam and I grabbed some breakfast and again spoke to how lucky we were to have things work out for us on the trip.
Here's to a tremendous, adventure-filled journey to the most southern country in all of Africa (South Africa) ----- a place I would recommend to anyone!!!
Africa 2015 - Day #12
Table Mountain - from the Harbor in Cape Town
Last morning in Cape Town
Table Mountain
Our walk to the Harbor from the apartment
Nice place in Cape Town
Last views from the apartment
Night views from our apartment balcony
Saturday, June 27th
Marathon travel day. Up at 8am in Cape Town. Down to the waterfront for some souvenoir shopping and back to the apartment for a 10am departure to the airport. Carl came though again with some Elvis tunes as we bid farewell to Cape Town. We had a 1:15pm flight to Johannesburg - arriving at 3:15pm.
Once in Johannesburg, we had to get our bags and then go back through security. Luckily, we had plenty of time - it took a while to get through everything. Liam and I were on a 7:20pm flight to Atlanta and Greg was on a 8:20pm flight to London. We grabbed a quick drink and toasted a fantastic trip. Saturday ended aboard a 15 hr - 36 minute flight back to the states (I later learned that the Johannesburg to Atlanta flight on Delta is the 2nd longest 1-way flight in the world - 2nd to Dallas-Sydney)
Africa 2015 - Day #11
Arriving at our Cage Dive Location
Marine Dynamics - our cage dive operator
Wow - that was close
Inside the Cage
That's the shot!
Close-up action
The Great White - a foot by the cage
8 folks in the cage
Herm - in the cage
Head out of water - no scuba
a victory ride back to shore
Seal Island
Great White - feed on the seals in Shark Alley
Friday, June 26th
Today it finally happened - we were successful in our attempt to cage dive with great white sharks (one of the deadliest creatures on earth) - in the most shark-invested waters in the world.
We awoke to great weather. No cancellation emails today. Our pickup was set for 9:30am. We walked down to the security gate for pickup. A 10-person van arrived to shuttle us 2.5 hours to our diving site (Gansbaai). Upon arrival we were provided lunch and a briefing video. We were informed that the morning dive had yet to see any sharks - they were going to stay out a little longer until one came in.
We took a short trip over to a penguin shelter and learned more about their habitat and feeding while waiting for the morning boat to arrive. After 45 minutes or so, we were ready for our turn at the title. We were provided a wetsuit, foot coverings, and a huge orange rain jacket. A 5-minute walk to the pier - we then boarded our boat.
A little nervous for sure, the boat ride to our dive location was only about 15 minutes off shore --- right by Seal Island and Shark Alley, the locations often talked about and witnessed during Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. Upon arrival to our dive location, I stood up from my second level seat and immediately saw this huge figure passing next to the boat. Wow!! A great white - live and in-person.
The crew told us to quickly get in our gear. The shark cage was already in the water from the earlier dive. It was a long rectangular-shaped cage that could hold about 8 divers. It was secured to the boat. The first group got into the cage as I watched from above. The cage had a metal footing that you could stand on with your head above water. The guides would throw out a seal decoy and some fish heads to lure the sharks. The idea was - the crew would yell out: "Down left, down middle, down right" - when a shark was approaching. In the cage, you would hold your breadth and go under water. There was a foot-hold you could place your feet under to keep yourself underwater. Then - you could take pictures as the shark swam by.
After 30 minutes and many shark encounters, it was my turn in the cage. I was positioned in probably the best viewing spot - far right in the cage. This was the location where the fish heads where continually roped in/out. Note - sharks were not fed - the fish heads would be pulled away before they actually got there.
Jumping into the 15 deg Celcius water was heart-stopping at first. It took me a little while to understand the best way to view the sharks. I had a disposable camera. Crazy Stuff! "Down left!" - was called out by the dive guide. Well - I was on the right side of the cage - but I went under the water anyway and held my breadth. There, right there in front of me, was this huge great white - not more than a couple feet away. Within my time in the cage, there was a couple instances where the shark bit down on the cage (not directly in front of me however). We ended up seeing 4 different sharks on the day. 3 juvenile males and one adult male.
What an amazing experience! Unbelievable to see such huge creatures underwater - and remarkable how close they came to the cage. On several occasions, I could have reached out with my hand and touched the shark (I didn't do this obviously - but could have)
We were each given about 30 minutes in the cage. We then took a boat ride through Shark Alley and were able to get some photos of Sea Island. Really, really unique stuff!
What a rewarding way to end our time in South Africa. We had a 3-hr drive back to Cape Town (a car accident held up traffic a bit). We then went out for a great dinner. Some awesome conversation and even better food - all good for the last evening of our trip.
Africa 2015 - Day #10
Panoramic views of the 12-apostles
Panoramic views of Campers Bay
Incredible views around Cape Town
12-Apostles at sunset
Hiking Trail to Table Mountain
The fellas at the top of Table Mountain
Herm and Liam
Our friends from the safari (Sofia and Maria)
A look over Cape Town from Table Mountain
The hiking crew
A look at a cloud-covered Table Mountain
A celebration dinner
Thursday, June 25th
When you don't have the convenience of a cell phone - you really appreciate how much easier it makes things. I have been communicating with our shark cage dive operator every day (often multiple times a day) - but only through email - and only when I had excess to Wi-Fi.
As we awoke on Thursday, we had been told our shark dive was a go - unless we received word otherwise. We were to be picked up at 10am. We started to get ready - meaning - we put a seasickness patch on - to prevent any problems out on the choppy seas. About 5 minutes into our prep - I received an email from the operator letting us know that the cage dive had been cancelled again. Now - that only leaves 1 day for the dive (Friday).
OK - on to plan B. We emailed the girls from our safari and lined up a meeting spot. We took a cab to the base of Table Mountain and opted for a longer, more strenuous route up the mountain. 15K total - with some pretty steep places and sketchy footing.
We started the hike around 11:20am. Things were perfect at first - nice views, level ground, and great conversation. About 1 hour into the hike - here comes the rain and wind ---- and the incline. We worked our way up the mountain. We ascended in about 3 hr - 30min. It was certainly challenging, but all 5 of us bonded on the hike. We were cold and battered at the top - as we looked out to a sea of fog (meaning - we didn't have much to see). You would think this would be discouraging, but, this was one of the most fun hikes I've ever been on. There was a tourist center at the top where we grabbed some hot coffee and warmed ourselves with the heat lamps positioned in the shop. We ended up changing out of as much wet clothes as possible - and even used some garbage bags to protect our feet from our soaked shoes (reminded me of playing out in the snow back in the day).
The best find once we arrived on top of the mountain - the cable car which brought folks up/down the mountain was operational. We anticipated that we may need to hike the descent - but fortunately, we took a 5 minute cable car ride instead. Awesome stuff!
Back to the hotel, a little rest, and then we all went out for a great dinner to celebrate our 15K ascent of Table Mountain - 5 days post marathon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
