Hermanus is rightly dubbed as the best land based whale viewing capital of the world. Only about a football field’s distance from shore we walk along the cliffs and easily spot numerous whales. Our time here has been spent delighting over views of blow holes, fins, flippers, and breaching (favorite watching the baby whale breach after its mother). We had hoped to do a kayak trip into the bay for a more physical viewing experience but the trip was canceled due to wind (which nearly knocked us over as we walked along the bay).

To add adrenaline to the mix, we couldn’t resist succumbing to the popular white shark dive. With the canceling of our initial dive that was booked through our hostel, we luckily found a company (with a good rep) that was still willing to brave the swells and wind to take us adrenaline junkies out for a swim with one of South Africa’s most feared predators.

So we put our fears of sea sickness aside, and readily joined the afternoon tour in the hopes of glimpsing a great white shark. Really the pictures do a lot more than words so please view. However what was not captured on film was us experiencing sea sickness. Making it through a 45min. boat ride of huge rolling waves, through 45 minutes jostling within the boat while waiting for the sharks to appear, and after spending 15 minutes locked in the cage with the ocean waters swelling up and around us, the Englishman next to Mike pukes out his breakfast and lunch. This did not help the visibility in the water, but we hope it added to the effectiveness of the chum (what the fishy, smelly stuff is called, used to attract the sharks).

Really, the experience for me (Andrea) was more like viewing animals at the zoo but in reverse. We were in the cage and they roamed free. More frightening than seeing the animals, was figuring out where to place hands and feet when ducking underneath the water as a shark swims by (as you need to hold onto something to pull yourself down but as it turned out what you often were grabbing was NOT the provided hand and foot rails but the side of the cage itself).

Overall this was a great experience and we actually learned quite about fact vs. fiction with this amazing animal. We also learned that there is still quite a bit unknown about the Great White Shark. Definitely would recommend this experience (fun random fact is that Brad Pitt is apparently addicted to the experience as well and has been out with our tour company 3 separate times).

September 3rd
Our Clumsy arrival into Africa

September 4th
Driving around

September 5th
Robben Island & Nelson Mandela Gateway

September 6th - 7th
Cape Town

September 8th
Stellenbosch & winery tours

September 9th - 11th
Hermanus / Whales & White Sharks

September 13 & 14th
Wilderness (town's name)

September 15th
Back in Hermanus

South Africa Country Summary