After Monday's near-cataclysmic storm, it was a relief to see the wind has finally gone from almost gale force levels to a gentle breeze. The sun is out today, with enough cloud cover to make the sky look like a painting. Its a lovely summers day out here. Funnily enough, the local information centre has a "today's weather" box on their website, and during the storm this box stated it was an ordinary summers day outside. We had a good chuckle about the websites optimism.
Yesterday morning, 'the two Guiseppes' (as Jenny likes to call them), who barely speak English, thought they were going to be late for their shark dive as the shuttle hadn't arrived yet. So they started getting really frantic about getting to the crew house, and enlisted Jenny to take them there. She went to fetch the car keys, only to find that the shuttle had arrived while she was inside. 'The Two Guiseppes' were visibly relieved and went off diving. This morning they had another dive, so instead of tempting fate, they politely organised a lift with Jenny this morning. Both Jenny and I found their reactions rather amusing.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
A Killer Whale in Gansbaai
The most extraordinary thing happened over this past weekend week (it has been a week of extraordinary occurrences, that's for sure).
Besides an unusually high amount of walk-ins at the guesthouse, and a random 13-person strong Dutch group who booked for cage diving this coming weekend. Jenny Reich saw what she thought was a Killer Whale. The following day, while taking guests out and about, she saw a Killer Whale (it may have been the same one) along with a calf. The guests she was with caught this on film too.
To further corroborate this bizarre occurrence, Janeen from the Great White Adventure Centre told us she also saw a Killer Whale with a calf when she was driving with her husband.
What a lucky week it was last week, with a natural predation AND the preposterously unlikely occurrence of finding a Killer Whale along our coast. It appears our luck may be out as I write this now during one of the worst storms I've ever seen in Gansbaai. There was lightning a for a short time too, and the wind is howling to the point that I keep thinking roofs are going to be ripped off!
All we can do is weather this particularly nasty storm and hope Summer comes with a little more grace.
Besides an unusually high amount of walk-ins at the guesthouse, and a random 13-person strong Dutch group who booked for cage diving this coming weekend. Jenny Reich saw what she thought was a Killer Whale. The following day, while taking guests out and about, she saw a Killer Whale (it may have been the same one) along with a calf. The guests she was with caught this on film too.
To further corroborate this bizarre occurrence, Janeen from the Great White Adventure Centre told us she also saw a Killer Whale with a calf when she was driving with her husband.
What a lucky week it was last week, with a natural predation AND the preposterously unlikely occurrence of finding a Killer Whale along our coast. It appears our luck may be out as I write this now during one of the worst storms I've ever seen in Gansbaai. There was lightning a for a short time too, and the wind is howling to the point that I keep thinking roofs are going to be ripped off!
All we can do is weather this particularly nasty storm and hope Summer comes with a little more grace.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
An Unbelieveable Spot of Luck.
On Tuesday, two of the Roundhouse's guests (Mr Kotinkaduwe and his partner) had the most ASTONISHING bit of luck on their trip with White Shark Projects.
While traveling to the anchoring point, Mr Kotinkaduwe saw a seal and starting taking photos of it. A split second later, a Great White flew out of the water and bit the seal before taking the poor seal into the murky depths. Witnessing a natural predation is privilege for cage divers. However, what makes this story so special is he got it on film!
We have asked Mr Kotinkaduwe for a copy of the photo, and hopefully he will send us one when he gets homes from his stay with us. As soon as we get it, we will post it here for you all to enjoy.
While traveling to the anchoring point, Mr Kotinkaduwe saw a seal and starting taking photos of it. A split second later, a Great White flew out of the water and bit the seal before taking the poor seal into the murky depths. Witnessing a natural predation is privilege for cage divers. However, what makes this story so special is he got it on film!
We have asked Mr Kotinkaduwe for a copy of the photo, and hopefully he will send us one when he gets homes from his stay with us. As soon as we get it, we will post it here for you all to enjoy.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Blue Monday, and Sunny Kruger Park
Its a rainy and very gloomy Monday here in De Kelders, with no sight of the sun coming out for the rest of today, but a very bright week is ahead of us at the Roundhouse.
The Polish party (as we like to refer to them) are enjoying a thrilling stay at the Kruger National Park with Dave and Elna. Apparently, everyone has been spoilt with astonishing game viewings. A herd of elephants, hyenas feeding, and the big five being the highlights of their remarkably lucky trip. And, to top their trip off, the weather there has been absolutely perfect. We are all very jealous here. They are actually en route to Mozambique for the final part of their scuba holiday.
We will do our best to post pictures when Dave and Elna return.
The Roundhouse is once again a very busy guesthouse this week, with all but the Carcharias suite being booked up today. Since there is no wind (for a change), 5 of our guests managed to go out and dive with Great Whites today.
Thats all from us today, lets hope the weather clears up and Summer starts its much needed approach.
The Polish party (as we like to refer to them) are enjoying a thrilling stay at the Kruger National Park with Dave and Elna. Apparently, everyone has been spoilt with astonishing game viewings. A herd of elephants, hyenas feeding, and the big five being the highlights of their remarkably lucky trip. And, to top their trip off, the weather there has been absolutely perfect. We are all very jealous here. They are actually en route to Mozambique for the final part of their scuba holiday.
We will do our best to post pictures when Dave and Elna return.
The Roundhouse is once again a very busy guesthouse this week, with all but the Carcharias suite being booked up today. Since there is no wind (for a change), 5 of our guests managed to go out and dive with Great Whites today.
Thats all from us today, lets hope the weather clears up and Summer starts its much needed approach.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Polish Party, A New Employee, and Peculiar Weather
The massive 19 person Polish party is touching down at Cape Town International today, and Dave is already en route to go collect them and their diving equipment. This group has booked out the Roundhouse completely, so its all very exciting. They leave for Mozambique on Thursday for their diving holiday booked through Scuba Mozambique, so things are very busy in the Roundhouse today.
Today also marks the first day on the job for Jennifer Reich, who will be looking after the Roundhouse while Dave and Elna are in Mozambique and then the United Kingdom for the next four and a half weeks. We are ecstatic to have her and her expertise on board.
The season of Spring is still doing its utmost to wreak as much havoc on the sea as it possibly can with wind and swells that seemingly unpredictable. A local shark cage diving operator told us that they had lost as many as 20 days out on sea last month due to weather, so hopefully the weather will start settling down so all our guests can enjoy the cage diving without fear of weather ruining it.
Today also marks the first day on the job for Jennifer Reich, who will be looking after the Roundhouse while Dave and Elna are in Mozambique and then the United Kingdom for the next four and a half weeks. We are ecstatic to have her and her expertise on board.
The season of Spring is still doing its utmost to wreak as much havoc on the sea as it possibly can with wind and swells that seemingly unpredictable. A local shark cage diving operator told us that they had lost as many as 20 days out on sea last month due to weather, so hopefully the weather will start settling down so all our guests can enjoy the cage diving without fear of weather ruining it.
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