31.5. 2015
They are all gone and left us alone again….our divers from the Sharkproject in Germany. It was a lovely time we had together. Lors of fun and lots of adventure.
These guys learnt a thing or two about sharks. That’s for sure.
The visibility corrected itself again and we had a nice 20m for the rest of the week. On the baited dives we had about 15 black tips and 5 bull sharks. I prefered to dive the caves on the northern pinnacle of Protea Banks. Here we had anything between 60 and 80 Raggies. Truely spectacular !!! On our way up we always had the company of some black tips and zambezies who remembered us from the baited dive and hung around just in case .
We have seen our first whales. Humpback and Minky Whales were around the boat. Karyn from Apex in the Cape has told me that there are lots of sardines reported. It is a good indication for an excellent Sardine Run this year. It should start in three weeks. We are gettng everything ready to move part of our operation down to Coffee Bay.
Fingers crossed for a great Run….
26.5. 2015
Sooner or later there was a price to be paid fpr all the good vis dives we enjoyed almost non stop since February. Today we are down to 5m. Horrible.
But having said so, there are lots of sharks around and every dive no matter how low the visibility brings back happy divers.
On the Baited Dive we had 15 Black Tips and 5 Bulls. On the Northern Pinnacle of Protea Banks we encountered about 30 Raggies.
Once the eyes are used to the low visibility life carries on. Therefore we have a completely flat sea, our launch resembles a pleasure trip on a lake.
I do hope for the group that they will get a couple of really spectacular dives before the end of the week.
24.5. 2015
We loved our little break in the Eastern Transvaal. The landscape is pure magic, weather was great and we relaxed nicely. After 12 days away i became a bit itchy to get back in the water and we had to return in time for the new group, Epic Shark Expeditions / Sharkproject.
I come a long way with Gerhard the group leader and former president of the Sharkproject and couldn’t wait to dive with them. First dive today is on the Southern Pinnacle of Protea Banks. Nice and easy to get used to our system. But when we get to the reef, the water was completely green….
We dropped into a real pea soup. Luckily after 15m the temperature dropped from 22C to 19C and the vis opened up to well over 25m. Brilliant.
We saw 2 Great Hammerheads and 2 Scalopped Hammerheads. Unbelievable for this time of the year. Further we saw 1 Bullshark, 1 Raggy, 7 Guitarsharks and 3 Eaglerays. Wow, we are more than happy.
Second dive to the Northern Pinnacle of Protea Banks, the Caves.
We drop in and are surrounded by way over 60 Raggies. Amazing to see so many sharks in crystal clear water. So what if it is cold….
Then comes the Tiger shark, another Eagleray and back on the pea soup safety stop we were greeted by a Black Tip shark.
What can i say, it was worth coming home for !!!
19.5. 2015
While i am sitting in the bush trying to relax, the guys at home have resumed diving on Protea Banks. They have seen a manta, tiger, bulls,black tips,raggies and more. Excellent vis, pleasant temps. Time for me to get back !!!!!
15.5. 2015
Since sunday 10.5. we are on holiday. Our first night we spent in Harrysmith at a lovely guest farm where we often stop over. They have underfloor heating. Wow !! Beulah and i love to sit on the warm floor. And at night we lay our clothes out on the floor so they are lovely warm the next day.
We then followed our GPS and criss crossed the country to the Eastern Transvaal. I am sure we saw parts of South Africa nobody knows !!?? It took us all day to get to Crystal Springs Mountain Lodge outside Pilgrims Rest. Absolute paradise. Only their air is too thinn and too dry. I am really battling with the breathing and can hardly sleep. Should have brought some of my oxygen along !!
But my head is also still spinning from all the hectic business life we had non stop since February. It just takes a couple of days to get rid of the ‘ Stress Lag ‘
( looks like i have just created a new term !!! )
Finally i have managed to divert my calls to Karen as from today. This brought instant relief.
So we did a few short trips around the area. Blyde River Canyon, Pilgrims Rest, some of the spectacular waterfalls and right now we are in Kruger Park for a day or two. Lovely, lovely, lovely here.
Thankfully we still have a full week of holiday. I can feel it starts right now…..
And if that damn air doesn’t want to go down properly, i have along shower and enjoy the humidity.
10.5. 2015
It has been a tough ten weeks. I can feel that i am not as young as Jerry anymore although i definitely look better !!!!
We worked non stop. The only off days were given to us by the weather. So it was up at 4:45, off to the shop at 6:15, on the the dive site at 7:15, diving twice a day and straight back to the shop around 14:00. Then home by 17:00, e-mails and other computer work which could not be done in the shop and eyes shut by 19:30 in the TV chair….
The diving was absolutely out of this world. I cannot remember a season so great. Lots of tigers, lots of bulls, not too many black tips and even the raggies came on time.
We had hammers even in April. Every single one of our divers who was here between Feb and now got way more than they bargained for.
And Erich Ritter, one of the foremost shark scientists internationally has confirmed what i sais long ago : Protea Banks is one of the top 5 shark diving spots in the world.
Now we have a bit of a break for a week. I think all of us are just going to sleep…
Beulah and i are going to the Eastern Transvaal to chill for a while.
And then we start again…..