Mike and Dax, our cooks last night. I'll miss these guys!
The past few
mornings have been very busy and shark-filled here in Gansbaai! But I guess I
should start right where my last post left off. Saturday afternoon Dax decided
that we should spend the evening going out to Oppidek, a pub in town, to watch
a rugby game he wanted to see. Jerome dropped us off at the pub at about five,
and after hanging out there and watching the game for maybe an hour and a half,
we walked a few streets down to a pizzeria for dinner. I know I’ve already
talked about this in a recent blog post, but I think that if people back home
spent time in Gansbaai, Cape Town, Pretoria, Hermanus, or the other South
African cities and towns I’ve been in, their perception of Africa would change.
It’s not all third world. It’s not all this dangerous place with criminals
around every corner, waiting to strike. Using common sense, most of the places
I’ve mentioned are really safe. It’s okay to walk around, even after dark,
without carrying some kind of weapon on you. Trust me, I’ve done it.
Anyway, after
some delicious, much-anticipated pizza, we walked over to Seaview, another pub
that I’d been to multiple times before. We spent a few hours there hanging out,
listening to music, playing a few games of pool, and really living in the
moment. Jerome eventually joined us for a couple of beers and rounds of pool,
before we decided to call it a night, arriving back home shortly before eleven.
The next
morning was another bright and early one- I’ve gotten very used to being in the
garage at 5:15! The others don’t seem to be quite as used to it though- there
was space for all the vols on that first trip yesterday, but I was the only one
that ended up going on it! The others decided they’d rather get some more sleep
than see the sharks, which I think was a huge mistake, since it was a great
first trip! We ended up seeing about eleven sharks yet again. There were two
trips yesterday, and I was the only vol that ended up going on both of them.
The visibility wasn’t bad on that first trip, but by the second, it had gotten
milkier. It’s crazy how the ocean here can change within an hour! Jerome ended
up getting to go on both trips out yesterday, which was nice. As maintenance
manager, he doesn’t go out on the boat too much anymore; it seems like much
more often he has stuff to do on land.
Between the
trips yesterday, we all said goodbye to Lindsay before she hopped on the bus
back to Cape Town. A few of the crew almost guaranteed that she’ll be back- one
week just isn’t long enough. So, as of yesterday afternoon, there are now only
four vols here at WSP, and soon it’ll be even less. Sadly, tomorrow Dax and
Mike both leave as well. Lucy and I will definitely miss both of those guys.
That also means, amazingly enough, that starting tomorrow there will only be
two volunteers here at WSP! I’ve heard that we have some more arriving on April
first, so it should only be that way for a few days, but that’ll make for a
very busy few days for Lucy and me! We can handle it, of course, but it’ll seem
a lot quieter without Dax and Mike.
After
finishing work yesterday, we had some time to relax, then in the evening Lucy
and I headed up to the top vol house to have dinner with the guys. Mike
insisted on cooking, so we played music and laughed with each other as he
whipped up some very delicious burgers for everyone. That kitchen is way better
for socializing, since there’s seating at the bar right by the oven and stove,
so we can all sit and talk right around the person cooking. It was a really
nice evening up at the other house, but knowing that it’d be another early
morning wake-up call, we called it a night fairly early.
This morning
there were two more trips out to sea, and I got to go on both of them. Lucy and
I were the only vols on the first trip, along with crew members Sibo, Tom,
Grant, Benz, and Bee. On the second trip Mike and Dax also hopped on, and
Mandla replaced Benz. Both trips were really nice, but the first was better,
since the visibility was better and we saw more sharks. We saw thirteen sharks
on the first trip this morning! Even better, one of the sharks we saw is one of
the biggest that I’ve ever seen. He’s a big male that’s definitely over four
meters, some think up to 4 and a half. We’ve been seeing him quite a bit
recently actually. He’s known in the area as Tiger, since he has a bunch of
scars all over his head, that look like stripes. It’s surprising how easy the
sharks are to identify and tell apart- just about every single one has some
type of scars or defining marks!
This
afternoon, once the trips were over, the four vols helped clean up the boat,
then went over to the garage to wash the wetsuits. While we were washing them,
Dax initiated a water fight with the hose, and by the end of it we were all
pretty much drenched, but laughing the whole time! Afterwards we quickly went
home to change into dry clothes, then Benz drove the four of us to Spar, the
grocery store in Gansbaai. As we were loading up the truck after shopping, I
noticed a familiar face walking out of Spar. Karla was in charge of the vols
the last time I was here, in 2015- she’s since moved to a nearby whale watching
company. I didn’t think I’d get the chance to see her this time, since she was
recently on vacation in Namibia, but turns out I was lucky enough to see her
this afternoon, and it was so nice to catch up for a few minutes! She suggested
that the vols do one of the evening cheese and wine whale watching trip that
her company offers- we get half price! I’m going to try to ask Tom to set that
up soon.
Pretty soon
Lucy and I are going up to the other house to cook dinner and hang out with the
guys for one last night. I haven’t heard yet what trips are looking like for
tomorrow, but hopefully it’ll be a good morning to see off Dax and Mike! That’s
all the news for now! This post’s food for thought is one that I’ve definitely
used before, but it’s just so true: “A journey is best measured in friends,
rather than miles.”- Tim Cahill
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