It’s been a
pretty quiet couple of days here at White Shark Projects. Yesterday we had two
trips out to sea, both of which Lucy, Dax and I were all able to go on. It was
nice to spend a good chunk of time out at sea, since it was Dax’s last day with
the project. Both trips saw a good amount of shark action, even though the
water visibility wasn’t the best. When the second trip returned to the harbor a
little before four, we hopped off the boat, began unpacking and cleaning it,
then we all gave Dax a hug as he put his bags in the bus and headed back to
Cape Town. It feels weird having only two volunteers here; everything just
seems so much quieter without Dax and Mike around. After we were done washing
the wetsuits, Lucy and I came home, relaxed for a while, and made dinner for
just the two of us.
This morning
we had a 7:30 start in the garage, which felt like sleeping in. There was only
one trip out to sea today, and it was full, so after helping pack everything
up, Lucy and I returned home. I decided to go out and do a beach clean not long
after the boat went out. Most of the time I do them in the afternoon, but this
time I wanted to do it during low tide, since I could get to areas that I can’t
during high tide. While I was out doing that, I was hit with one of those
moments that I love so much. I paused at the edge of the beautiful ocean,
looked out at the waves crashing around me, and thought, “Wow, I’m in Africa.”
For just about as long as I can remember, from the time I was a little kid,
Africa has been a dream of mine. You could’ve asked me when I was five years
old what I wanted to do when I grew up, and one of the first things I would’ve
said was, “I want to go work with animals in Africa.” I don’t know exactly why
I’ve always been this way- I’m sure my family constantly wonders how the hell
they wound up with this wild, adventurous, animal-loving girl, since none of
them are really like that. I think Africa really just seemed more like a dream
than reality for most of my life, until I first set foot here back in 2015.
Until then, Africa was a place I read about, heard about, and dreamed about,
the way kids hear, read, and dream about a fairytale. The difference was my
fairytale, my Neverland was a place I would eventually not just think about,
but actually see with my own eyes and touch with my own hands. Looking at it
that way, I guess I’ve made the five year old me proud. I’ve made my dream a
reality- I’m here in Africa working with wildlife. I didn’t know when I was
little that sharks would be my focus, or that South Africa specifically was
where I’d go, or that I’d love Africa not just for the animals, but for the
people as well, but hey, life has to come with a few surprises now and then,
and those surprises have definitely been good ones.
This afternoon
was spent cleaning up the boat after they returned to the harbor, washing
wetsuits at the garage, and going on our twice-weekly trip to the grocery
store. It feels so weird with only myself and one other volunteer! We often
ride in the bed of the truck to the store, and it felt like there was so much
more space with just Lucy and me in there.
Tomorrow is
a no sea day; the weather doesn’t look great, and it’s kicking up pretty strong
swells. Tom was off today, but he stopped in a little while ago (he lives right
next to us, so we almost always see him on his days off anyway). He said that
since it’s a no sea day, he’ll do one of his shark lectures for us tomorrow
morning, then we’ll have some kind of outing- not exactly sure what yet. Most
people wouldn’t think that “lectures” would be a good thing, but Tom’s are
really interesting- that guy knows so much about sharks! The next day, the
project is getting some new volunteers- I’ve heard we’re getting eight (though
I’m not positive of that yet)! That means that, since I’m the most experienced
volunteer, it’ll be partly my job to show them the ropes of how things are done
here. I’m not too worried about that; the work we do really isn’t very hard to
learn. That’s all the news for now! This post’s food for thought: “All our
dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”- Walt Disney
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