Shark diaries: December 2007

Dear Ultimate Animal Lover,

November continues into the low season for the Great White Sharks and it was the month for us to close down our operation and to go on a much needed holiday.

We left Cape Town early in the morning and headed up the famous Garden Route, to Wilderness.

The Garden Route is a captivating world of lakes, rivers, estuaries and beaches gently unfolding against a backdrop of lush forest and lofty mountains. We stayed at the Wilderness National Park at Ebb and Flow camp in log cabins. What I liked so much about the area is that there are loads of activities for the family, from the beach, walks, birding, canoeing and more. I think next time we will definitely plan on staying for longer. For more info contact Wilderness National Park on Tel +27 (0)44 877 1197

Whist there we also took a train ride on South Africa’s only scheduled steam train, the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe train. It was a lovely train ride, through some beautiful country side as well as alongside the ocean. The train departs from the Transport Museum in George (well worth a visit to see all the olden day trains and cars), and ended up in Mosselbay at the Diaz Museum.

We also went to Addo Elephant National Park, where we did a bit of camping. I was really worried about camping with a little baby and a toddler, but rest assured, everything went just fine. We saw loads of animals: Zebra, Buffalo, Kudu, Warthogs, Hartebeest, Jackal, Ostrich, monkeys and many more animals, and of course…loads of Elephants. The bird life there was spectacular too. For more info contact Addo Elephant Park on +27 (0)12 428 9111

Then we headed inland to cross the Baviaanskloof. This area is truly spectacular. Declared a National Heritage site, the area comprises of approximately 270 000 ha. of unspoiled, rugged mountainous terrain. The vegetation also changes dramatically from thick bush, to fynbos and then semi desert scrubland. You will definitely need a 4x4 to cross the kloof and some of the bends in the mountain pass are not for the fainthearted. The scenery is truly breathtaking. We stayed at a working farm (sheep, veggies, Angora goats) for the evening and had a very peaceful braai under the stars.

Then we headed of to Montegu. Montegu is one of my favorite areas because of the hot springs there. The village is quaint and the area is well known for its wine route. We did some wine tasting of course and stayed at another farm just outside the area.

We came home to a very windy Cape Town, and as I write this, it is still a gale force wind outside. We have had to cancel a week’s worth of shark trips now, and I am hoping the weather dies down before our film shoot that is starting tomorrow.

Well, there was no shark news to report, but I hope you enjoyed this newsletter about our travels. Next month we head of to Botswana and so the journey continues……

Until next month
Best Fishes
Karen Lawrence