Shark diaries: March/April 2009
Dear Ultimate Animal friend,
The month of March is the middle of intermediate season and normally the sightings are around 60% upwards. This year however was different. We had less than a 50% success rate, which was very disappointing and frustrating. We turned away many guests and had to send them elsewhere.
Rob, myself and the kids also took a trip to Botswana. We where very hesitant in deciding last year to go away for 2 weeks as April heralds the start of shark season.
Botswana is one of our favorite spots and we have now been there 3 years in a row. We went with family and friends to the Tuli Block. My sister’s family has a game farm there. It is right on the Shashe river, bordering Zimbabwe. Its an idyllic spot. There is no electricity, no cell phone coverage and no gas (except to run fridges). You have to cook everything over an open fire.
We made a huge fire every night, sitting under the stars and just chilling with a few beers. A friend, an astronomy fundie brought a massive telescope and it was amazing to see the stars, planets and moon through it. Saturn with its rings around it looked surreal. Seeing the night sky for oneself through a proper telescope puts it into perspective just how small and insignificant we really are.
The shark sightings rose only to about 60% in April. For the last 12 years that Rob has worked at Seal Island, we have never experienced such low sightings. So far we have only seen a few predations, and the sharks have been very skittish, with the ones we have been getting, are not staying for long at the boat. The weather may partly attribute to this, as we have not had many good NW rainstorms, which normally bring the sharks to the Island. The weather has been very fair and mild for this time of year.
However it is not just False Bay that is experiencing low shark sightings. Almost every day we have a Gansbaai operator calling us to see what our sightings are like as they is experiencing no to low sightings as well.
On Sunday Rob and I where very fortunate and privileged to experience seeing Killer Whales (Orca’s) in the bay. We got a call from a friend saying they have just spotted a massive school of Dolphins and some Orca’s. We witnessed a pod of 4 Orca’s of medium size and one small one, follow, herd and attack the school of Dolphins. They where travelling at a speed of about 5 knots. They caught one dolphin and then immediately backed off, ending the chase. The dolphins went wild and swam with such force, that all I could see was huge splashes as they tried to get away.
Being in a global depression made me wonder at the beginning of the year how this would affect our bookings. They are looking very good so far. July is almost fully booked, with June bookings hot on its heels. Many of these bookings have come via referral, either from friends or internet travel sites, which is very good news. With our love for the Great White Shark, we have always strived to put these amazing animals first and not turn it into commercial machine like other shark spots in South Africa.
So if you are thinking of booking this season please do it quickly as many spots are now gone.
Our blog site is pretty active and we try to add a post at least twice a week. So if you are a keen follower of ours, please go to http://www.ultimate-animals.com/airjaws-flying-sharks.htm to hear more frequently from us.
Until next month, best fishes
Rob and Karen Lawrence
