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Published: November 15th 2013
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So...Sunday morning was in Shanghai, than on to Saigon to drop Leslie and Tiffany where they are spending few weeks. On Tuesday I was in Bangkok...time to re-register for the school, find a new flat and sort out the movers...all done! Wednesday was...business as usual in Hong Kong...and from Thursday it was Congo...for a good 11 days of great fun...ok, and some work too. Don't ask me how I deal with it...it's done, that's the most important part.
Than this Sunday, it was Lubumbashi-Joburg-Durban...and the drive south to Shelly Beach. I know, one more blog about one of my preferred place in the world...for the diving, the golfing, and obviously few friends...
This is hammerheads season...and I mean...middle of the hammerhead sharks season...big time! These guys are shy...and travel in groups...big groups. But at the same time, visibility here is never good...and last week, visibility was bad...very bad...how do you see hammerheads if you can not even see further than five meters.
But this Monday, first dive and the visibility is good...don't get excited...good is...a good 20 meters...and even with this, taking pictures is not easy due to the amount
of planktons...but 20 meters is more than enough...to encounter more than 1000 sharks on a single dive!
Now the obvious question...how do we know there are more than a 1000 on a single dive...silly question...we count them....one...two...three...na...it doesn't work. These guys travel in groups...told you they are shy...to us, not to their owns! So they travel together , and sometimes in massive groups...those are easily each time between 50 and 200 sharks. So when on our first dive we counted 13 shoals...aka, a group of hammerheads...we all knew it was way over a 1000!
I had booked 5 days of diving...for once, I have five days, so let's use them! Well, my idea behind this is simple. You need two great days to have a good viewing, meaning a total of 5 dives. Visibility can be bad...or hammerheads can be...on a lunch-break...so better pull few more days in. Slight big problem, our two first days have been amazing. And I mean...amazing! 4 dives, all off them with over 600 hammerheads. You add to these my first close encounter with guitar sharks...and a few turtles...
Before coming back to the hammerheads...the guitar
sharks. I had seen them...while in the blue, diving...or rather gliding at 30 meters...but these funny guys are lower, they stand on the sand, at around 37 to 39 meters. So this time, I went down...to the bottom...and over these five days, I saw a lot of them...and even got one or two decent pictures...so here I give you as a bonus, the guitar sharks. We saw up to 15 of them at the same time.
Sadly for us, the hammerheads are shy...and even more sadly for us...this week, we had two Dutch sisters with us 4 days out of 5. They may know how to dive, they have strictly no respect for anybody beside themselves...and chased every single group of hammerheads...and once you chase them, they swim away...straight on. I hate those type of selfish single girls...go get a life...and don't dive with me! Well...only good news...they don't reproduce...would be actually better if they could, it would put them out of the water for a while. I had to mention this....grrrr....
So I put 8 dives in 5 days. Could have put two more, but the last two days, I had enough of
my hammerheads. And you are right, I'm a truly spoiled diver...I accept it, and I love it, but it's like that! Well, put also the fact that the water is at 22-23 degrees....that it is each time a mission to put this damn 7mm wet suit...and that there is not only diving in life, there is golfing too...and you have no idea where I'm diving next week! Smile!
But the last 10 minutes of our last dive, had to bring something special. Something really not new to me, but something I will always cherish on any dive...we had the dolphins, down there just before our safety stop. They only stay for maybe 20 seconds...but that's already better than nothing...it was time to leave the water...the rain was on...but I had also the dolphins...what a week!
Than, there is golfing too...and I put in this week Margate...plus my preferredcourse in the region, Wild Coast 45 minutes south of Shelly Beach...gorgeous San Lameer. A little stop by Selborne on my way back to Durban would have been great...but the rain came in, and with such a week, don't ask me to play golf under the rain! The best part is
that, for once, I'm hitting the ball the way I want it this week...meaning, it's a lot of fun! Are all these round in Congo finally showing some success, the feeling of being one over par after 14 holes is always great...even if it's to put few balls in the water on 15 and 16!?!?
This time, no wine in my bags...I'm actually fighting to try to avoid the extra weight fees...and trust me, it's not that easy! Next stop...a short one...than on for a week of no internet...in a place...most of you would not even think it is possible to go on holidays...to come...pretty soon...
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Wow
What a great dive. You have a good life.