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Published: August 26th 2009
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Hey guys,
Well after we finally stopped laughing while Tyne rode an Ostrich we were on the road to the Western Cape region of South Africa. We drove through what could be possibly one of the most beautiful areas of South Africa to arrive in Stellenbosch where we were going to take part in a wine tour of the local wineries. We arrived at our Hostel "The Stumble Inn" which should have been a warning of what was to come tomorrow but we paid no attention and checked right in. The next morning we awoke and we were ready to begin our tour, we headed to the first winery (The names of the wineries have been removed to protect the innocent....just kidding but I was lucky to make it out alive so the fact I can't remember any names is minor.)
Our group consisted of an elderly couple, two young girls who A.) didn't like Wine and B.) drank way to much the night before and a Dutch guy our age. So we hung out with our Dutch friend Stephan the whole day. The wineries were very nice and although the weather was terrible we didn't mind staying inside
to sample wines in lieu of walking around anyways. Since I've never been a big wine fan I was pleasantly surprised that I was actually enjoying the wine and having quite a good time. My favorite winery was Fairview, it has a huge stone tower in front of it and there were goats living in it, the guy who owned it is apparently quite funny and has been sued by the French government for having named his wines : "Bored-Doe" and a few others - too funny. Anyway the day progressed and we were feeling no pain, so we end up buying some bottles to drink after the wine tour, which is probably the reason they don't sell alcohol on Sundays in Stellenbosch. So the tour ends and we keep going, and going and going and all I can say is I think I'll stick to beer!
The next day with my head in my hands and my tail between my legs we get on the road to Hermanus. Hermanus is a great little coastal village which usually hosts people from Cape Town on weekend retreats. The village's main attraction is the Southern Right Whales which visit it's bays
annually. We ended staying at a super nice hostel/B&B that was owned by a woman from Saskatchewan which was nice since the place was filled with Canadian memorabillia, a nice couch and tv so it was just like home! We did some spectacular whale watching right on the coastal cliffs and ended staying in Hermanus for several days since it was so nice and relaxing.
After several nice quiet days we were ready to kick it up a notch and decided to try out the Great White Shark Cage diving offered just down the road in Gaansbaii! We weren't to sure what to expect since we had heard mixed reviews and it was fairly expensive but after coming to terms with the fact that they are Great Whites we had to do it! Now being divers I cannot actually call this a "Dive" since you are merely put in a cage off the side of the boat in a wet suit with goggles while the Great Whites are chummed towards the cage with a combo of chum and lined bait. It's kinda gay but really awesome at the same time??????? I dunno but when a huge great white comes
flying through the water with his mouth wide open less than a foot away you get your money's worth. I still prefer diving with smaller sharks but this was good too. The place we went to was called Shark Alley right next to Seal Island go figure, but seal Island was this rock island completely covered in Seals there was not a square foot of Island that was not being touched by a seal - it was crazy! So obviously you know why the sharks are there. We also saw a great white breach the water while killing a seal and thrash around above water killing his prey, it was just an honest reminder of the raw power these sharks have, and why they rule the oceans. Awesome!
After the sharks we were off to our final stop on the South Africa tour Cape Town.
So until next one, play safe and take it easy on the wine for my sake 😉
Matt & Tyne
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