scruffian

On Sunday it was a bit rainy and windy. We were scheduled to go for a shark cage dive but the weather was too bad. In some ways this was quite a good thing as it gave us a chance to go and buy some clothes!

The Roundhouse in Gansbaai is a really nice place to stay. It really is round and our room was quite round as well! It also has viewing platforms all around as there are often whales in the bay. Although it’s not really whale season yet we still saw one whale from the Roundhouse and another when we were out on a boat. The whale we saw from the Roundhouse was a Southern Right Whale. We also had a really nice bathroom when we staying at the Roundhouse which is very good for me as I love having a bath, especially when it is rainy outside.

There is also a really funny dog who lives at the Roundhouse. He is called Stavros and he is very small but he thinks he is big. He follows you when you go for a walk and he can walk in the road and avoid the cars or make them stop for him.

As we didn’t have any clothes the people who had arranged the holiday for us, Dave and Elna, took us down to their shark shop and we got some fleeces and hats and t-shirts. Then they drove us 2 hours to Cape Town so we could get some clothes. It was very kind of them and also helped a lot as Gansbaai is very small and there were no underwear shops or anything.

It was also good as it meant I could get some ear drops. I got a cold a few days before we went and on the plane my ears hurt really badly and I couldn’t get them to pop and then when we got off the plane I couldn’t hear so I was glad we got ear drops.

Then we went back to Gansbaai and we went to a restaurent which was really nice. We were the only customers as it is winter there – that is the best season for sharks but not for the weather. The restaurent owner drove us back to the Roundhouse when we had finished – that was often what we found – that people would do a lot for you to help you out and make things better for you.

End of day 2.

Back to Day 1
On to Day 3

Well we are back from our shark holiday and had the most fantastic time – even better than I had imagined. I thought I would write about each day, partly to help me not feel so sad it’s over! I think I shouldn’t feel sad as it was so excellent but at the moment I wish I was still in South Africa.

So we set off from home at about 1.30am on Saturday 19th May. It was very early. Ben drove and I slept. Thank you to Ben for everything – this holiday was really for me as I am mad about sharks and he did everything he could to make it perfect. Now he likes sharks quite a lot too.

We did purple parking which is where you park quite near the airport (Heathrow) and then go in a minibus to the airport. It was good and quite cheap.

In the airport they had told us to be there 3 hours before the flight (take off at about 6.30am I think) but there wasn’t anyone from the airline around to check in until 5am which was a bit annoying.

We flew to Amsterdam and then from there to Cape Town so the whole flying time was about 12-13 hours. I had been a bit worried about this as I’m not all that keen on flying but actually it was fine. On the plane from Amsterdam it was a Boeing 777 so it was quite big which meant that the movement was more stable and comfortable and we had screens in the back of each seat with films, TV and games as well as flight tracking so you could see where you were and how high and things so that was quite good. Ben enjoyed Tetris.

Then we got to Cape Town at about 10.30pm – there is only 1 hour difference as it is straight down the world to South Africa so that was good. Then we had the biggest disaster of the trip which was that our luggage didn’t arrive. They were very bad about it – no compensation and only an answerphone on the number they gave us. But we decided we mustn’t let it spoil our adventure and also clothes are pretty cheap in South Africa. And I had packed some crucial things in my hand luggage so we were ok. Also the people we booked with were very helpful, and stopped on the way to pick up some things.

Then we were driven to Gansbaai (pronounced Hans-buy) which took about 2 hours. It was very stormy and rainy and also dark so we slept a bit and couldn’t see much (photo from a return journey!).

Our first place we stayed was the Roundhouse in Gansbaai and it was really nice.

End of day 1.

On to Day 2