Crew:
Dennis, Rene, Christoph, Claus, Lars and Mike.
The
trip from Mauritius was nice and easy, counting 10 days on the sea. We had
all kind of weather. From no wind to a gale. In Mauritius we got new
crewmembers on board, and they – Lars and Mike – managed their first
trip well.
Originally
we had planned to go to Durban but on the sea we decided to head for
Richards Bay, some 90 miles further north. It should be, and was, a
meeting spot for yachties.
Checking
in in South Africa (SA) should not be a problem we were told. And it was
not. Only that it took the officers 24 hours to come to the boat……,
but in the mean time we send a team of to buy some groceries and
refreshments ( beer !! ).
The
nature in SA is wonderful. So green. And their national parks too are
something special. Ever since we decided to go round the Cape of Good
Hope, and not through the Red Sea, we have been talking about visiting the
national parks in SA. We had heard a lot about the one called Kruger’s
National Park. It is the biggest one. But it is located very far to the
north, so we chose to go for the Umfolozi-park instead, which was only
about 150 km from Richards Bay.
We
rented a car and left the boat very early so we could enter the park at 7
o’clock in the morning.
1
km after we passed the gate we saw our first animals.
Big and tall giraffes more or less surrounded the vehicle, while
they were eating their breakfast. We parked there for a quarter of an hour,
taking great pictures. But we did not have to go very far before we
spotted a group of donkeys – wonder who painted them like that??
We
stayed in the park for two days. Saw huge amounts of animals some 15
different species. The best episode was properly with the only two
elephants that we saw, they were trying to consume an entire tree. After a
while the big male noticed the car – and the 6 crazy people hanging out
of the windows with their cameras – so to let us know who were in charge
he put his forehead against the tree and started pushing.
What a scene! He nearly took it to the ground – just as one sees
it in a TV program.
After
the elephant show we drove home with a lot of good shots in the camera.
After
2 weeks in Richards Bay we sailed to Durban. Strong wind combined with the
very strong Agullas current made the passage hard but very fast.
Durban
is the opposite of Richards Bay. Big, noisy, polluted and with a lot of
crime. So because of all that people were stressed and those who were not
stressed were poor. Of course that is not the truth, but that was how we
felt.
We
did not go out at night – only to the yacht club, which was placed
inside the marina fence. Some
nights we even heard gun shoots. Hmmmm! Not nice!
In
Durban we once more rented a car and this time we drove to an area called
Drakkensberg. It is a mountain area on the boarder to Lesotho, a country
inside SA. Here we spent 3 days away from the big city, doing nothing but
tramping, horseback riding, and enjoying the beautiful nature of SA. The
long walks made us really tried and therefore we slept till late every
morning. But it was good!!
Some
joyful days had past in Durban, and we took off. Originally we wanted to
go to a nice lagoon called Knysna, but because of strong wind we had to
seek shelter in Port Elisabeth. We were not pleased with that, at all,
because we had only heard bad stories about the city – and it was just
before Christmas. But it turned out to be a quite lovely place with a good
club, friendly people and a big “oceanarium”.
Two
days after Christmas we headed for Knysna. And it sure was as beautiful as
promised. A calm lagoon – with lots of small powerboats doing water
skiing – was hidden behind the two heads, that forms the entrance. But
behind the heads there was something more than a nice lagoon. It is called
sandbars! With a strong incoming tide we shortly made a stop on one of
them. It was not bad, but it was certainly the topic of the day when we
entered the yacht club.
Here
lots of local yachties, and even the commodore welcomed us. We really
liked the atmosphere here so we decided to swap flags. They got our old
Danish flag, and we received the pennant of the Knysna Yacht Club, plus
some cold beers!
When
not drinking beers we took a walk to the heads to see the exceptional view
from the top of the cliffs, or we went diving on an old wreck, which sank
at the entrance in the beginning of the 20th century. You had
to plan the dive quite well and take notice of the very strong current
that runs in the pass.
New
years eve was celebrated in traditional Danish style with a lot to drink.
There is not much more to say about that other than we had a superb
evening and night.
As
the year 2002 was only a couple of days old we pulled the anchor and in a
very beautiful morning we passed through the heads, through a heavy swell
and out into the ocean with the course set for the most southern point of
Africa, Cape Agullas.
Cape
Agullas is where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean, but people
often think it is Cape of Good Hope that is the meeting point – but it
is not!
The
weather around Cape Agullas can be really tough so you have to have good
weather information before you try to go around the point. But we were
there at the right time. Good wind from a sunny sky- and with an albatross,
and later on a few whales close to the boat - it could not be any better!
And the next morning we docked in Hout Bay, a small marina 10 miles south
of Cape Town.
After
2 years of sailing we were back in the Atlantic Ocean – but in the
Southern Hemisphere
One
of the things we were mad keen to do in South Africa was to dive with the
Great White Shark. So that part more or less got first priority and we
managed to get it all arranged from Hout Bay.
So a few days later at
5 o’clock in the morning we were ready at the parking area where a mini
bus picked us up and took us out for a 2 hours drive to a small town
called Gansbaai, which is world famous for the cage diving. After a short
boat ride we were anchored on something like 10 meters of water, with the
cage in the water and the group ready with wetsuits and cameras. 15
minutes later the special guest star arrived. A 3.5 meter long Great White
Shark circled around the boat doing its job, eating the meet that was
thrown over board. Later more White Sharks showed up, and it turned out to
be the perfect day with something like 6 –7 different White Sharks.
And
you should know. It is a great kick to be in the water together with an
aggressive and 4 meter long Great White Shark. You should try it!
Robben
Island, the South African answer to Alcatraz. It was here the former
president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, lived for 13 years or so as a
prisoner. This is the place to spend another great and informative day. It
is scary stories the former inmates and now guides tell you. But you have
to hear it from them, otherwise you will not believe it!
The
day before René and Mike flew home to Denmark, we rented a car and went
south to the notorious place; Cape of Good Hope, which we did not get to
see from the sea because we past it at night. Rough is properly the
correct word for that place. Windy, beautifull - and full of tourists.
But
now we can say. We have been there we did it. That is enough.
That
was Dream Times for now. Sorry for have kept you waiting so long. We will
try to do it better next time.