Jaws of life on the Garden Route

We had a few relaxing days along the garden route, which is a scenic drive east of cape town. If I had to compare, the garden route is similar to the great ocean road drive in Australia but so far we have had better weather and better accommodation than the spider infested b & b last vacation! We stayed at 9 on Heron bed and breakfast in a town called Knysna. This b & b was very cute and the owners, who we think are a lesbian couple, were fantastic hosts with a very inventive breakfast for our non-pork eating group! I don't think i've had bruschetta and feta for breaky before! Along our drive we stopped at mossel bay and we went to Plettenberg bay for some sun bathing and pure relaxation along the white sand beach!   Knysna heads is a beautiful lookout point that is definitely worth visiting also! Very picturesque! Sunset cruises on the lagoon are popular here but it was very cloudy the day we planned to go so we passed on it. 

We left one day unplanned with no accommodations booked so that we could have some flexibility. We decided to visit a super cute town called Gansbaii which is the area where you take Shark diving tours! I don't think they do these tours anywhere else in the world! Our b&b (roundhouse) had the best view of the sunset on the ocean from our rooftop hot tub! What a greatbview! One of the nicest sunsets we've seen! The best meal we have had so far in South Africa was in Gansbaii at a place called Benguela! My mouth still waters thinking about the Chile and lime prawns and the moist steak! 

Shark divining was one of the most intense things any of us had ever done! The thrill seekers in the group are hussein and I but adam and Nadia had the most terrifying experience! Don't worry - we are all safe with all of our limbs intact! Basically what happens is the company (White Shark adventures) parks a boat in the ocean a few kilometers from shore and 6 people at a time go into a metal cage that is attached to a boat. We saw several sharks when we were on the boat but when it was our turn in the cage, one of the sharks came directly head on into the cage and managed to get his nose into the cage right in front of Adam and Nadia! They both saw the sharks jaws wide open as he tried to catch the fish bait. Nadia said its teeth were as big as her head!

It was the scariest experience! As the visibility wasn't that great all I remember is seeing the shark and then his fins and tail flapping at the cage as I tried to come up for air but couldn't for a few seconds because Nadia had freaked out and basically sat on me under the water! Hopefully the other guy in our group got good underwater shots of the whole incident! Adam and Nadia got the hell out of the cage but Hussein and I stayed for a few more shark sightings. I have never felt so sea sick on a boat even after taking a Gravel, so much so that i actually threw up off the boat.  It was super gross especially because all the fish tried to eat it! 

We are now back in Cape town for a few more days!