Franschhoek and Hermanus, South Africa

We celebrated our 1st anniversary (I know, a few weeks late, but the real day was spent jet lagged in Munich) in the gastronomic capital and wine tasting region of Franschhoek, South Africa. Got upgraded to a beautiful attic room in a B&B with a private porch overlooking the mountains.

This (and the previous picture) is the first of four wineries that we hit. All were amazing...we spent hours on this property just looking around. The first was known for it's grandeur, the second it's wines, the third the view and the fourth the underground cave.

The view of the valley. Franschhoek means "French Corner," and has a centuries long history of colonial settlement.

We then drove down to Hermanus...acknowledged as one of the twelve best whale viewing sites in the world, as well as the BEST land based whale watching in the world. This is the world's only whale crier, Pasika Noboba. He patrols the streets blowing his kelp horn and alerting everyone to the whereabouts of the whales.

Whales can been seen from as close as a few metres from the rocky cliffs. We watched this Mom and her baby swim by. The southern right whales population is doubling every ten years. The whale count for Hermanus has risen steadily to around 150 at the height of the season.

We watched them play....they breached (as above), spyhopped (lifting their heads out), lobtailed (slapping their tails), sailed ( lifting their tails clear out of the water) and blowed. There is a 12km-long cliff path that we walked with our camera and binoculars. We could watch them for hours...and even brought a picnic and bottle of wine!

Another popular thing to do in South Africa? Shark cage diving...and who wouldn't?! We spent the first two hours on the boat freezing in the blowing wind....while the crew chummed the waters (note the barrel full of blood and guts above). We were not having any luck...so we moved to the famous "Shark Alley".

SHARK! He loved the "seal" decoy that was set for him. Got his mouth right around it....
Dean got suited up. You put on a wetsuit, mask and weights. No snorkel or regulator...which surprised us. They just have you hold your breath. (Can you hold your breath when screaming? ;)
The shark cage from above with the first victims loaded in. The yellow bobber has two fish heads attached (that were replaced fairly often) and the red line has the "seal" decoy. Getting in and out of the cage is actually fairly frightening, especially when a Great White is flashing through the water inches away. I made sure to get a good foot hold! Once in, you find that the cage is fairly "open"....ie. feet and hands can slip out. Yes, you could pet the shark....but none of us were that stupid (besides...we were told we would get in trouble).

That's me, second from the right...with the white line pointed at my head...and the BIG shark putting his nose into the cage. He could use a good flossing....those were some gnarly teeth.
Dean was in the cage during this one. The guy in charge of the fish head lure had lot's of fun dragging it across the front of the cage with the shark attached. Up close and personal. The sharks did occasionally get in a tug of war...and usually won. We lost the yellow bobber at one point.

This might be the reason for shark alley. It is an island COVERED with seals. I have never smelled anything so bad. A seagull had pooped on me...and I was sure that I was the reason for the stench before I turned my head. Seals piled upon seals...amazing. Off to Mozambique next for some diving with whale sharks (cross your fingers) and amazing seafood!