DON’T dive with great whites… dive with tiger sharks

KZN

THE LOWDOWN ON DIVING WITH GREAT WHITES
The music from Jaws is playing in your head, almost drowning out the noise of your thumping heart, when you spot the fin cutting through the water. The grey monster has tracked down the chum trail and is circling closer and closer. ‘Quick! Get down, Get down!’ yells the captain. It’s time to confront your fears and come face to face with one of man’s definitive nightmares: a full-sized great white shark.

The icy waters off Gansbaai in the Western Cape serve to heighten your senses as you drop into the cage, adrenaline thick like wine in your veins. Nerves frayed, sucking hard for breath, you are out of your element in the pea-green water, searching in vain for the sharks that you know are out there. Then, as you peer wide-eyed ahead, a beast emerges from the murk, dead ahead, coming straight for you, fatter and slower than you could have imagined – and grinning its lifeless grin.

Only a few bars of steel separate you from the apex predator of the sea, the star of so many horror stories. As it glides silently past the cage, within hand’s reach, you can make out every nick and scratch and tooth mark on its rough hide, and you’re even tempted to reach out for it. If you’re lucky, your shark might have a partner or two – great whites often move about with companions – and there will be several brutes in the water, taking turns to burst spontaneously into frenzied attacks on the bait or investigate you and your cage a little more closely…

When you climb back onto the deck, you’re elated and full of bravado. By this time, you’ve transcended your fear and come to comprehend what the word ‘awe’ really means. After several minutes, your adrenaline levels settle and you notice you’ve picked up a solid bout of the shakes. Grab a cold drink. And understand why people come from the other side of the world to look a great white in the eye.

SOUNDS GREAT White: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
It’s passé, bru. How can you be one with the shark if there are metal bars separating the two of you? And contrary to many operators’ claims, your chances of getting in the water and getting a decent sighting are less than 50 per cent. Despite perceptions, many great whites are, in fact, deterred by human activity; scuba bubbles and the cage’s magnetic shield, for example, can quickly send a shy creature on its way, meaning the viewing from the boat is usually better than the viewing down below. And due to seal breeding patterns, the sharks are particularly disinterested during the summer months, which means you have to brave the winter cold and weather for the best sightings.

WHERE TO, THEN?
If you fancy yourself a brave one, head to Aliwal Shoal to find tiger sharks. This relatively new adventure follows the same principles: baiting in, then diving with sharks – but without the cage. And off the KwaZulu-Natal coast, it’s one of the most dangerous sharks in the world that tends to take the bait: the indiscriminate, scavenging tiger shark.

After the usual exhilarating launch off the beach at Umkomaas, you head to Eelskin, a favourite tiger hangout. A bait bucket, filled with sardines, is lowered into the water and the vigil commences. Once a few tigers arrive and settle, you don your scuba gear and slip into the water trying to hide your jangling nerves. The bait bucket is released and you drift about 10m below the surface – just you and the beady-eyed torpedoes. It truly is an incredible experience: the sharks are all around you, which is more than a touch disconcerting, but after a while you relax and just marvel at these sleek predators. The tigers, clearly identifiable by their distinctive stripes, are slow and sluggish but their potential power and ferocity is tangible. If you’re lucky, a dozen or so menacing black-tipped reef sharks will cruise in to join the party and buzz you to check you’re awake. This is a dive for adrenaline junkies only – one you will never forget.

More info
www.africanwatersports.co.za

Alternatives
Sodwana Bay: Pregnant ragged tooth sharks are a big drawcard on Sodwana’s Quarter Mile Reef between November and February. Descend to the sand and watch the sharks cruise gracefully around and above you.
Raggies Cave: Between June and November, raggies are a familiar sight under the overhangs of Aliwal Shoal.
Protea Banks: Head for the deep, dark and exciting diving off Protea Banks in search of various shark species – but the strong currents and deep water mean this one is for advanced divers only.

DON’T hike the Otter Trail… hike the Wild Coast

Eastern Cape

THE LOWDOWN ON THE OTTER TRAIL
The Otter Trail isn’t South Africa’s most famous hike for nothing. The scenery on the 43km stretch of coastline between Storm’s River and Nature’s Valley in the Eastern Cape’s Tsitsikamma Coastal National Park is simply mind-blowing, and challenges such as the Bloukrans River crossing give you plenty to brag about. Make no mistake: this is no walk in the park, and unless you get yourself reasonably fit and pack very sensibly carrying five day’s provisions up and down the hills of the rugged coastline soon begins to tell.

Most of the trail follows cliff tops, which reach up to 150m above the surf, with frequent returns to sea level to scramble over boulders, tramp through forest and negotiate rivers. Regular swim breaks in the sea or magnificent river pools are a must. There are plenty of animals that share the trail with you and, besides the interesting birds, you may spot vervet monkeys, baboons, bushbuck, badgers, seals, dolphins, whales and, the trail’s namesake, the Cape clawless otter along your way. If you’re really lucky, you could catch a caracal, genet or leopard sighting. Combined with the waterfalls and tannin-stained rivers, the crashing waves and inviting rock pools, the dense green forest and bush showers, the wonderfully located huts and the secluded sandy beach of Blue Bay, the Otter will take your breath away.

SOUNDS GREAT: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
You can’t get a place! Considering it is widely regarded as one of the world’s great hikes, it’s little wonder there’s usually a year-long waiting list. (I’ll let you in on a little secret, though: if you keep ringing the booking office, spots often come up at short notice. So persevere.)

WHERE TO, THEN?
The Wild Coast is a remote, inaccessible stretch of deserted white beaches, dramatic cliffs, ruggedly beautiful green hills and smiling, colourful people. A marked hiking trail once ran the length of the Transkei, from the Umtamvuma River just south of Port Edward, 280km south to the Kei River near East London. Sadly, much of the trail has been neglected and is in disrepair, with only hardy self-sufficient trekkers attempting the full whack. But the most popular and arguably the most spectacular section, the 100km between Port St Johns and Coffee Bay, is one of the finest coastal walks in the world. You can still hike independently for the paltry sum of R30 – yes, for the whole trail, but you’ll need to carry a tent and supplies, as some of the huts are not well maintained. Or take a guided hike and stay with the communities, enjoying Xhosa hospitality at its best.

The coast is heavily populated, with tiny clusters of thatched, circular rondavels dotting every hillside. There are local shops at which to buy supplies, opportunist fishermen who offer crayfish or their catch of the day and enterprising women on route who produce crates of bottled beer from under their beds. The five-day trail is tough, with steep hills, river crossings – some of which have to be negotiated at low tide – and long sections of beach. There are basic huts at roughly 12km intervals, all in stunningly beautiful locations, as well as the odd hotel and backpacker’s en route where you can get a meal or even stay if you need a bit of pampering. The route is reasonably well marked with the location of the next village or huts scrawled on rock markers or signposts, but given the plethora of footpaths you’ll probably end up getting lost once or twice. What the hell. It’s a fun place to wander, interacting with the local people going about their everyday tasks – and chances are you’ll end up being invited to sample the local brew. For the brave and wild.

More info
Bookings: 047-531-1191

Alternatives
Dolphin Trail: If you want the scenery without the schlep of the Otter, the upmarket, portaged Dolphin Trail, which follows the coastline east of Storm’s River, is a great option.
Cape Point: The two-day trail around the Cape of Point Reserve is outstanding. And quite tough too.

DON’T holiday in Mauritius... holiday in Rodrigues

Indian Ocean

THE LOW-DOWN ON MAURITIUS
Mauritius does resort-based tourism like nowhere else. Service is always top-notch, the beaches are fabulous, kids are welcome – not simply accommodated – and there are free water sports, lush golf courses and pamper palaces where you can relax and be spoilt. The food is exotic and plentiful and, best of all, everything’s included in the package price. Hardly a wonder visitors return year after year for family holidays, weddings, honeymoons and big sporting events. Most spend the entire time in their self-contained resort enjoying the on-site activities and shopping arcades, the nightly entertainment and the simple pleasures of sun, sea and sand.

SOUNDS GREAT: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
It’s packaged. This is serious mass tourism, so join the queue for your buffet meal or waterskiing session, and take your place on a lounger or piece of sand in the middle of a field of others. And while the canned resorts are magnificent and glorious and fantastic, the true nature of the island is not captured in all the opulence. You may as well be in Disneyland.

WHERE TO, THEN?
Five hundred and sixty kilometres to the north of Mauritius lies its little-known sister, the tiny, rugged, volcanic island of Rodrigues. Rodrigues is in a time warp – somewhere close to what Mauritius was like 25 years ago, before the tourist explosion. Although it’s beautiful and ringed by a necklace of scenic outer islands that enclose a calm lagoon, Rodrigues has few obvious tourist activities. The island has severe water shortages and suffers regular cyclones that inhibit development, so don’t go expecting Mauritian-style resorts with all the mod cons. Rather, stay with a family or in a small, cranky, Creole-style hotel and explore the pristine beaches and valleys slowly on foot or by bike, making friends, enjoying spontaneous hospitality and observing a special world that is likely to disappear as tourism takes hold.

There is a saying in Rodrigues that sums up life on the tiny island – try to imagine it in the evocative French mother tongue: ‘Don’t rush in the morning, go gently in the afternoon and slowly in the evening.’ This is a place far from the madding crowds, where you can really unwind.

More info
www.rodrigues-island.org

Alternatives
Inhaca: Our closest Indian Ocean island experience. Inhaca – only a short flight or boat ride from Maputo – is exotic and fun, with one upmarket resort and great diving and water sports to boot.
Réunion: There’s no mass tourism from South Africa – yet. But Réunion is where the French go to holiday. Golden, as well as black volcanic, beaches, 3,000m mountains, perfect waves and gourmet cuisine make for the perfect Indian Ocean island vacation.