Bongani Mountain Lodge

This is situated about 7kms inside the Mthethomusha Nature Reserve which borders the West side of Kruger National Park (they are divided by a river and rail link). It's a stunning place with the lodge built on the edge of a cliff. We spent 3 nights and 4 days there and the staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. Made getting up at 5:30am every day for game drives that much easier :)- If you're ever there, you must try the Toby Shakes. As the man himself told us, they are "just like massage !!!" Fantastic.

Game Drives

The game drives were stunning. Up at 5:30am every morning for the first drive of the day from about 6:10am to close to 9:45am. It all depended on what we were tracking (and if we found it !!!). The only big animal we didn't see was a leopard but it wasn't that disappointing as we saw so many different animals. My favorite were the giraffes. It's incredible how tall they are up close. Photos can never do them justice...

Cape Town

From stuff Geoff and I did in Cape Town.

Robben Island

Hike Up Table Mountain

A good hike and it was nice to get a bit of exercise to counter the beer drinking !!!

Cape Of Good Hope

This is a day trip that Geoff and I did from Cape Town all the way down to the Cape of Good Hope. It's a beautiful drive and of course, seeing the penguins at Boulders Beach was excellent.

Cliff Lodge

Where I stayed while doing the cage diving. It was so beautiful here that I ended up staying an extra night and not going back to Cape Town for my last night. The views from the rooms are stunning and the hospitality second to none. A huge thanks to Gill & Gideon. This place is a must stay if you're going anywhere near it for cage diving or whale watching. Cliff Lodge's website.

Andre Hartman & Me

Cage Diving With The Great Whites

I'd wanted to do this for over 5 years and finally had the chance. I booked two days of it and I'm glad I did because the first day was very rough (about 7 to 8 meter swell) and we got tossed around a lot in the cage. Almost half the boat was sea-sick (glad I wasn't). The second day was totally different as it completely died down and the waves were much much smaller.

Words cannot describe just how BIG the sharks were. You just can't get a feeling for their size unless you're there. Even the "small" sharks that we saw were over 3 meters in length and those were very large. To think that they can get to over 6 meters long !!!

I also got to meet Andre Hartman. A legend in the world of shark diving. This man dives with great white sharks WITHOUT a cage. He happened to be in the shop when I got back from the first day of diving and as the shuttle wasn't nearby, he offered to drive me to my accommodation. He also asked if I'd had a beer yet and I said no so we stopped by the pub for a few !!! It was completely surreal to be sitting with him in a pub talking about sharks, the research he's doing, and just listening to the stories he had. I'll never forget that. Thanks Andre !!!

Favorite Photos

A collection of my favorite photos from the trip.