I asked one of our instructors and Fish ID guru to write me an article about her favorite die site Cape Town and a bit on some fish... i LOVED it so much and couldnt help but share it straight away. Read Annie Browns take on diving Cape Town with her favorite fish. I have two beautiful girls who, when they were younger, contantly badgered me about what my favourite animal was. We lived in Botswana and regularly took our trusty 4x4 and ventured into the desert. We had 2 roof-top tents and were totally self-contained so we roamed the wilds without seeing other humans for days on end. My girls learned about wild animals long before they learned about the wild animals of the city malls. And so, after a wonderful day driving through thick sand, bellies full and staring at the wonder of the Milky Way, my girls would once again ask Mom, whats your favourite animal? (I actually dont have a favourite animal, I have a favourite bird, but children arent put off by silly notions of no favourites!) I have since grown up, just like my girls, and my favourite animal has changed! Have you ever thought what your favourite animal is? Why did you choose that animal? What traits drew you to it? Do you seek out opportunities to see your favourite animal? Let me tell you a story .... The oceans cover over 70% of the earths surface and yet only a fraction of the ocean is known to man. Even smaller is the percentage of people whove seen the underwater world for themselves. Many divers say they dive for the big blue, or the feeling or weightlessness or even the thrill of diving on wrecks, but what excites me is the diverse fish life of our South African waters, unseen by the majority of humankind. Its early on a winters morning in Simons Town and the sun hasnt made its presence yet. The golden early morning light bounces off the mountain into the Simons Town harbour as we ready ourselves for the first dive of the day. The ocean surface is oily smooth as we leave the harbour and turn towards the rocky shores close to Millars Point. The divers excitedly prep their equipment and pull on final warm layers before bailing over the side of the boat into an eery green ocean. As we slowly descend to the bottom the golden kelp sways gently in the surf and the white sands invite us deeper. The huge boulders in the area keep their secrets well with smaller sharks such as the puffadder shy-shark and the gulley shark lurking in their dark overhangs, but we are waiting for mightier predators than those! You can almost hear the dee-daa-dee-daa shark music in your head! Then out of the haze swims an animal that looks like it belongs in the dinosaur age. The 7 gill cow shark gently swishes its long tail and glides past with nair a care in the world. If youre really lucky youll get eye contact with this magnificant creature and enjoy just a couple of seconds of heaven. Just as quietly it recedes into the edges of your sight. For an exhillarting 60 minutes we lie on the sands and watch the sharks swimming their territory. We begrudgingly leave the ocean as its time to ascend to the boat and the warmth of the Cape Town sunshine. So Im sure youve worked out what my favourite animal is! Yes, its the 7 Gill Cow Shark! Why do I like this majestic animal? Well, because its sleek, and swift, and has a slightly arrogant look in its eye. And its an apex predator but allows me to enter its domain for a short time to bask in its glory. And I book my air ticket to Cape Town at the beginning of each year and start preparation for my week of diving long before I really need to, because I shiver with excitement at the thought of what Im going to see! Yes, it does matter that I dive with fabulous people who are just as passionate as I am, but the real excitement of Cape Town is the unknown when you drop into the green water and wonder at how everthing in creation just fits perfectly together to surprise and bless us. Join me and the Scubaversity Staff for our Cape Town trip from 19th - 24th August this year!
Posted on: Fri, 16 May 2014 10:21:45 +0000
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