Shark Chronicles 094 - Is this a dream?

We were driving in the back of a truck bed, six of us stuffed under blankets and sweatshirts, bundled up with our beanies and gloves, wind whipping our hair as we drove the winding mountain side watching the African sun set behind the snow capped mountains. “Is this a dream?” was all I could think.

The past week that I’ve been living in South Africa has felt like just that: a dream. Whether we’re chumming the water to attract a great white shark to the side of the boat, or squeezing through 27 cm inside a dark cave on our bellies, or witnessing breaching whales from our survey sights, every moment has been a surreal experience that I don’t want to end. The internship days alone make the whole trip worthwhile; however the weekends make up some of the most memorable moments of my African adventure. In just one weekend, we’ve had a night on the town, a beautiful day on the beach, a hike to the lighthouse, a walk through the craft village, a morning of sliding and climbing through a cave, and an afternoon petting tiger cubs and grown cheetahs at a cat park. We are planning a trip to Cape Town and to Durban toward the end of the month, hoping to do some shark dives, a cage dive, and see some natural shark predations.

Never have I become such close friends with a group of individuals so quickly. The bonding experiences are never ending and our common interests in marine life, not to mention long hours together often in close quarters, make the interns become fast friends. We have all stepped out of our comfort zones together, making our connections to each other that much stronger.

Our field specialists have been extremely supportive on a daily basis, encouraging us to try new things and get our hands dirty. They have taught us some of the important details about field work through lectures, training, and hands-on experience. They have also offered an opportunity to those of us interested to get SCUBA certified so that we can participate in the dives during weekend trips at the end of the month.

With only three weeks left of the internship, I can’t help already hoping that this experience would never end. In Mossel Bay, you never know what might happen next, from a car breaking down and a four hour chum trip in a non-stop downpour, to spotting your first great white shark and being eye to eye with a playful tiger cub. You keep thinking to yourself, “am I really doing this?” It’s the pictures at the end of the day that help you realize it really isn’t a dream and these experiences will remain with you for the rest of your life. I could not recommend a better internship to someone who desired to pursue a career in marine field work.

Lesley Anderson - Mossel Bay Marine Lab intern

Shark Chronicles 066 - Road trip

Last weekend, April 10th and 11th, the four interns got their first weekend off of the month. Jethro, Leisbeth, Rodney and I, Renae, decided to go for a road trip to Cango and the surrounding towns. The road trip was a meshed of ascents and incomprehensible phrases. The dive only took about an hour to get to our first destination, Cango Caves. The caves were a labyrinth of stalactites and stalagmites with curvases that the guide reassured the group that we could squeeze through. It was a team effort of pushing and pulling to get through the small, sweaty cracks of the caves to emerge into the nice breeze. Back on the road the four of us went to an ostrich farm. Since we were only an hour out from home we decided to head back home and continue our journey the next day. The drive home was so beautiful. The sun was setting over the mountains and streaked nice hues of orange, pink, red and purple over the land.

Day two of the journey started with us driving down the highway when Rodney, who was the driver, swerves to avoid an object in the road. We had all seen the signs that warn drivers of the desert tortoises but here it was actually walking down the highway at an incredible slow rate. Car stopped and we got out and rescued the tortoise from certain road kill obliteration. I am sure there were heads turning from passing cars watching four people run down the highway after a tortoise. After we did our good dead for the day we actually headed to the Cango Wildlife Ranch. Our guide Kevin took us through the park explaining the particular animals, their habitats and their plight in the wild with poaching and loss of land. Kevin seemed to take a liking to us interns. He was interested in our studies and how diverse the group was, in nationalities and interests. I think also Kevin enjoyed the fact that he had a group that also appreciated animals and understood how important conservation is.

After the Wildlife Ranch we headed home, taking in the beautiful landscape with our eyes and our cameras. That was our weekend adventure: Caves, Ostriches, Coffee, Wildlife and fun. This was a great opportunity to get closer to the other interns that I have been working with.

Renae Logston - Mossel Bay OCEANS Research intern