World Oceans Day

Results from my daily walk on the beach:

World Oceans Day - June 8th

This Wednesday, June 8th, the South African Shark Conservancy will be participating in an international celebration of our planets greatest resource: the Ocean. 

We are inviting local schools and kids of all ages to join us in the second annual World Oceans Day Parade which will start at Swallow Park, go up Marine Drive, and end at the Old Harbour Museum. At the museum, the group will be addressed by the major of Hermanus! 

So, Wear Blue- Tell Two and come join us for a day of fun celebrating our passion for our ocean!



The SASC not only participates in the organizing of community events such as the one I describe above, but we also provide tours to those interested in learning more about sharks, the marine environment, and conservancy in general. This morning we hosted a lovely group of school children and here are some of the photos:

Activities to inspire thought.

 

Busy at work on posters with interesting "ocean facts"

The kids got a chance to touch our friendly Puffadder Shyshark, a species endemic to South Africa.

Tamzyn showing the kids our touch tank - She's holding shark egg casings!

Fascination continued at the touch tank with learning about our sea urchin.

JUMPER 49

If you ever drive along the Garden Route in South Africa, you will pass over the Bloukrans Bridge. This is a beautiful bridge which offers a spectacular view of the mountains on one side and a glimpse of the ocean on the other. They also hold the Guinness World Record for the highest bungee jump from a bridge (216m)… :)

 

All four of the Maxwell kids have gone skydiving and this seemed like the reasonable next step for the three vacationing together in SA. I’m not saying it wasn’t extremely unnerving to be standing on the edge of a bridge with only a little harness and a long rope (how do these “bungee” things work anyhow?) attached to your legs preventing you from meeting a rather sudden stop – but then again, at least the view was somewhat distracting!  I will not even attempt to explain how amazing, outstanding, fantastic, exhilarating it feels to step off into thin air and, for a moment, fly! You’ll have to go do it for yourself. *Wink* Then when you come up to me with that silly look on your face, I won’t have to ask what you thought because I already know. 

Once you have faced something so incredibly terrifying and still managed to go for it in spite of your fear, you gain a little more confidence in what you are capable of withstanding. Kind of makes a good analogy for life, doesn’t it? How many times will you stand on the precipice and have to make a decision; One- give in to the fear and wonder for the rest of your life if you could have made it, or B - push yourself beyond the edge to allow yourself the opportunity to fly. Of course, option III is why they make you sign those safety waivers! Hehehe, just don’t think about that when they count down:   5 – 4 – 3 – 2 - BUNGEE!!!

Internship: Day One

Here I am! Sitting in the SASC office, the early morning sun streaming through the open door, and the sound of the waves rushing against the rocks filling my ears with a sweet lullaby... can you tell I'm having fun? heeheehee

So far, I love everything about Hermanus! It is a beautiful place with the mountains coming right down to the shore, rocky cliffs made for perfect pictures, and beautiful beaches. When I'm not busy cleaning fish tanks and playing with sharks, I'm hoping to get some good time in practicing my photography.


Just a short note this morning since we are about to have a meeting and get started with putting me to work :D
but here is a photo from the walk on the beach yesterday afternoon:

Pre-Internship Adventure: African Safari with Rebekah and Stephen

It is hard to know where to start with describing the wonderfully spectacular start to my summer! My brother, Stephen, and sister, Rebekah, flew with me into Johannesburg and from there we traveled to the Limpopo region to participate in a five day safari in the Greater Kruger area. Tsakane is the name of the camp were we stayed and it is a beautiful place!

Through the course of the week we saw lots of wonderful things including zebra, giraffe, wildebeast, impala, waterbuck, warthog, crested franklins, and Cape buffalo! In the mornings we would wake early and have coffee and a snack before heading out for a morning bush walk. We would return to camp around 11am and enjoy a tasty breakfast then relax for the hottest portion of the afternoon. Around 3pm we would either go out for another walk or drive out, always to a beautifully scenic place and wait for the sun to go down. Driving back to camp we would keep a keen eye out for any animals (or chameleons, if we were lucky) that we happened to pass.

On Thursday, Ian and Barry took us into the Kruger National Park. We enjoyed a tremendous day in the park with lots of wonderful sightings. One of the biggest highlights was when we came across a large pride of lions. It turned into the perfect photo opportunity when a large female and about four cubs made their way across a creek bed and into an open field, stopping to lounge right beside the road where we were parked! It was everything you dream of when you think of a safari in Africa! By this time it was late afternoon and the sun was going down, reflecting on the grass and lightening up the coats of these magnificent animals. The photos taht I took could not capture the beauty of the moment.

We were also fortunate enough to see several herds of elephant and got quite close to one group. Elephants have always been my favorite, even though I adore many of the spectacular animals found in this area. They have a unique kind of beauty which will always hold a special place in my heart.

I can remeber being a child and thinking of how wonderfully adventureous it would be to go on an African safari, but I never dreamed that I would really have the opportunity to go one day! This is only the very beginning of my summer and already I have had more fun than I can express with words. All of South Africa that I have seen so far is beautiful and many of the people are wonderful to visit with. I think it is amazing how the names change, countries are different, but people are at heart the same. You can find friends anywhere you go if you are willing to open you heart and let them in!

Count Down to June 1

As I sit on my front porch on a beautiful Friday afternoon enjoying the rare SETX weather, it is amazing to think about how quickly this spring semester has gone by. It seems like only last week was the beginning of January and I was preparing for the start of another semester. And now I am already starting to prepare for my class finals!

I have been very busy with working out travel details and making arrangements. I was excited to get my new camera equipment which I will be utilizing during my trip to SA and will be sharing many (hopefully good quality) photos here on my blog. It was also a wonderful moment for me when I came home this afternoon and found my Open Water Diver certification card in the mail! I have been looking forward to this moment for a long time and I am incredibly happy to be an official scuba diver! Being in the underwater world is every bit as exciting and fascinating as I anticipated.

Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean. 

-Christopher Reeve