As was probably expected I woke feeling a little bit better, whereas Debs has now clearly caught my cold. We make a right pair, her looking drained and blocked up and me coughing away like a 100 a day smoker. Nevertheless we got up and headed out into the morning sun.
Our first stop was to the intriguingly named Shark Lab, a research centre and intimate aquarium; at least that's what their press says. There is obviously more going on behind the scenes, but the face that is presented to the casual visitor is delightfully rubbish. The enthusiastic guy in the shop gave us some information about sharks and we then went to have a look round the aquarium. Your average pet shop has a better aquarium, although here you can swim with sharks! Or at least you can don a mask and snorkel and climb into a dilapidated tank containing four small silky sharks for 85 rand (£7approx). It was all very amusing, we just hope that the money that has obviously not been spent on the aquarium is being used to protect sharks in the wild.
From the shark lab we went to have a look at the lighthouse, which ended in us taking the wrong route. We never got to the lighthouse, but we did get a lovely view of the point and had a close encounter with a Rock Hyrax (a large guinea pig looking creature that is, bizarrely, a relative of the elephant) along the way.
While heading down we spotted some dolphins playing in the waves and went to the waterfront to try and get a better look. The dolphins stayed close to shore for a while and were joined by a seal and two elderly looking surfers. Luckily for all in the water, they weren't joined by one of the resident Great white sharks. Apparently Mossel Bay and the waters of Seal Island are home to 10% of the world's white shark population. See, despite my comments about the Shark lab, I did actually learn something. We also learnt that uniquely to the area white sharks hunt both day and night. Should anyone have evidence to the contrary, feel free to correct me.
Having enjoyed watching the dolphins, we wandered down to the Bartolomeu Dias museum complex to have a look around. The museum contains a life size replica of the caravel (ship), that in 1487 the aforementioned Dias sailed into Mossel Bay on.
It also houses a small aquarium and shell museum and most importantly a 500 year old Post Office tree. In 1500 Pedro de Ataide, making his return journey from the east, left a letter in a shoe under a large tree, warning of troubles he had encountered near India. In 1501 the letter was found by Joao da Nova who was en-route to India and in this way, the first post office in South Africa was founded. There is now a post box in the shape of a shoe/boot that you can post a letter from and receive a special post office tree frank. Debs obviously had to make use of such a unique opportunity!
By the time we had wandered round the museum, grabbed some lunch and purchased some supplies, we were glad to head back to the hostel. As it seems that neither of us are recuperating at the rate we would have liked we are going to stop for another night. We are still well on target to be in Capetown with plenty of time to spare.
Still not feeling great, we have little to report about our second day in Mossel Bay. I ventured out to get a bit of shopping, but other than that we have just stayed around the hostel resting. We will be leaving tomorrow still slightly under the weather, but hopefully well enough that it won't become a major chore.
Glad to see you two still going strong!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes from Ballito!
PS always a spare bed waiting if you plan a trip back this way!