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WHITE SHARK PROJECT FEEDBACK
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Andrew Burge
Great White Shark Project, 2005 |
6 September 2005:
Thanks for your emails. Life in Gansbaai is going well.
There are 2 new volunteers living in the house with me, a couple from
Florida. They're staying for a month. We've also had 3 other volunteers
staying with us but only for a week. They leave today and tomorrow. So,
has been nice to have some company.
Craig, the founder of the Project, has also been staying with us for the
past week. He's given us a few lectures on the white shark. Have learnt a
lot from him. It's not the relentless killing machine as it's made out to
be in JAWS. Rather, it's highly intelligent and shies away from
confrontation. Obviously, when it does attack, it does it very well. But
worldwide, there are only about 100 shark attacks a year, of which only
20-30 are fatal. Supposedly, more people die from falling coconuts!
Have been out on the water 5 times now. Am still finding my sea legs. Sea
has been pretty rough, so I'm hoping for some calmer days. The sharks have
been awesome. The largest one I've seen so far was a 3.5m shark nicknamed
"Slashfin" because her dorsal fin is cut. She looks a lot bigger up close,
I can tell you! Got to see a "predation" as well - a shark take out a
seal. Was all over in a matter of minutes, just a pool of blood on the
surface to tell the tale. Also saw a Southern Right whale out on the water
which was pretty cool.
Yesterday and today the water has been too rough to go out. Yesterday we
all went to Cape Aghulas, the southern most point in Africa. Today, am
planning on going for a bike ride along the beach in the afternoon. |
| 13 September 2005 |
| Hi! How's it going? I'm still enjoying
myself here working with the sharks. Have been in the cage twice so far.
As amazing as it is to see them from the boat, it's awesome to view them
in the water, in their own domain. First time I went in the cage, a shark
took the bait and came thrashing up against the cage. Its pectoral fin
actually came inside the cage. I could have shaken hands with him!
Yesterday I went in again and got a close up look at a 3.8 meter great
white. Looked to be the size of a bus! She was huge! The visibility wasn't
so good, so the shark would appear out of nowhere and glide slowly past,
eying me up. Was amazing!
The biggest shark we've had around the boat so far was
4.5m. At one point it took the bait, which was tied to the boat, and it
actually pulled the boat! Everyone grabbed hold of the rail and looked
around nervously, thinking of the movie JAWS. Can't imagine how massive a
5 or 6m shark must be. Hopefully will get to see one while I'm here.
Anyway, I'll catch you later. Hope life is treating you well. Take care. |
| 6 October 2005 |
Hi! How's it going? Been a while since I
last sent out an email.
Am now over halfway through my placement with White Shark Projects. Finish
working with them October 29. Is still going really well, still enjoying
it. However, shark sightings have declined. Aren't seeing nearly as many
as we did last month. Hopefully it picks up during the rest of the month
though. Today was good. Only saw 3 sharks, but a couple of them hung
around the cage for a while, took the bait at one point and put on a bit
of a show, thrashing against the cage. Also saw six Southern Right whales
up close, including a mother and her calf. They were so huge. Amazing to
think such amazing creatures are swimming around our oceans.
Have just spent a couple of days of R and R in Cape Town. Some friends I
made on my Kenya/Uganda overland trip stayed on the truck and made their
way down the continent - through Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana,
Namibia and South Africa - and arrived in Cape Town on Sunday. Was really
cool to catch up with them. Nice, too, to be back in the city with a bit
more going on than little Gansbaai. Had to wake up at 4am this morning,
though, in order to make it back to work. Am knackered!
Anyway, I hope life is exciting. Will be in touch. |
| Andrew
Burge |
|
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|
Andrew Burge, feedback at the end of his placement |
| What do
you feel you gained?
Practical experience: working on a small boat, working in a small team
environment, dealing with the public/customers on a daily basis. Intrinsic
Experience: Seeing the great white shark up close which was incredible.
Beautiful, awesome creatures. Learnt lots from the WSP staff. |
| What was
the best thing about your placement?
Getting to go in the cage and see the Great White in its own
environment. It was awesome to see them appear out of nowhere and glide by
the cage, eying me up. |
| Would you
recommend this placement to anyone else?
Yes I would. For those with an interest in
sharks. |
| What type
of person do you think this placement would suit?
Hard working. Involves early starts and
physical work. Personable, good social skills – dealing with the public and
working with the small WSP team. Independent – if you are living on your
own, you need to enjoy your own company. Nights can be quiet. |
| General
Comments:
There is no public transport
between Gaansbai and Cape Town or the surrounding area so on days off it can
be difficult to travel around.
The best time to do the placement is
June - August. The sharks are the best at this time of year. You wont get
into the cage every time. Clients/tourists take priority. If there is time,
you may get in. You’re not scuba diving but just holding your breath when
you go down the cage.
Town in ten minutes bike ride/40
minutes walk. It has two big supermarkets, banks, post office, restaurants,
cafes, laundrette, internet café. The internet café charges 10R per 15
minutes. The laundrette charges R9 to wash dry and fold your clothing.
There is a shop opposite the Lodge
where you can buy bread, milk, chocolate, etc. A nearby restaurant has also
internet access for R1/minute.
WSP has three full time crew on the
boat and two skippers – Grant and Gerald – and another crew member, Mandla.
A hostess, Elzima, comes everyday to the Lodge to prepare food for the
clients to tidy the lodge, plus a maid. |
| You can hire
a car in Hermanus, a 30 minutes drive from Gaansbai. If you have time off,
it is sometimes possible to get a ride to Cape town with the minivan
transporting clients. It’s usually free with the WSP minivan. If using
another company, it is R150. |
| Typical
day: Two hours before
launch (which is usually between 8 am and 12 pm) we load the pick up truck
with everything we need o the boat (wetsuits, fuel, bait, etc.) and drive
down to the harbour (3 minutes walk) and transfer everything to the boat.
After getting the boat ready, we come back to the lodge, the skipper briefs
the clients, then we walk them to the boat to launch. On the boat I have
various duties: helping clients into wetsuits, recording data on the sharks
we see, laying anchor and bringing it up, getting the cage in and out of the
water, other help around the boat. We’re usually on the water for 4 –5
hours. After we get back to the harbour, we have to unload the boat. I
usually take turns with another crew member in washing the boat or rinsing
out wetsuits. Are usually free 1 – 1.5 hours after getting back to the
harbour. The rest of the day is yours |
NAME: Stephanie Edwards
PROJECT: White Sharks
COUNTRY: South Africa |
 |
Hi Andrew and everyone in the UK!
I'm having
an awesome time in South Africa!!!! Sorry it's taken a while to reply, I've
been very busy working hard and only just found this internet access. I'll
try and fit in as much as I can think of, but I have to be quick as I am
paying.
Well I guess
you'd like to hear about what I've been up to!
Well I
settled in very quickly at the lodge, (which is beautiful! and huuuuge!) and
started work on the boat the day after I arrived. The area is stunning,
right on the sea, lovely views of the ocean from the top windows of the
lodge. Everyone is really friendly, especially the skippers Gerald and
Grant, and the hostess Elizma, and they have really made me feel at home.
|
|
Well the 1st day was fantastic (apart from
feeling a little sea sick!). On that 1st day I just watched what the crew
did and tried to take as much in as possible. I also got to go in the cage,
which was incredible; the best thing I've ever done in my life!!! The sharks
are so beautiful, and even more impressive from under water. We also saw a
southern right whale breach right near to our boat as we were on our way
back to shore. It was absolutely stunning; I thought I was going to cry!
Haha! |
|
Most days I get up at around 5.45am and
launch is usually at 8.30am. We go out to sea and I help out with getting
the clients in/out of their wetsuits and generally help out on the boat
(with the anchor, cage, cleaning etc). We are usually back on shore by
around 12/1pm but the day can go on longer if it take a while to get sharks.
But the chum usually works very well and we get a shark within 1/2hour of
getting to our spot.
At the end
of the day I help clean the boat with a lovely guy named Mandla, who has
taught me a lot. It's very rewarding when the clients really enjoy the
sharks and the weather is good. Some days can be quite hard when we have to
battle with the rain, wind and poor water visibility (and people getting
very sea sick!). Luckily that doesn't happen too often though, the weather
is usually fantastic! |
|
I love being out at sea (now that I have my
sea legs!) and everyday is so exciting, especially when we get really
interesting sharks. I also help out with taking data, eg. noting down each
shark, what time it's seen, distinguishing marks, tags, size, sex etc, which
is really interesting. The amount I have learnt since I got here is
unbelievable! Not only more about the sharks, but also about working out at
sea, which I knew nothing about 2 weeks ago! |
|
I have to go now, as it's my 1st day off
(due to bad sea conditions) and I am hopefully going to be going out on the
whale boat in an hour or so, which I am very excited about!
Heather was so
lovely and it was great to have some company too, as the lodge is very quiet
when everyone goes home! We went out for dinner too - was great not to have
to cook! |
|
I will email again as soon as I have the
chance, maybe next week.
Hope all is well in the UK!
Lots of
Love, Steph xoxox
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