| Life List #723-727 |
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Page 1 of 3 Go cage-diving with great whites in Cape Town, South Africa 
©iStockphoto.com/cbabbitt
Access Though Delta Air Lines recently announced “direct flights” from New York's JFK Airport to Cape Town, a change of planes in Dakar, Senegal, is almost certain. From $1,438 round-trip; delta.com If you’re flying from the West Coast, United offers flights to Cape Town through London’s Heathrow Airport and through Frankfurt, Germany. From $2,438 round-trip; united.com Though most of the Gansbaai shark-diving companies offer transportation to the area for a fee, renting a vehicle will always give you more flexibility, and parking in or near Gansbaai should pose no problems. Several major car rental agencies, including Budget, Avis, and Alamo, have facilities in Cape Town Airport. About $90 per day for a full-size vehicle Dive Shark Diving Unlimited works with professional film crews and helps research missions in addition to offering cage-diving opportunities for novices. A day with the sharks costs $135, which includes breakfast and lunch (yours, not theirs). Afterwards, you can buy a DVD documenting the trip (produced by the company’s onboard videographer). The likelihood of seeing a shark is high, but because the animals are unpredictable, the company offers complimentary trips if no sharks are feeling curious while you’re out there. sharkdivingunlimited.com Stay About a mile and a half from Gansbaai, in De Kelders, is the Crayfish Lodge Sea & Country Guest House, a small luxury accommodation with panoramic ocean views, whale-watching opportunities, and miles of secluded coast. Travelers looking for a romantic getaway or just wanting to relax in the lodge’s pool overlooking the ocean will appreciate the obvious lack of children (the lodge doesn’t accept guests younger than 16). Suites from $165 per night; crayfishlodge.co.za Sustenance The Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, about five miles from Gansbaai, is home to a lodge restaurant. The fixed menu rotates nightly, generally offering at least one dish featuring local seafood, as well as eclectic selections ranging from smoked duck with falafel and orange salad to vegetable-and-butternut curry. Currently heavy in local wines, such as Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2005 pinot noir, the wine list will soon exclusively feature local wines produced by growers participating in the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative. The project aims to produce wines sustainably while protecting the biologically rich area of South Africa known as the Cape Floral region. grootbos.com 724 
Photo by James Schnepf
John Dane III’s first Olympic sailing bid was so long ago Lyndon Johnson was in office. That year, Dane, a New Orleans native, finished second to the team that went on to win gold. “Coming that close in the 1968 Trials whetted my appetite,” he says. Dane, now the CEO of luxury-yacht manufacturer Trinity Yachts, continued grasping—and coming up short—for 40 years. Finally, after qualifying in the men’s Star class last October by mere seconds, he will set sail this month in Qingdao, China, at 58, as the oldest of all 600 competitors to represent the U.S. at the Beijing Games. Perhaps gold things come to those who wait. |
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