What a winter! World Cup Soccer fever hit Kleinbaai with a vengeance and we hosted a record number of trips. Brazilian, Mexican, Dutch and many other overseas visitors joined us for unforgettable encounters with great white sharks. Our wonderful sharks performed beautifully for their World Cup crowd.
Thank you to all our visitors who gave us a fun and cosmopolitan winter – and a special thank you to our Mexican visitors who treated us to tastings of real Mexican tequila after a great day at sea!
Our spring sightings are well under way. The water has warmed up earlier this year and we're already looking forward to greeting our many summer visitors – not least the southern right whales. Come and see these magnificient creatures as they bask in our waters from September to January. They come close inshore to calve and mate. We view these marine wonders with awe and respect.
And the winner is...
Our White Shark Projects photo competition has closed and excited entrants are awaiting the announcement of the winner on 14 September. Who caught the definitive white shark shot? Or maybe it was a moment captured on the faces of friends or family that caught the judges' eye. Our winner will join us for a wonderful 21-day volunteer programme. We can't wait to welcome you aboard.
Our conservation work goes international
We have always been serious about the contribution we make to local data bases on the sightings and movements of white sharks in our waters. Thanks to Michael Scholl, we now are also submitting our information to the International White Shark PhotoID Project. A team of scientists led by a British university are building a computer system aimed at identifying every great white shark in the world's oceans. The scheme involves the equivalent of fingerprinting the animals, storing images of their unique dorsal fins on a database.
This is a wonderful development in shark conservation efforts. When researchers can source data on a global scale, they can really start to understand the habits and conservation needs of these threatened creatures.
It's a particularly exciting time, therefore, for our new marine biologist to be joining us. David Arnott is all set to continue our valuable work in data gathering and collating. Welcome on board, David. We look forward to fascinating and fun times with you.
Community update
On Tuesdays, the White Shark Projects recycling Swop Shop encourages children from our local, often impoverished, community to swop recyclables for basic school supplies, as an added bonus, they also get a bowl of steaming soup. A particularly cold winter has meant a long line at the soup kitchen. Somehow volunteer Nellie Moolman and her right hand Veronica Msopi have managed to keep up with demand. 'We've served about 160 bowls of soup every Tuesday,' laughs Nellie. It seems her bean soup is in demand! Thank you for the love you show these children, Nellie and Veronica.
Don't forget, if you live nearby, the Swop Shop is always in need of school supplies and basics to encourage our young recyclers.
A Little Shoppe with a big mission
We've opened a branch of The Little Shoppe in Kleinbaai! This is an exciting extension of our efforts to promote sustainable tourism in our area. Set in the harbour, the shop sells only locally produced products and is a vibrant place for clients and artists to come together. Everything is handmade and everything has a story to tell - either that of the artist or the materials used. We hope that sales to tourists will develop into larger orders or exporting opportunities. Artists are from disadvantaged communities of the Overstrand and own their own products. The Little Shoppe is in a Closed Corporation with a 67% black ownership and with the dynamic Alda du Plooy leading the project.
Come and see our wares!
I'll be signing off now. It's a clear and sunny morning in the Overberg. Just perfect for sharks!
Very best wishes
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