How I fell in love with the ocean

Words by: Zanele Mayiya

I grew up in a small village called Zimbane outside Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. As we all know, the Eastern Cape has beautiful beaches, but they were no more than a dream to me because there was no-one to take me there; my parents were both working in Johannesburg and my aunt was a businesswoman and didn’t have much time to spend with us. Sometimes my friends would describe the sea to me because they used to go to Durban during the school holidays, whereas I visited my grandmother on her farm. My grandmother used to say to me, ‘It’s much better to swim in the dam than to go to the beach, because we don’t belong there. When sharks see us, they see their food.’

Zanele teaches future generations about the local marine environment.

After I finished my studies, I came to Cape Town to look for a job. Luckily, I found one at the Save Our Seas Foundation’s Shark Centre in Kalk Bay, where I was taken on as a housekeeper and bookshop manager. I started to read the books because sometimes the visitors asked me questions like, ‘What is this book’s story? ’ or ‘Who’s the author?’ The first book I read was The End of the Line, which is about overfishing. It made me feel very sad, but at the same time happy because it was my introduction to a new world: the ocean. In 2009, I got the opportunity to join Alison Kock on her boat for a trip to Seal Island. It was during that trip that I fell in love with the ocean because I saw great white sharks and seals for the first time in my life. I told myself that I would like to work as an educator one day so that I can pass what I have seen on to the next generation.

Zanele speaks to a classroom of school children, nurturing ocean awareness and environmental responsibility.