The Roundhouse Guesthouse is owned by Dave & Elna Caravias. Dave (36) is British and Elna (24) is proudly South African. They have a daughter Kioni (now 3 and a bit) and a mighty dog Stavros standing at approximately 20cm tall!

How they met

Dave had just had the time of his life cage diving with the Great White Sharks and was having a meal at a local pub after the trip in December 2000. It was here that Dave met Elna and they immediately fell for each other. As a coincidence South Africa were playing England at Rugby and before parting they made a bet on the rugby for a date. Fortunately England won and Dave won the bet. He immediately sent a text message to Elna to claim his winnings but the message was rejected! Damn he thought and tried again. When it was returned for the second time he was convinced that he was a fool of the oldest trick in the book and was given the wrong number. He went back to England for Christmas and then returned to Joberg in January. The next time he was in Cape Town was February. He tried to send a message to one of his business colleagues and it was returned. It was then that he knew something was wrong as this was the correct number. Then the pin dropped and he realised that by having a UK phone number he should have put in the +27 code before the number. Doh! Fortunately he had Elna's number still saved on his phone and sent the message again. 30 seconds later a message came back! The next day he drove to Gansbaai for the date the the rest is history!

The Roundhouse

They were living in Joberg at the time and busy in their spare time booking holiday packages for people to see the Great White Sharks. They were told by Elna's father that he had a plot of land that he wanted to sell. After converting the price back to £ they realised that this was a very good deal. They bought the plot of land and then came up with the idea for the design of the house. Dave and Elna designed the house on the computer and even created the house as a 3D model before giving it to Elna's father (the builder). They got a loan authorised for the business and were fortunate enough to transfer the funds from the UK at the same time as the Rand crashed in 2002. They scored an excellent rate of 17-1 and this made it possible to create the Roundhouse. With the help of Elna's father and Dave's family everything came together and their dream came true of being their own boss. With this freedom they have gone from strength to strength.

Other Businesses

Shark Alley dive and travel centre

Shark Alley proudly presented by Lee from Blue (yes we got him to buy the cap!)

Elna owns Shark Alley dive and travel centre. The shop is situated in Gansbaai in the Gateway Centre and run by Janeen Vermeulen. They specialise in holiday packages to South Africa and especially wonderful Mozambique. The shop sells quality White Shark merchandise to the many tourists that come daily to throw themselves into a cage to meet the white sharks in Shark Alley. The shop is supported by an excellent operator White Shark Ecoventures and their clients come in daily to watch their video of the day on the surround-sound system. There are many options of clothing for sale from toy sharks to fleece tops and jackets.

Elna also owns the web site and booking service www.scubamozambique.com and if you want to take a holiday in paradise with world class diving then this is the place to go!

Sharkbookings central bookings office

The Sharkbookings central bookings office was designed by Dave to create an easy and informative way for you the client to book your dream date with a shark. The site specialises in booking people with the top operators to see white sharks in Gansbaai and Cape Town. There are currently 8 operators in Gansbaai and 3 in Cape Town and it is very difficult to find your way through all of the marketing and gloss that is out there. The idea is to create an easy to understand informative site for people to choose their preferred operator and book their experience. We do not add anything onto the price of the trip so to keep costs as low as possible. The price to see the White Sharks is expensive but this is a unique experience and there is no better place in the world to see the white sharks just off the mainland. To see the site please click on the following link: www.sharkbookings.com

Dave Caravias

Dave was born in Woking in England and lived a gifted child life as an Expatriate. His father worked for Natwest Bank and his job took the family to Saudi Arabia (2 years), Hong Kong (5 years) and Greece (3 years) before returning to the UK. Dave returned at the age of 18 to the UK after spending 8 years abroad. He worked in Natwest to start with and then the British School of Osteopathy in London. As most people are, Dave was never happy working for other people and left the career ladder at the age of 25 to go to University as a mature student. Dave's aim was to become an electrician an run his own business but ended up after college going to University. Dave completed a degree in Computer Aided Product Design at the University of Wolverhampton with a 2:1 in 2000. As were most of the students Dave was without a job and by coincidence his friend Mark Howell was starting a company with a couple of friends David Payne & Wayne Rebello called Project X Consulting. This company specialises in designing management software for corporate enterprises working closely with Computer Associates. Dave started work with them in Johannesburg and after a 3 month trial signed up with the company. It was then that Dave met elna for their date and Elna moved up to Joberg with him. After purchasing the plot of land in 2001 and also being asked to return to England Dave decided with Elna to resign from the company and build the Guesthouse business in Gansbaai. The welsh flag comes from the family being Welsh. His mother, father and oldest sister are now living in Llandovery. Lynne (his sister) also set up a Guesthouse with husband Alan. The Guesthouse and victorian tea room is a huge success. www.penygawse.co.uk Dave also has a younger sister Jane who lives in Guildford. Each year the family comes out in November to visit and stay in the cottage which is owned his parents.

Elna Caravias

Elna was born in Napier and at the age of 4 moved to Gansbaai. She was fortunate to grow up in this beautiful part of the world blessed with nature. Elna grew up and witnessed the transformation of the sleepy town of Gansbaai into the Mecca for White Shark Cage diving that it is today. She has been involved with the White Shark industry since this started in 1997. Elna has even spent time on Dyer Island amongst the Penguin colony and spent time on research boats monitoring the white shark behavior around the island. Her fondest memory was walking along the 4 metre research boat holding on to a 4.5 metre White Shark dorsal fin. Elna has a very good business mind and has a great drive for success. She and Dave are continuously working on new business ideas and developing the business further.

Kioni Caravias

Kioni was born on 11the November 2003. She is the apple of Dave & Elna's eyes! She is a little shy at first when meeting guests but it does not take long for her to start showing off and mixing with our Guests. She now is comfortable with her job role and orders us downstairs most of the time so she can be on her own to mingle and entertain our guests.

Stavros - the star of the Roundhouse Guesthouse

Stavros is arguably the best asset to the Guesthouse. He will give you an extremely hard time if you are not a guest and are just walking by but as soon as you are a guest with us he is all yours! If you like dogs then he will be yours for your stay. He has been known to walk guests don to the rocks to see the whales. He has been to both beaches in the area, rock climbed and even walked guests into Gansbaai (3KM away). One day he walked into shark alley with 2 of our German guests and he was as surprised to see us as we were to see him there! From November 2005 he developed a liking for joining the guests down at the local pub. After discovering that he could get away with going in with guests it was his favorite night spot. Of course he is a total gentleman I hear and just sits quietly under the table (supposedly waiting to receive the odd T-bone to be passed down). Not sure if he is still allowed in the pub these days as he did start a trend and they had to put a stop to every man and his dog entering. Rumors have it however that he is occasionally seen there. If you do go anywhere however do not worry about him as he will always make his way back at his own pace.

Stavros will also call for you in the morning if you have adopted him by scratching at your door if he is really fond of you. Do not think that you have escaped his attention however if you are in the cottage. He has been known to spend the odd night there with guests and does divide his attention between the Guesthouse and the cottage.

Lana Wolvhaardt - The Manager

Lana is our manager at the Guesthouse. With plenty of experience in the catering industry when she owned her own catering company you are sure to be spoilt by her with her fantastic cooking. Lana is an excellent host and really enjoys meeting guests and making them feel at home. She has now created a Menu for guests and can cook a whole host of meals under request and she is even excellent behind the Braai (BBQ)! When booking please ask for a menu and then you can pre book your meals during your stay.

Thelma - General Assistant

Thelma ensures that the Guesthouse is kept to high standards for your comfort. We are proud of her work and how well maintained the Guesthouse is kept with her help. She will ensure that your room and surroundings are kept in perfect condition during your stay.

Conrey - General Assistant

Conrey is our newest employee at the Roundhouse. She started at the Roundhouse at the start of the Christmas period and handled her role expertly by her self during this busy period. Her communication skills are excellent and she is a very hard worker. Conrey is a real asset to the Guesthouse and will ensure that your stay at the Roundhouse is a comfortable and pleasurable one.

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