 | | South African flag |
  Dive Operators - South Africa |  South Africa has a total land surface area of 1219912 Sq Km (471011 Sq miles)
South Africa is part of Africa- The currency used in South Africa is Rand
- The language of South Africa is Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
- The capital of South Africa is Pretoria
- The time in South Africa is 00:46
- The coastline of South Africa is 2798 kilometres (1735 miles)
The climate in South Africa is mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights | |
|
South Africa Underwater Photo Sites (8)
awsome,be sure to pick your tour operator carfully,as some run extreme cattle boats!may is the best time of year to go,white sharks are at their most abundance.
| | Facts about shark ally,by dyer island |
|
| Dive types |  |
| Marine Life |  |
|
| Dive types | |
| Marine Life |   |
| Diving facilities |  |
| Photo facilities |  |
|
A truly remarkable dive site. Great for beginners as it is an easy drop-off from a flat rock into about 2 meters of water. A sheltered entry also exists amongst the huge rocks. A very nice swimthrough and also a huge rock to the right offers a huge wall to explore with some amazing nudibranchs and an abundance of fish.
| Facts about A-Frame It is in South Africa- A-Frame is in the Atlantic (South).
- The typical depth is 0-10 Metres 0-30 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.
|
|
| Dive types |   |
| Photo facilities |  |
|
Where you can watch sharks breaching naturally as they prey on young seals in the first light of day and then induce breaching by towing a cutout of a seal. Later you can view the sharks from a cage
| | Facts about Seal Island, False Bay |
|
Very nice divesite, with some other good sites within spitting distance. Unfortunately viz can become an issue at times. Pinnacle rises to about 5m with max being just over 17m
| Facts about Bell Bouy, Port Elizabeth- It is in South Africa
- Bell Bouy, Port Elizabeth is in the Indian Ocean.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.
|
|
| Dive types | |
| Diving facilities |  |
| Photo facilities | |
|
Beautiful wildside reef. can be a bit surgey, but a really nice variety of marine life.
| | Facts about Avalanche Reef, Port Elizabeth |
|
| Dive types | |
| Photo facilities | |
|
Very cool dive site... need a 4x4 thou trust me.
| |
small fairly flat reef that attracts a lot of gamefish
| Facts about Elusive Reef, Rocktail Bay- It is in South Africa
- Elusive Reef, Rocktail Bay is in the Indian Ocean.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
|
|
A Beautiful dive, around the wildside of Port Elizabth, Easiest Launch from Noordhoek ski boat club.
| Facts about Scotsman's Reef, Port Elizabeth- It is in South Africa
- Scotsman's Reef, Port Elizabeth is in the Indian Ocean.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.
|
|
| Dive types | |
| Photo facilities | |
|
Best known tropical dive site in South Africa with a great variety of fish and coral life
| | Facts about 2 Mile reef Sodwana |
|
| Dive types | |
|
Beautiful dive site on the wild side in Port Elizabeth. Average deapth +-21m. Being on the wild side the water is generally 1-3 degrees colder than in the bay. Beautiful colours and a large variety of animal species from Nudibranches to game fish.
| Facts about Port Elizabeth- It is in South Africa
- Port Elizabeth is in the Indian Ocean.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.
|
|
| Dive types | |
| Diving facilities | |
| Photo facilities | |
|
an incredible fresh water spring in the middle of a farm..... clean water surrounded by many lilies.......like a fairy grotto
| Facts about Marico Oog- It is in South Africa
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
|
|
| Dive types |  |
| Marine Life | |
|
Beautiful Reef on the wildside off Port Elizabeth. Many variaties of Soft and hard corals. Lots of nudibranches and other interesting smaller animals. The reef is also frequented but a few varieties of Gamefish. During the summer months sightings of Sharks is not uncommon.
| Facts about Gasmic Reef- It is in South Africa
- Gasmic Reef is in the Indian Ocean.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.
|
|
| Dive types | |
|
Awesome shark (and ray) viewing, with 7 species of shark seen regularly, and several other occasional visitors. Water temperature 19-25C, visability usually ~15m, but can be as high as 30m or as low as 5m. See click here for more details.
| Facts about Shellty Beach, KZN- It is in South Africa
- Shellty Beach, KZN is in the Indian Ocean.
- The typical depth is 0-40 Metres 0-130 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
|
|
| Photo facilities | |
|
One of the most relaxed and wonderfull places to dive in South Africa
| Facts about Aliwal Shoal- It is in South Africa
- The typical depth is 0-50 Metres 0-160 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
|
|
Best of both worlds... underwater and land safaris on the same trip! Great visibilty, very little surge. lovely dive!
| Facts about Sodwana Bay- It is in South Africa
- Sodwana Bay is in the Indian Ocean.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
|
|
- Sodwana: The world’s southernmost coral reef is a system of parallel reefs and home to over 1,200 species of tropical fish, and is unique in that soft corals predominate over hard corals. With no major rivers flowing into the sea it benefits from near perfect visibility and diving midweek when the locals are hard at work, you’d be forgiven for thinking you had the reefs to yourself!
- Two Mile Reef: The excellent light penetration and shallow depth have created a beautiful underwater garden with a magnificent range of coral and invertebrate life. Anton’s Reef is a favourite site with dense schools of tropical fish and coral heads and overhangs forming interesting topography.
- Five Mile Reef: Five mile is an extremely delicate, large flat reef hosting an astounding variety of fine coral which is remarkably intact. The multitudes of colourful tropical fish that swarm over the reef and around divers create the sensation of diving in an endless aquarium.
- Seven Mile Reef: This wonderful little reef is popular because of its great diversity of tropical marine life, the drop-offs and mushroom shaped pinnacles. The larger specimens found here include Turtles and Rays, and there are regular sightings of bottle-nosed dolphins. The coral formations are delicate and in good condition.
- Nine Mile Reef: The dramatic scenery of Nine Mile offers drop-offs, pinnacles and big coral trees. Due to the distance from the launch site, this reef is not dived as often as the more accessible ones and is in excellent condition. The marine life is diverse and includes most of the tropical fauna typical of the region as well as big schools of passing game fish.
| Facts about Two mile reefs- It is in South Africa
- Two mile reefs is in the Indian Ocean.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 0-3 Metres 0-10 Feet.
|
|
| Dive types |  |
| Diving facilities |  |
|
Aliwal Shoal: This immensely popular dive destination is an extensive, submerged reef located approximately 5 kms offshore. One of the main attractions of Aliwal Shoal are the large number of ragged tooth sharks that congregate to await the spring mating ritual. In addition large numbers of shoaling fish may be seen here, as well as a variety of small and colourful tropical fish. There are a number of popular dive sites on the shoal, as well as two wrecks: the Nebo (1884) and the Produce (1974).
Landers Reef: The beautiful Landers Reef is actually an extension of the Aliwal Shoal, about 2 kms south-west of the shoal and about 5 kms offshore. The reef enjoys good visibility and is often more spectacular than the main reef as it is often visited by large pelagics.
Protea Banks: A top shark dive site, visited by hammerheads, zambezi’s, tiger, dusky and great white sharks. During the winter and spring months shoals of ragged tooth sharks are found on the reef. A demanding dive for the more experienced divers!
Sodwana: The world’s southernmost coral reef is a system of parallel reefs and home to over 1,200 species of tropical fish, and is unique in that soft corals predominate over hard corals. With no major rivers flowing into the sea it benefits from near perfect visibility and diving midweek when the locals are hard at work, you’d be forgiven for thinking you had the reefs to yourself!
| Facts about Protea Banks- It is in South Africa
- Protea Banks is in the Atlantic (South).
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 0-3 Metres 0-10 Feet.
|
|
| Diving facilities | |
| Photo facilities | |
|
There is interesting diving around Cape Town. The Atlantic side is cold, but features kelp beds, seals, penguins, whales (seasonally) and sharks (including relatively large numbers of great whites). The currents can be challenging, and visibility is not always the greatest. The further east you go, the more tropical it gets, with a fairly abrupt transition between cold water (currents originating in the Antarctic) and warm (currents flowing south down the African coast) just east of Cape Town. Big fish are the story pretty much everywhere, especially sharks.
Cape Town is gorgeous, cosmopolitan, surrounded by great vineyards, and relatively peaceful compared to the crime and general mayhem in Jo'burg and Durban. Durban is the other big city on the coast, and is in an Indian Ocean ecological zone. The political situation around Durban is dicey, however, and has not yet fully settled down after the transition to majority rule. The coast east of Cape Town is beautiful and there are a number of smaller cities and large towns where a diver could be happy. Most feature good small craft harbours, although, to the best of my knowledge, diving facilites are mostly restricted to larger centres. Others may have more detailed (and recent) information.
I dived with an outfit in Simonstown, just outside Cape Town.
We did the Rockeater a wreck at 35m we were buzzed by seals on the safety stop.
The water is cold 8-10C so a thick wetsuit or drysuit is needed.
A drive up to Platenburg bay is worth it the water warms up rapidly. You can also dive the shark cage in the aquarium and the kelp forest tank there as well.
| Facts about Capetown- It is in South Africa
- Capetown is in the Atlantic (South).
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 0-3 Metres 0-10 Feet.
|
|
| Photo facilities | |
|
|
|