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Underwater Photo Location: Capetown

Underwater Photo Location: Capetown

How Hot is this Dive Site? click a star to rate it
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.
Dive types
Liveaboarddayboatshorewreckdriftdrysuit

Marine Life
bigsmallsharkskelp

Diving facilities
airrepairshire

Photo facilities
macrowideangle

by Shane Willard
Butterfly Fish in an underwater frame!, shot with my first underwater camera, an olympus C 60.

by Tony Makin
AMPHIPOD

by Gemma Pellett
Common Name: Gas Flame Nudibranch Scientific Name: Bonisa nakaza

by Gemma Pellett
Taken from the boat late morning just off of millers point in False Bay, Cape Town.

by Jacques De Vos
Another picture of a Cape Fur seal pup I took quite some time ago (was even greener to UW photography than I am now:P ). Not quite 'competition material', but still looks pretty cool. G9 in the Canon housing with no strobe.

by Dylan Kotze
Gas Flame Nudibranch

by Tony Makin
ANEMONE ABSTRACT

by Tony Makin
Clinid on a fan

by Tony Makin
Tiny Hermit crab on sponge

by Tony Makin
Amphipod on a fan

by Tony Makin
Clinid

by Tony Makin
Marginella shell

by Tony Makin
Speckled Clinid eyes

by Tony Makin
cuttlefish eye

by Tony Makin
Clinid eye

by Tony Makin
Clinid in lacy Bryzoan

by Tony Makin
Crowned nudibranch

by Tony Makin
Composite eye of a West Coast rock lobster

by Tony Makin
Larval stage of the West coast rock lobster

by Tony Makin
Barehead Goby

by Tony Makin
Pipefish hiding in feather stars

by Tony Makin
anenome abstract

by Tony Makin
Marginella

by Tony Makin
anemone abstract

by Tony Makin
I'm having a bad hair day!

by Tony Makin
Flyng through space Box Jellyfish

by Tony Makin
Crabs eye

by Tony Makin
Puffadder shy shark eye

by Tony Makin
Silvertip nudibranch

by Tony Makin
Basket Star on A Gorgonian fan

by Tony Makin
Suprised

by Tony Makin
Gas flame nudibranch

by Tony Makin
Reclining clinid

by Tony Makin
Rock lobster portrait

by Alberto Romeo
Dampened penguins of South Africa.

by Tony Makin
Klipvis on noble coral

by Tony Makin
Basket star on Gorgonian

by Tony Makin
Super Klipvis

by Alberto Romeo
Penguins in Bulders beach near Cape Town cleaning themseves.

by Tony Makin
Crowned nudibranch

by Tony Makin
Rainbow eyes

by Tony Makin
Klipvis

by Tony Makin
Clinid

by Allen Walker
A blue shark photographed in 3 to 4m viz in Cape Town's really cold waters, but that is another story to tell :)

by Allen Walker
Most probably one of the strangest and freakiest pictures I have ever taken, fishing vessel pulling in a load of anchovies, I decided to jump in and take a photo with 10 -22mm lens on 10 mm and this was the result. Hope you like it, one of a kind.

by Allen Walker
A Blue, but with a touch of Cape Town Green :)

by Allen Walker
Last but not least: A Blue in the spot light ;)

by Allen Walker
WTF!!! What are you???

by Allen Walker
HDR taken of fishing vessel off Cape Point, same vessel I did an over under shot of.

by Anton Conradie
they are soo beautiful

by Peet Van Eeden
Bristle worm

by Peet Van Eeden
Hunchback amphipods, 5mm in diameter vividly striped in blue and yellow with blue sideplates. The body is hunched so that the head faces downwards.

by Peet Van Eeden
Orange-lined crowned nudibranch

by Peet Van Eeden
colourful klipfish

by Peet Van Eeden
Through the eye of a cuttlefish

by Peet Van Eeden
Gasflames of the gasflame nudibranch

by Peet Van Eeden
Fluorescent hard coral- excited by ultraviolet light

by Peet Van Eeden
Rock sucker

by Peet J Van Eeden
The eye of a Magician- Cutlefish with its changing colours

by Peet J Van Eeden
Fallen angel. Drowned moth in a water lily pond

by Peet J Van Eeden
A close encounter with a Cape cold water crayfish

by Michael Maclean
Shark Bait I took this photo when I was in Cape Town/South Africa. I hope you like this photo of a Great White Shark.

by Peet J Van Eeden
Sea anemone at the Aster wreck, Hout bay

by Phil Wills
Blue shark taken off Cape point, South Africa, May 2014 in freeezing cold water.

by Phil Wills
Blue shark and diver off Cape Point, South Africa.

by Peet J Van Eeden
Stairway to heaven

by Peet J Van Eeden
The Cave of Vulcan Rock

by Peet J Van Eeden
Shades of pink in a noble cold water coral

by Peet J Van Eeden
Candy stripes

by Peet J Van Eeden
Sandy anemones

by Geo Cloete
~ Butterflies ~ Diving in a kelp forest do feel as if you are in forest with one major benefit, you can glide to where ever you would like to go. It makes the forest experience even more surreal and one of my favourite places to dive!

by Geo Cloete
~ Crystal Chandelier ~ From time to time these Crystal Jellyfish gets swept inshore from the deep pelagic waters by up-welling. Its a long and harsh journey and finding a beautiful in-tacked jelly at the end of it is a rare find.

by Geo Cloete
~ Eye Spy ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Cross Roads ~ Spotted Gulley Shark at cave entrance. Of the inshore sharks found in our waters, these are the most skittish and a real treat to find one on a dive.

by Geo Cloete
~ Glowing Ember ~ The local know for these beauties are Gas Flame nudibranch and its not difficult to see why.

by Geo Cloete
~ Star Spangled Banner ~ Although photographed in South Africa. the combination of colours and shapes in this photo have always made me think of the USA flag.

by Geo Cloete
~ Dreamlike ~ These Dusky dolphins are generally rather shy, but once in a while you will get a few curious ones who would make your day and spend some time with you. Love Them!

by Geo Cloete
~ Solar Eclipse ~ A rarity for land lovers, but for divers something we get to see on a regular basis :)

by Geo Cloete
~ Follow Us ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Puple Lady ~ The common name for this nudibranch in Cape Town is Purple Lady. I wanted to created a scene with the "lady" walking down a street lit boulevard at night and used the bokeh and the colours of the reef for this.

by Geo Cloete
~ Burning Issue ~ A stark reminder of the constant thread our oceans are under, be it from pollution, over fishing or poaching. Most of these happens out of sight and for most that means out of mind. We as photographers can change that!

by Geo Cloete
~ So Close yet So Far ~ Dreams...dreams do can come true, but it requires hard work. And then when your dream does come true, you will enjoy that wonderful feeling of living in a dream.

by Geo Cloete
~ For the Architect in me ~ One of the challenges I love about wildlife photography is the fact that you can't simply ask your models to pose like this or like. But with enough studying & perfect timing you can capture moments which seems so.

by Geo Cloete
~ Dream Like ~ And a dream come true, being up close with a pod of five Orcas first thing in the morning.

by Geo Cloete
~ Octo Tango ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Pure ~ The ocean is filled with amazing creatures. One of the things that fascinates me the most is the shear magnitude this spans. From the largest animal on the planet down to super macro. (The tube part measures just over 1mm.)

by Geo Cloete
~ Just a Rock Lobster ~ Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but it sure as daylight is all around us. Often all that is required, is to slow down and take another look at something we take for grant.

by Geo Cloete
~ Silent ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Liquid Force ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Under the African Sun ~ In celebration of #earthday My interpretation of our #blue #planet from outer space with the #sun rising in the #east

by Geo Cloete
~ Positive and Negative Space ~

by Geo Cloete
~ A Closer Look ~ The rhinophores of either the Janolus capensis or Janolus longidentatus. I say either as its impossible to tell these two apart unless you seen laying their egg mass.

by Geo Cloete
~ Mako Monday ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Kiss Me ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Promises ~ With winter fast approaching Cape Town, diving will be moving from the Atlantic side to False Bay. With our first taste of what the winter might hold this past Sunday, it should come as no surprise that we welcome winter with open arms.

by Geo Cloete
~ Welcome to My Fortress ~ Spotted gully shark at home in its wall to wall padded hide-out.

by Geo Cloete
~ Tugged In ~

by Cangemi Paul
Cape fur Seal, Hout Bay, South Africa

by Geo Cloete
~ Rainbow Reef ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Come with Me ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Look at Me ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Out and About ~ Normally Pajama shark prefer terrain which gives them more cover than this sandy open stretch. Maybe this one was planning what it will be getting up to during the night ahead.

by Geo Cloete
~ The Grass isn’t Always Greener ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Snow Flakes ~ After the South Easter has been pumping for a few days in Cape Town, the Atlantic waters drops a good few degrees and you start to wonder if you are in water or ice.

by Geo Cloete
~ Ocean Heart ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Sunshine Reggae ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Angels ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Escaping the Storm ~

by Geo Cloete
~ For the Love of Orange ~ Its no mystery that the underwater world is a treasure cove filled with colour kaleidoscopes not found elsewhere on Earth. Here looking at a close-up of an anemone.

by Geo Cloete
~ Feed Me! ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Set Me Free ~ Your actions can either capture others or it can set them free...which will it be>

by Geo Cloete
~ Surfs Up ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Climb the Ladder ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Japanese Garden ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Solar Powered ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Little Gems ~ Although not so rare, these Chinese Klipfish is not often spotted thanks to their excellent camouflage. This juvenile was luckily spotted on this singularly coloured sea fan.

by Geo Cloete
~ Nudi Dreaming ~ Aiming to create a watercolour dream like feel in this photo. Effect created at time of capture.

by Geo Cloete
~ Unexpected ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Starry Night ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Waking Up ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Delicate Beauty ~ I wonder how many people, seeing one of these for the first time, would guess it to be a worm...the ocean is truly another world!

by Geo Cloete
~ Glitter & Gold ~

by Geo Cloete
~ What Happened Next ~ He became my dive buddy for the full duration of my dive. Playing games and entertaining one another. Two happy souls at the end of the dive I would like to believe...I know I was!

by Geo Cloete
~ Mysterious ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Look at Me ~ Recently started a portfolio, Eyes, while competing in a shoot-out and decided to expand this portfolio with creatures from my home waters.

by Geo Cloete
~ Hey Whats Up There? ~

by Geo Cloete
~ On Edge ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Slowly but Surely ~ We benefits of marine reserves around Cape Town can be seen. Some kids of fishing is still allowed within these parks, which is not ideal, but great to see a return in fish numbers.

by Geo Cloete
~ The Stage is Set ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Little Green Monster ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Breath ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Little Flame ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Following My Shadow ~

by Raoul Caprez
Under the palm trees

by Geo Cloete
~ Bad Hair Day ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Silence ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Looking Down the Barrel ~ Dimension from left to right represents 7mm

by Geo Cloete
~ Switched On ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Tubular Bells ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Colourful Alien ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Digging In ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Electric Blue ~ In celebration and support of Earth hour. The Milky Way and a bio-luminescent ocean...what more light do you need for a perfect evening.

by Geo Cloete
~ Heading Back Home ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Under the Radar ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Play Ground ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Duel Worlds ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Going to Town ~

by Geo Cloete
~ The Search ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Strawberries and Cream ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Emerald Forest ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Front Line ~ A Smack of Box Jellyfish amass against a school of fish.

by Geo Cloete
~ Eat as much as you can buffet ~ A Crystal Jellyfish seemingly trying to prey on as many Moon Jellyfish as what it can find. It has four trapped.

by Geo Cloete
~ The Escape ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Purity ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Protecting the Little Ones ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Rainbow Nation ~ The reefs in Cape Town is teaming with life and richly decorated in all colours of the rainbow. Fitting for the Rainbow Nation

by Geo Cloete
~ Starry Eyed ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Twin Crowned ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Gelato ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Golden Eye ~ A very rare find and fascinating looking fish. The Oxeye dory normally lives in deep offshore waters, but this one got swept inshore by strong currents caused by up-welling.

by Geo Cloete
~ House of Flying Daggers ~ This setting reminded me on the bamboo forest fighting fighting scene from the above movie.

by Geo Cloete
~ As Happy as Can Be! ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Crystal Clear Chaos ~

by Geo Cloete
~ A Love for Rust ~ Exploring the Port Midships section of the SAS Pietermaritzburg. Stepping back into history and paying respects. #D-Day #WWII #Normandy #SAS_Pietermaritzburg

by Geo Cloete
~ Just a Pajama Shark ~ And a lively colourful reef.

by Geo Cloete
~ Snuggle Up ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Navigating the Maze ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Swimming Up the One Way ~ One of the anchors at Whittle Rock. Its believed that it belonged to the East Indiaman ship the Euphrates, which struck the pinnacle in 1810. On record its the only ship to have sunk at Whittle Rock.

by Geo Cloete
~ All Roads Leads to Rome ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Welcome Home ~ As if arriving at the entrance to this reef, it instantly made me feel at home and invited to explore it further.

by Geo Cloete
~ Pushing the Limits ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Burning Flame ~ Close up of the Gasflame nudibranch's cerata.

by Geo Cloete
~ Three Suckers ~

by Geo Cloete
~ The Treasure Below the Forest ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Silent Flight ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Keeping an Eye on The Food ~

by Geo Cloete
~ From The Other-side ~ A Cape Fur Seal enjoying the view through Snell's Window

by Geo Cloete
~ Lets Sail Away ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Electric ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Winter Bliss ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Strawberry Fields ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Easy Meal ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Last Glowing Ember ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Blink and You Miss It! ~

by Geo Cloete
~ I am Going to Get You ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Scuba Daddy ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Curly Sue ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Desert Rose ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Soft Embrace ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Desert Rose ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Feeling a Little Blue ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Uber Cuteness ~ This was the cutest thing I have seen in person for a while. It was a bady octopus in a white mussel shell. Every now and again it would open the shell with its tiny arms and peak out.

by Geo Cloete
~ Reflection ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Warp Speed ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Gaudi ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Hope Spot ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Waiting in Line ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Eye Contact ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Butterfly ~

by Geo Cloete
~ The Twirl ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Trust ~ Sharing a special moment with a Cape Fur Seal inside a colourful swim-through

by Geo Cloete
~ Orange Mountain ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Under the Spotlight ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Love Bite ~

by Peet J Van Eeden
Into the Blue. A blue shark in deep blue water 30 sea miles from Cape Point, South Africa

by Geo Cloete
~ A Wintry Summers Day ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Green Jewel ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Tentacle Tornado ~

by Geo Cloete
~ A Night Before Christmas ~

by Geo Cloete
~ The Art of Camouflage ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Chandelier ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Come with Me ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Shade of Orange ~

by Peet J Van Eeden
The last glow of the Year. Snooting a Gasflame nudibranch

by Geo Cloete
~ Death Grip ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Some You Win Some You Loose ~ A very rare moment, capturing a Pajama shark predating on a Puff Adder shy shark it caught.

by Geo Cloete
~ Off to Hunt ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Midday Snack ~ Dark Shy shark predating on a snail it has dug up.

by Geo Cloete
~ Whiplash ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Starry Night ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Solar Power ~

by Peet J Van Eeden
Strawberry Farm

by Geo Cloete
~ The Meeting ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Crystal Clear ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Intimacy ~ One Box Jellyfish inside the bell of another. This is the first time this behaviour has been recorded for this species.

by Geo Cloete
~ Strawberry Splash ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Lava Lamp ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Fire Works ~

by Geo Cloete
~ The Border ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Mother to Be ~ Pregnant Seven-gill shark.

by Geo Cloete
~ Something Fishy ~

by Geo Cloete
~ One o'Clock ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Center Line ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Borrowing In ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Exhale ~

by Peet J Van Eeden
Rumbling Waves

by Geo Cloete
~ High Five ~

by Peet J Van Eeden
A rising star- sandy sea anemone

by Peet J Van Eeden
Solo Flight

by Allen Walker
"Scud Man"

by Allen Walker
"Timeless" is an image of Dusky dolphins taken of Cape Point on our way to the deep, it is pretty rare for them to hand around divers so this was an awesome opportunity to jump in and it paid off.

by Geo Cloete
~ Blowing Bubbles ~

by Collen Burrows
Nudi in the foliage

by Geo Cloete
~ Face Off ~

by Geo Cloete
~ I Know What You Did Last Summer ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Needle Cushion ~

by Geo Cloete
~ I have seen the future and its orange. ~ A Pink Lady whelk, the largest whelk in the region, laying eggs.

by Geo Cloete
~ The Cove ~

by Geo Cloete
~ SEAL ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Solis as a Rock ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Tin Roof ~

by Geo Cloete
~ In the Blink of an Eye ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Treasure Cove ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Ocean Eye ~

by Geo Cloete
~ All My Children ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Rainbow Nation ~

by Geo Cloete
~ By Candle Light ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Itchy Eye ~

by Allen Walker
"Bark" You think sharks are dangerous!!!!...try Cape Fur Seals....

by Michal Stros
Relaxed Cape Fur Seal

by Peet J Van Eeden
A friendly Blenny in its home

by Geo Cloete
~ HandBrake ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Yellow Stone ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Forest Porthole ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Lets Go ~

by Peet J Van Eeden
Red Fanworm with one its 2 colorful spirals (Protula bispiralis)

by Peet J Van Eeden
Rising Sun. The beauty of the Plum Anemone (Actinia mandelae) Occurs on both sides of the Cape Peninsula

by Geo Cloete
~ Psychedelic ~

by Yuping Chen
Cold World// Camp Town, South Africa,Canon 5D MarkIII, 8-15mm fisheye lens.

by Geo Cloete
~ Metallic ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Cascading ~

by Geo Cloete
~ Showered ~

by Allen Walker
"Wave Riders" Young seals playing inside the crest of a large swell breaking over the side of underwater ledge near seal island.

by Peet J Van Eeden
Fluorescent image The Giant Turban

by Kate Jonker
Rarity Tiny smooth skin scorpion fish (3cm long) in Simon's Town. Very seldom seen.

by Peet J Van Eeden
The cold blue eyes of a sumo crab. An armoured warrior of the reef

by Peet J Van Eeden
The brilliant colors of a feather duster worm

by Peet J Van Eeden
Gannet coming in for landing at Bird Island Nature reserve at Lambert's bay

by Peet J Van Eeden
West Coast Rock Lobster

by Peet J Van Eeden
Red Fan worm fully deployed

by Peet J Van Eeden
Underwater Rainbow

by Pieter Firlefyn
copper shark
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