With over 3,000 kilometres of coastline, South Africa boasts an underwater landscape that is just as stunning as its famous topside attractions. The types of diving one can do here are wild – from tropical reefs in Sodwana Bay, to diving with sharks in Gansbaai, to Port St John’s for the region’s world-famous Sardine Run!
The Sardine Run is one of the main draws for divers travelling to South Africa
With one of the southernmost coral reef structures in the world, the waters off South Africa’s eastern coast harbour an enormous biodiversity of fish and invertebrates.
CAPE TOWN
The dive sites of Cape Town are divided between the west coast and those on the other side of the peninsula in False Bay. Dive sites on the west coast are typically colder with better visibility, while those around the False Bay side are warmer and more protected in the winter. Here are some of the best dive sites Cape Town has to offer.
Pyramid Rock, False Bay
Cape Town’s famous kelp forest presents some spectacular underwater scenery with sunlight filtering through the towering strands of kelp. This is the best place to come face to face with the prehistoric broadnose sevengill shark. These animals can grow to over two metres and naturally congregate in the channel between Pyramid Rock and the shore. Other smaller shark species like the spotted gully shark and several species of cat shark can be found here as well.
Partridge Point, False Bay
There is a reason the great white sharks are found here – tasty Cape fur seals! The seals are playful and inquisitive, used to divers and very happy to perform for them. The site has interesting topography, with small boulders and swim-throughs covered with cold-water corals and sea fans.
Occurring naturally on islands around the southern African coast, Cape fur seals are found nowhere else on Earth
Duiker Island
This is another popular hangout for Cape fur seals on the island’s granite boulders. The water at Duiker Island is often clearer than in False Bay due to upwelling from the Atlantic depths. For this reason, underwater photographers often choose Duiker Island over Partridge Point. This is, however, a tricky dive on days with a lot of swell. The surrounding reef is also not as picturesque, so seal encounters should be your primary goal.
Batsata Rock, False Bay
Cape Town may be known for its numerous shore diving opportunities, but it’s worth paying a little extra to get out on a boat. This is one of the most popular boat dives for all experience levels, since the rock itself comes within about six metres of the surface, and advanced divers can descend to a maximum depth of around 30 metres. The combination of dense hard and soft coral cover, a diverse topography with plenty of pinnacles and gullies creates the perfect habitat for a wealth of marine life. Look out for schools of yellowtail kingfish and giant short-tail stingrays that can grow to over two metres in diameter!
SAS Pietermaritzburg, False Bay
She started life as HMS Pelorus, a British Navy minesweeper that saw active service in WWII – including during the Normandy landings. After the war she was sold to the South African Navy, where she was renamed SAS Pietermaritzburg and used as a training ship. In 1994, she was intentionally sunk to create an artificial reef off Miller’s Point. Today, she lies at a maximum depth of about 25 metres and is still in good condition despite some of her superstructure starting to collapse. A dive around the exterior of the wreck is rewarding for its abundant marine life as well as its interesting history.
Smitswinkel Bay, False Bay
In the 1970s the South African Navy purposefully sunk five, decommissioned ships in nearby Smitswinkel Bay to serve as an artificial reef. These are the wrecks of two, upright Navy frigates SAS Good Hope and SAS Transvaal, the fishing trawlers Princess Elizabeth and Oratava, and the diamond dredger, Rockeater. Because they are so close together, it is possible to tour all five in a single dive known as the Smitswinkel Swim! The wrecks now support plenty of resident corals and fish life.
A broadnose sevengill shark off the Western Cape
Vulcan Rock, Hout Bay
This pinnacle is situated some 20 minutes by boat from Hout Bay harbour. Its location is on the Atlantic coast and further from shore than many of the False Bay sites. This means that visibility is often very good in the summer. The marine life is excellent too, with schooling game fish and other pelagics attracted by the plentiful reef fish and corals that typically define underwater pinnacles. For an added bonus, Cape fur seals often make an appearance at Vulcan Rock.
Justin’s Caves
This shore dive site is shallow but its primary appeal is its interesting topography, created by boulders stacked on top of one another to create a series of coral-rich caverns, overhangs, tunnels, and swim-throughs, providing great hiding places for critters like crayfish, nudibranchs, catsharks and reef fish.
Pelagic Shark Dives
Only for adrenaline junkies, a bait system is used to attract oceanic shark species like the most commonly seen blue shark, or if you’re very lucky, a shortfin mako, the fastest shark in the ocean. In addition, divers will also see a wealth of other marine life, ranging from pelagic seabirds and game fish like tuna and dorado, to humpback and southern right whales.
Images courtesy of Pier Nirandara
