More than sharks – Diving in South Africa

Traditional perceptions of South African holidays conjure up images of vast open plains, roaring lions and beautiful game lodges, the names of regions such as the Kruger National Park immediately coming to mind.

What is less well known is the incredible diversity of diving on offer to visitors of all experience levels. From the cooler waters around the Western Cape, to the tropical waters around Sodwana Bay, near the Mozambique border. Without a doubt, South Africa offers some of the best diving in all of Africa, and at sites like Protea Banks, Aliwal Shoals and Sodwana Bay, arguably some of the best in the world.

The nature of diving off the coast of South Africa tends to be dictated by its unique geographic location at the southern tip of Africa, the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The area around Cape Town and the Western Cape tends to offer cooler water diving, generally with lower visibility. While further up the coast towards KwaZulu Natal, an increase in water temperature and visibility tends to offer diving more in keeping with more tropical locales.

It is understandable that the wide variation in water temperature has resulted in a variety of different marine life inhabiting the coast of South Africa, from the notorious great white sharks found around the Gansbaai and Cape Town areas, to dolphins and manta rays. from the tropical bay of Sodwana.

Diving in South Africa tends to be efficiently concentrated in two main regions, the Western Cape and the Garden Route, and the almost legendary sites at Sodwana Bay, Aliwal Shoals and Protea Banks which lie further north within KwaZulu Natal. While there is a great diversity of diving on offer in South Africa, it would be safe to say that the level of diving here is consistently high, with every site having something to offer to most divers.

Located within the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park, Sodwana Bay is possibly the choice of fantastic dive sites in South Africa. Its warm, clear waters, impressive reefs, and rich variety of corals simply act as a veneer to the rich rewards found within these beautiful waters. Huge bass, moray eels and manta rays are regular inhabitants of places like Nine Mile Reef, Three Mile Reef and Antons.

Despite this rich variety of coral and marine life in the waters of Sodwana Bay, it is the opportunities to dive with the large populations of sharks, and particularly jagged tooth sharks, that people visit in the region. Here in Sodwana Bay, as well as the Protea Banks and Aliwal Shoals, are some of the best shark diving in the world. Along with Ragged Tooth Sharks, large populations of bull sharks, thresher sharks, and hammerhead sharks regularly inhabit the waters off the coast of KwaZulu Natal.

Diving in South Africa is available year-round, although most visitors to the region tend to visit during the summer months, from late November through February. Water temperatures vary greatly by location, with the Atlantic Ocean cooling the waters of the Western Cape to around 10 to 14 degrees Celsius, while the more tropical waters around Sodwana Bay tend to average around 20 at 21 degrees.

Throughout South Africa, a large number of dive operators offer a variety of diving courses at all the major accreditation agencies and, in general, the standard of the dive operator tends to be relatively high. Good local knowledge, well-maintained equipment and boats tend to be the norm in a region looking to attract an increasing number of divers to its waters. In general, South Africa offers a wide range of unique diving experiences and has something to offer divers of all backgrounds. With South Africa becoming increasingly aware of its rich heritage of wildlife, on land and in the water, it bodes well for future visitors to this beautiful country.