DIVING IN KWAZULU NATAL

The KwaZulu Natal Province offers a unique change to combine ‘Big-5’ landbased safaris and big marine encounters in the Indian Ocean as well as the most southern coral reefs on the African Continent.

During the ‘Raggie’ (rag tooth shark) season, sharks follow the annual migration of the sardines moving into a shoal in there hundreds. To avoid strong currents, the shoals move close to the coast. These sardines come to the warmer coastal waters essentially to copulate. Although the ‘raggies’ are one of the fiercest looking sharks, they are unusually calm and accommodating posing for the scuba diver photographer. Raggie close encounter dives are spectacular. If you fall into the category of shark enthusiast, then it should be placed on top of your dives list.

There are few places in the world that one can view tiger sharks in their natural environment. Nowhere ele in the world can one have the quality and safe viewing as on the Aliwal Shoal. The dives take place on a smallish reef about 1 km south of the Aliwal Shoal known as Eelskin. At a depth of about 14.5 meter, there is a natural cave from where safe viewing of the baiting station can take place.

The best time of the year to see ‘raggies’ is between July and November. There may not be raggies between December to June, never the less the dramatic scenery and abundance of fish life is still more than worth a while.

Aliwal Shoal: 

Visibility: +-5m

Sea: Flat

Sea Temp: 22ºC

Sightings: Large Male Raggies, Dolphins

Protea Banks: 

Visibility: +-10m

Sea: Flat

Sea Temp: 22ºC

Sightings: Zambezi, Hammerhead and Guitar sharks sighted