Help with South Africa

I'm planning a trip to SA , not exclusively for diving because i will go with my non-diving wife and daughter , and i want advise from people with previous experience.

I will go by the end of july ( not sardine run for me ) and i didn't decide yet where to spend 3 days diving. My options are Aliwal Shoals or Protea Banks . I' m looking for a good place to photograph sharks ( ragged tooth and tigers ) , a good dive operator used to cater photographers and a nice place to stay ( better if some activities around for the girls ) .

Any help will be great

Gracias

Neither are great for the girls as it's pretty boring around the area. I would suggest Sodwana Bay. I use Rob Bester and Gypsea Dive in Sodwana Bay. Sodwana Bay is north of the St Lucia Wetlands Park, a UNESCO site. It's fun and you can do river cruises and such from St Lucia. Contact the dive shop for arrangement.

Alternatively nearby is Rocktail Bay Lodge, it's an all inclusive resort that has diving and activities for kids too. Only spent a night there... accomodation was nice but I didn't dive there (blown out).

Have fun. I'll be in Capetown by the end of July (hopefully if the sard run doesn't continue!)

I'd fly to Durban and rent a car. Alternatively, you can fly to Richards Bay and have the dive center or accomodation pick you up. Just beware transport isn't cheap there.

But it beats getting lost in St Lucia... Not all roads are paved and many are really bumpy... my vision is still shaking from that trip.

If you are looking to basically have a family trip with some diving thrown in along the way; I would suggest that you pick up a map and plan a trip along 'The Garden Route'. This essentially runs from Port Elizabeth down to CapeTown. I have done that trip many times and have fond memories from childood through college, and I'm planning a trip to take my family there end of the year.

My suggestion would be to fly to Port Elizabeth, pick up a car or arrange a car with driver if you feel more comfortable, and hit the road, taking approprite safety precautions, though this is a relatively safe area. Aside from diving, your family can enjoy Cape St Francis, Plettnberg Bay, George, Knysna etc, and on down to Cape Town and surrounding areas. Work your diving in where it fits.

The trip can be done very comfortably, if you are stopping along the way etc in 5-6 days, of course you could take 6 weeks. Heading North from Durban is also a great trip, probably a little warmer that time of year, but not as safe for travel with a family in my opinion.

Drew and Loftus , thanks for the info. but i think that you both miss the point .Maybe i didn't make myself clear ( my english is not good enough )

I already had an itinerary to do with my family ( Cape Town , Simonstown , Sabi Sands , Kgalagadi ) but i want to make some diving to photograph the raggies .

After the trip with my family , i will go to Mozambique alone for intensive diving .

So the thing is that i need recomendation about which place is better for u/w photography , Aliwal or Protea ? And which dive center is better for photographers .

Sorry about that; Drew can definitely help you with diving info more than I can.

Oh in that case, July the raggies should have returned to Protea. Raggie cave is the place in Protea. Should be at least 10-20 in the cave. There are also bronze whalers and oceanic blacktips (there for the sardines). Problem is that July is also the beginning of the winter winds which blow out diving all along the coast.

You fly into Durban and drive to Shelley Beach. There are 2 operators there that I know of. I've only used Trevor Krull of African Odyssea once. He does not chum and is a local champion for the preservation of the zambies and other sharks in the area.

Not a lot to do for kids but I suppose a game drive at the Lake reserve and walking Oribi Gorge should kill 2 days. You can also bribe the kids with dolphin viewing but if the viz is bad, don't let them in the water. The sharks often following the dolphins during the run. Big guy like you has less to fear than little children.

Thank you very much Drew

Hi, elbuzo,

here is a copy of a trip report I posted at an email list after our trip in 2004. Maybe it can be helpful!?

Regards,

Jock

My wife and I have been to South Africa in August this year. The main

itinerary was land-based, but I did a couple of dives. Maybe my

experiences can be helpful for someone who plans to go there as well.

I started at the Nataal coast south of Durban, at Protea Banks and

Aliwal Shoal. Conditions at that time of the year were quite rough,

we went out with RIBs through the heavy surf. I was a bit concerned

about my photo-equipment, but nothing broke!

Protea Banks: Visibility was about 10m/33ft, water temp. between 17°

to 20°C / 62° to 68°F. Strong (!!) currents.

It is a good idea to keep your camera setup as small as possible, not

only because of the bumpy boat ride, but also because of the way you

descend: It is "Count One-Two-Three-back roll and DOWN!" that means

you do not come up to the surface to take your camera from the boat

crew but go straight down finning heavily until "touchdown" at appr.

30m / 100ft.

The reason for this is the strong current and the limitid visibility -

the group must stay together. As the divemaster said: "I cannot loose

you, you only can loose ME!" - He is the one to pull a surface buoy

with him, and the boat will follow that bouy. If you loose the group,

drift away in the current and come up somewhere else - well, the surge

was 1m to 3m at the surface ...

Due to the depth dive time was short - about 30min between 30 and 20m.

No deco dives, so Nitrox could be a good idea.

I took a NikV/15mm one one dive and a Nik.RS/20-35mm on the other two

dives with one Ikelite SS200 and 400ASA film (provia 400F).

Raggies all over the place, a hammerhead in the distance, and I saw a

tiger shark on two out of three dives, coming as close as 5m /15ft.

(Of course I did NOT manage to take a photo of it when it came close -

my RS was set to autofocus, and it did not work due to lack of

contrast on that beast.) The Raggies were cooperative, I just had to

wait for them to come close and take my pics. Film was finished (of

course...) when we saw a humpback whale very close to the boat on our

way back. Shall I go digital????

GREAT dives, but for sure no "easy diving".

Aliwal Shoal: Visibility was worse, currents less, temp. the same.

Three raggies on one out of three dives, no sharks on the other

dives (see below).

The problems I encountered :

I was the only diver with a camera. Anything more to say? There was no

time to stay in a place and take my time, I had to follow the group.

So it was just taking some quick snapshots!

On two dives at Aliwal Shoal they put together one boat from three

dive centers (8 divers), because it was mid-week and this was the only

boat to go out that day. There were four beginners, so we stayed at

the shallow and easy dive sites - no Raggies, but the other divers

were soooo excited to see an octopus. Forgive me, but I REALLY do not

travel to South Africa to see a bloody octopus ...

And worse, two dives (one at Protea, one at Aliwal) were cancelled at

all because they would not go out with me resp. one more diver - never

experienced that kind of "customer service" before. After all, the

dive centers had accepted my booking.

I think that unless you are a "big name" in the dive business, you

might have a chance to encounter the same problems like me.

My next dive destination was Gansbaai. I went out to the Great Whites

on two days with Marine Dynamics. Perfect. They were recommended on

this list, and I talked to a few people in S.A. who also told me that

they are the first choice for photographers - they are right for sure!

Only problem: Neptun would not cooperate. There was a heavy storm on

one day and very limited visibiity the other day. Still, I went into

the cage the second day (NikV/15mm lens, no strobe, Provia 400F) to

try my luck.

Shot one roll. There was no chance to compose a photo, the visibility

was just too bad. The moment a shark appeared I could just take my

camera and point&shoot. Held my arm as far out of the cage as possible

and really hoped there was only ONE shark around. Temperature? No

idea, I was too excited to feel if it was cold or not...

Need to go back and hope for better circumstances!!!

Our trip was organized by "Dive South" (http://www.divesouth.co.za),

and I can really say that we have never dealt with people who were so

friendly and helpful! Five Star service from Hannelie and Reon. And

no, I do not get a free trip or something from them for this

recommendation - unfortunately!

Thanks Jock , great report !!

I think that the way to go is using a private dive guide . A herding group trying to see as much as possible in a place like that , definitely is against serious uw photography .

What about the places ( accommodation ) you used for your stay , any recommendation ?

Since your itinery includes Cape Town/Simonstown you should try to include a dive or two here. Most dive tourists coming to Cape Town are only aware of the GW shark dives, but have no idea that there is some amazing non-shark diving to be had as well. Being a temperate water zone the water is slightly colder and you may need to hire some better exposure protection but it is definitely worth it.

If you need help or advice with anything to do with your SA trip just drop me a message and I'll be happy to help where I can.

Click HERE and HERE for some pics from Cape Town local waters.

Click HERE for some raggie pics.

Rgds

Jean.

Hi,

we found our accommodation (bed and breakfast) from

http://www.portfoliocollection.com/

Choice from luxury to upper standard - uncomplicated internet-booking, would use it again.

Cheers,

Jock

Only found your message now, hope I'm not too late.

I'm South African and have dived both locations extensively

Protea Banks

You will have a better chance of good viz here than Aliwal.

Two options available 1) A drift dive with the current and its a matter of chance whether or not you see sharks. My wife and I have personally had many great sightings but only one where the sharks (zambesi's or bull sharks) came close enough for good photgraphy but before I had a camera. Possible sightings are Zambesi's and guitar sharks regularly, Tigers and hammerheads sometimes, bronze whaler and Great white almost never. Should you not see sharks there ususally is some other mid water action but as the reef is deep average +30 meters we tend to hang in the current to extend bottom time and do not explore the reef

2) Raggie cave. haven't done this one but you are almost guatanteed to see the male raggies. We seldom dive there in June, our winter, and have therefore not had a chance to experience this.

We dive with African Dive Adventures mobile +27 082 456 7885. Run by Roland and Beulah. We find them very helpfull and professional. We dived with Trevor Krull, mentioned above, in the past but he sold to Roland and has subsequently returned and I have no recent experience with him but he is our most vocal shark protector.

The story above of not loosing the Dive master is extremely important as you go directly out to sea some 8 km and getting lost has been terminal in the past

Aliwal Shoal

There are many dive sites here including wrecks and you must specifically state that you want to see the Raggies. There is also chumming for Tigers if the currents are right, if thats your thing. I'm not sure but I think you might be a bit early for the best raggie viewing (here and Protea come to think of it)

We dive with African Water sports 082 772 8707 run by Walter Bernardus. Also very experienced in the area and will tell you in no uncertain terms if he believes conditions are too poor for a good dive but will still launch if you insist.

Conditions here can vary extremely with Vis from nearly zero to +30m and current from nil to strong, It is also quite deep and it is often impossible to predict what conditions you might have. This is a cross over zone from tropical coral fish to temperate and a wide variety of fish species are therefore present.

In general there are several dive opertors in the area and out of season they do have to combine boat loads. I have, however, never experienced an unability to dive baring poor conditions

General

The launches at both Protea and Aliwal can be very interesting! With the latter being the roughest in South Africa. The skippers are, however, experienced and their own reputations will be tarnished if they flip a boat and will not launch if conditions are too rough.

Depending on how late in June you are here and your luck you could get to see the first of the sardine run where almost anything is possible.

Shelley beach at Protea is a strong holiday area with many good swimming beaches and the close town of Margate will have almost anything a child would like to do on a beach holiday. There is quite a large mall right behind the launch site at Shelly beach

Close to Aliwal Shoal (Launching is at the small town of Umkomaas) is the holiday town of Scottburgh. it is much smaller than Margate but does have a small mall cinemas etc. Close to both are crocodile farms and other touristic areas.

Water temps will be quite cold about 20 degrees C at max . We are happy(ish) with 5mm wet suits and a chicken vest with hoody.

The two launch sites are some 50 minutes apart by car on very good roads so diving both is most possible.

I know you might not be particularly interested but the best coral diving in SA is at Sodwana Bay as mentioned above. We dive with Reefteach +27 082 339 6920 owned by Neville Ailiff (sp?) He is probably the most knowlegeable dive operator in South Africa though Rob of Odysea mentioned above is also very good.

Buy a copy of Divestyle or Submerge magazines when you arive at the airport or at a bookshop as the dive operators advertise at the back and no matter where you are you will be able to locate an operator.

Please ask if there is something I can add.

David