Southern Africa’s best of the deep blue

To help make sure justice was done to places such as Mozambique, David Bristow asked one of South Africa’s leading underwater photographers, Geoff Spiby, to help choose 15 favourite dive sites in Southern Africa. Photos by Patrick Wagner.

SODWANA BAY Maputaland
This has got everything: several world-class coral reefs combined with a thrilling rubber-duck ride in getting to them; a great camp site with a number of dive operators present, as well as a really decent dive lodge serving the area; an ideal spot for family holidays with warm sea, golden beaches and safe swimming in the bay, and many other activities round about.

Although you can start snorkelling or scuba diving right from Jesser Point, which forms the fulcrum of the bay at Sodwana, Seven Mile Reef is the single most outstanding dive site here. It lies about 11 kilometres north of Jesser Point and 800 metres offshore, at about 20 metres; actually it starts at around 16 and drops off to 24 metres with pinnacles and mushroom-like coral formations being characteristic.

Big game fish cruise these waters, especially in summer, including lots of those chaps with big jaws and gnarly teeth. Turtles and rays are common. Best of all are the dolphins and whales that frequent these warm waters.

Sodwana Bay Lodge and Dive Resort tel 035-571-0095, e-mail reservations@sodwanadivelodge.com.

ROCKTAIL BAY Maputaland
The marine conditions at Rocktail Bay are very similar to (and not far from) Sodwana, but there’s one major exception: the surrounding land is a tourist concession and the only accommodation is the very larney Wilderness Safaris’ Rocktail Bay Lodge. So if you don’t like crowds, this could be your spot.

Wilderness Safaris tel l 011-807-1800, website http://www.wilderness-safaris.com.

ALIWAL SHOAL KZN South Coast
The extensive underwater formations that create Aliwal Shoal, near Umkomaas on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, have claimed many ships over the years, including the Produce and Nebo. But they are not the main reason why divers flock here – it’s for the raggies, which congregate at various sites, including Cathedral and Raggie Caves, in awesome numbers, mainly in winter.

Aliwal Dive Charters tel 039-973-2233 or Andy Cobb Ecodiving tel 031-916-4239.

PONTA DO OURO southern Mozambique
Ponta is pretty much the mirror image of Sodwana across the border in Mozambique; except it’s an even-poorer place than impoverished Maputaland. Ponta Malangane some 10 kilometres north, Ponta do Ouro (the point of gold) and Jesser Point to the south are almost identical geographical formations. The quality of the famous hotel waxes and wanes, but there are a few dive operators with their own facilities in the camp site.

The Whaler tel 011-315-5510 or Scuba Adventures tel 011-234-0917/8.

GUINJATA BAY central Mozambique
Some 400 kilometres up the Mozambique coast from Ponta do Ouro (and 25 south of Inhambane), Guinjata is a bay very much like all the other ‘pontas’ on the old Portuguese East African coast. And this one, too, is great for family holidays with both chalets and camp sites. Then there’s Manta Point, a series of off-shore pinnacles where the giant manta rays congregate (among many other coral thingies).

Reservations in Nelspruit tel 013-741-2795 or e-mail guinjata@mweb.co.za.

MABIBI Maputaland
In the ‘old days’ you could get to this great out-of-the-way secret place along the beach in a 4×4 and plonk yourself down anywhere. Nowadays there’s an official camp site – a pretty basic one and that’s exactly why we like it. It’s not really a scuba destination but it is probably the best snorkelling site in South Africa with lovely pools, especially at low tide, full of ‘tropicals’. In good conditions you can go look for the bigger fishies which lurk behind the breaker line.

KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife tel 033-845-1000 or e-mail trails@kwazulu-natalwildlife.com.

THUNDERBOLT REEF Port Elizabeth
Lying directly off Cape Recife, the tip of Algoa Bay, is Thunderbolt Reef, as many a ship has come to discover at its peril. Apart from the several wreck sites on the reef, it has spectacular hard and soft corals, gorgon fans with basket starfish clinging, sponges, anemones, sea fans, and fish. And sharks. One potential drawback here is that the sea is often big and so are the surge and the current.

Ocean Divers International tel 041-363-0035 or e-mail mario@odipe.co.za.

SHALLOW AND DEEP BLINDERS
These are the reefs which lie directly off that giant architectural barnacle, the Beacon Isle Hotel, about 300 metres out. Both reefs come within five to six metres of the surface, and go down to a maximum of 18 metres. There’s lots of colour, they are pretty much unspoilt, and there are gullies and outcrops to explore as well as sandy expanses to look for rays.

Beyond the Beach tel 044-533-1158.

THE PAQUITA Knysna
You’ve got to time your entry just right to scuba or snorkel on this remarkably well-preserved German iron barque, which sank between the Heads in 1903. The reason it’s so well preserved is that no waves break here, but the tidal surge is extremely strong. Conditions are altogether highly variable, but when they’re good this is an excellent and easily-accessible shore dive; also good for a night dive when the water is clear.

Adventure Centre tel 044-384-0831 or e-mail robinwest@hotmail.com.

TSITSIKAMMA SCUBA TRAIL Eastern Cape
Since Tsitsikamma is a marine national park, the great attraction there (other than the fact that you can walk right into the sea in front of the park restaurant via the boat slipway) is that fishing has been banned for decades and there is an amazing array of fish life. The rock life is also extravagant; it’s just that the sea here is so often wild, making diving hazardous. There is a snorkel trail round the rocks and gullies of this very jagged shoreline.

Storms River Adventures tel 042-541-1836 or e-mail adventure@gardenroute.co.za

CATHEDRAL ROCKS False Bay
This is a shore-entry dive near Miller’s Point, Simon’s Town, that is rewarding for both novices and expert divers. It is a fairly sheltered spot and varies from 10 to 12 metres. The ‘reef’ is formed by huge granite outcrops, with the outer side of the Outer Castle having huge drop-offs and surrounded by kelp beds which have their own attractions, often including playful seals. Since this is a marine reserve, you’ll see a richness of sea life not often seen anymore.

Orca tel 021-671-9673, e-mail duncan@orca-industries.co.za.

SMITSWINKEL BAY WRECKS
In the 1970s some inspired sea dog in the navy got the idea to sink some ships to form artificial reefs: the SAS Transvaal and Good Hope, the diamond dredger Rockeater and the trawlers Princess Elizabeth and Oratava. They lie at 30 to 40 metres, so this is no place for novice divers. Since they lie so deep in what is often not clear water, marine growth has taken its time and you will need a torch to appreciate what is there. Just the looming hulks of the wrecks though, is enough of a thrill to make the trip worthwhile.

Orca tel 021-671-9673, e-mail duncan@orca-industries.co.za.

WRECK OF THE MAORI Hout Bay
The Cape Peninsula has many divable wrecks (it was, after all, once known as the Cape of Storms), but the special thing about the wreck of the Maori is its age and its relatively good state of repair. It was a steam ship that was wrecked between Oudeskip and Duiker Point back in 1909. Because of the protection given by its resting place, it is pretty much intact but for the flattened bow. The 175-metre-long hull rises to within eight metres of the surface and can often be seen from the dive boat. Just remember to take lots of neoprene for the cold and a torch for the gloomy interior.

Orca tel 021-671-9673, e-mail duncan@orca-industries.co.za.

VETCH’S PIER Durban
We bet more South African divers have been weaned here than anywhere else in the country. Back in the 1860s, Captain James Vetch spent 160000 attempting, unsuccessfully, to build Durban’s first breakwater. The ‘reef’ is essentially the stone remains of Vetch’s dream. It’s shallow (three to six metres) and largely protected from the elements. Also protected are the crayfish which swarm in the crevices. Teeming, too, are little aquarium-type tropical fish, fire- and scorpionfish, eels and octopuses. The pier ends close to where Limestone Reef begins, so you can just carry on swimming.

Underwater World tel 031-332-5820 or e-mail unworld@mweb.co.za.

TWO OCEANS AQUARIUM Cape Town
Everyone who’s paid the hefty bill will tell you this was worth every cent: to dive in the main oceanic tank (the one with the big sharks and game fish) at the aquarium in the V&A Waterfront.

Two Oceans Aquarium tel 021-418-4644 or e-mail aquarium@twoocean.co.za.