How to Scuba Dive South Africa

How to Scuba Dive South Africa from the cold waters of Cape Town to tropical reefs at Sodwana Bay

   Everyone knows about the wonderful land animals and parks of Africa. But for many travelers around the world the knowledge underwater life of South Africa is limited to a short clip of 'air jaws' or great white sharks leaping out of the water. Now I understand why this might scare some scuba divers off from thinking about planning a dive trip to South Africa but those in the know have found amazing diversity among South Africa's dive sites that are a true hidden treasure. For those of you still reading you may just have what it takes to take the plunge and find out about these hidden gems for yourself.

     Planning a dive trip to South Africa could be done in several visits or in one larger trip if you have a bit of time. Luckily right now the South African Rand is the cheapest I've seen in 30 years, hovering around 13.5SAR to 1 USD. In other words it is the right time to go. This makes rental cars, plane rides, and accommodations fairly cheap. I'll go over the big diving options as if you are going to do one big trip.

Mola Mola encounter, Cape Town

Dive with friendly Cape Fur Seals

  The easiest direction to go during your trip is from Cape Town in the Southwest corner up to Sodwana and Johannesburg in the NE corner. You can get a one way rental car from Cape Town airport to Joburg which takes care of all your transportation in one fell swoop. Make sure you get unlimited kilometers on it as the last time I did this drive my car started with 38km in Cape Town and ended with 5420km in Joburg. We took a few detours along the way. The other option would be to dive Cape Town, fly and dive Durban, then dive to Sodwana and Joburg from there. This would cut out over half of the driving distance overall, but you would miss the scenic Garden Route, Addo Elephant Park, the Drakensburg Mountains, and Great White Shark cage diving...although it is possible to the great white as a long day trip from Cape Town.

Cape Fur Seal off Cape Town

Nudibranchs galore in the cold waters

  Starting out in Cape Town means the diving is cold! We hit 54degrees on the Atlantic side off Hout Bay. Here are chances for shipwrecks, swimming in a tornado of fur seals, or chance encounters with mola mola On the slightly warmer side of False Bay, east of the Cape Peninsula, rocky reefs are visited by sevengill sharks and sometimes it seems that every inch is covered with invertebrate life. Among these are my favorite underwater invertebrates, nudibranchs, colorful sea slugs of which many can only be found around the Cape and nowhere else in the world. So both macro and wide angle photography opportunities exist.

Up from the depths: Prints for Sale

   Since you have a day of not diving before your flight out, or if you are self driving then the small town of Gansbaii should be next on your list. This is the epicenter of the great white shark cage diving phenomena. During the winter months (June-July) trips run out to Dyer Island to watch 'air jaws' leap out of the water with an unsuspecting sea lion in its mouth. And all year you can head out with a cage diving company, climb over the side of the boat down into the cage, and wait to hold your breath and submerge when a shark is drawing near. It is a great chance for photos and close encounters with one of the Earth's great predators in the wild. You can check out the post of my white shark adventures here.

   Next stop is Durban, or more precisely the Aliwal Shoals which are about an hour south of Durban, near the town of Umkomass. The Aliwal Shoals are the rocky remains of an ancient sand dune about 3 miles off the coast, which makes this an advanced place to dive but worth it for the chances of incredible shark encounters. Dive operators here boasts encounters with Tiger sharks, ragged tooth, bull, mantas, dolphins, and whales sharks are all possible. Certain species are seen at certain times of the year though so plan accordingly. Another bonus to the area is its location near the famous Sardine Run. During the months of June and July trips can be put together from here and weather permitting getting you out into the crazy action of the sardine run. As I travel the world searching for shark species to photograph and dive with this location is always high on my hit list.

The last stop on the South African diving tour boasts warm waters, coral reefs, and tropical fish. Dive operators in the town of Sodwana, near the Mozambique border launch their boats right off the beach, through the surf to take divers out to the beautiful coral reefs. I have swam with dolphins, whale sharks, nudibranchs, reef sharks, big school of fish, and found Nemo all in one dive here on the famous 9 mile reef. Going this direction from south to north is my favorite because it just gets easier and easier with the temperature of the water getting warmer and warmer. You can see pictures and read about my latest trip to Sodwana here. The deep underwater cliffs here in Sodwana are where the once thought extinct coelacanthe live. You better be trained to go deep though as the common depth for a coelacanthe sighting is over 100meters (330ft!).


Other South African Diving Websites and Resources:
1. http://www.divestyle.co.za/
2. https://www.padi.com/scuba-vacations/south-africa
3. http://www.scubatravel.co.uk/africa/diving-south-africa.html

Taking a break from diving in Cape Town and want to hike, check this out:
 * Best Hike in Cape Town

Looking for decent places to stay along the way with good Wifi? I use airbnb all across South Africa. Meet local hosts or grab an entire house for a fraction of the cost of hotels.