Dive Aliwal Shoal in Febr-March

[apaka]

Hi! I found a cheap flight to Jo'burg from Europe, and I'm thinking of diving the sharks on Aliwal Shoal/Protea Banks in february or march 2 weeks. Anyone can suggest
when - weather, vis, etc - to fly? Fast please, the ticket has to be purchased till
15th nov! Thanks

 

[steve2702]

Hi. Either Feb or March is good for Aliwal Shoal & you stand a good chance of seeing Tiger Sharks, but out of season for Raggies. I dived Aliwal in Sept & am going back End of March Next year.
I stayed in Margate & dived with Peter of 2nd Breath Scuba who runs a unique Padi Speciality for Shark Awareness which I am going to do this next Feb along with completing the Drift Dive Speciality on Protea Banks.
There is much more to do in Margate than Umkomaas & the drive down is around an hours trip with Peter. The launch site for Protea Banks is 10 mins away in Shelly Beach.
If you choose Margate Treetops Lodge is a good value place to stay & only a couple of mins walk to 2

 

[steve2702]

Opps must have hit the wrong button.
Vis at Aliwal would be around 15 -20 Mtr Average & its well worth the visit with some great dive sites.
If you choose to stay in Umkomaas, I would only stay max 4 days & move on.
Also don't forget Durban there are some nice dives there also, Calypso Diving at Ushaka are the people I dive with (also training with, Resue diver course in Feb) & if your looking for a good budget hotel on Durbans Beach front go for the Beach Hotel at 24 quid a night through Hotelclub.com (Buffet Breakfast included) you won't go far wrong Further afeild then Sodwana Bay is also a must
Enjoy

 

[jolo]

Hi I live on the Coast about 30 KM from Umkomaas I like Sea Forever for accommodation and Alliwal Dive Charters in Umkomaas you should have a look at Rocky bay as well Rocky Bay dive resort Aliwal Shoal scuba diving, dive resort, scuba diving resort, scuba diving vacations. one thing to remember February is very hot temps average over 30c and the humidity is over a 100 to find the types of sharks you should see seasonal sighting chart
Have you thought of doing a bit of game viewing while you are out here if so check this link African tour safari wildlife tours safaris South Africa wildlife experiences
Durban is great but I don't like the crime rate the best site for Durban accommodation is http://accom.kznsearch.co.za/ if you would like more info send me a mail john@guinjatabay.co.za I can also help with all your accommodation and dive bookings

 

[apaka]

Thanks everybody, I try to put together the rest of the trip like gamewiewing etc, and then buy the tickets for the 12 hour flight.

 

[divingdog5]

we just got back from the famous aliwal shoal .the raggies started to move off this year mid nowember .dive with the the shop called the shoal mark a nice guy say hi from alan he will sort you out.
i actually found the diving ther to be a bit tame to be honest .the the baited stuff with the tigers was really good. i say to use them because these guys live and work there .
also jump in your car and dirve down to protea banks ther is a guy there called roland in november the hammer heads migrate on every dive i was seeing between 20 100 hammers plus lots of bull sharks and even a very big tiger .its hi octane but we like it like that .water temp 26 5mm suit withh a hood

 

[penti]

I'm just back from SA and we did have raggies on Aliwal Shoal !!!
No one knows why but 8 of them (probably subadults) decided to spend the summer there instead of migrating with the others...

We also saw a few tiger sharks, blacktips, guitar sharks and a lot of life on the shoal, from dolphins, turtles and rays to a great variety and quantity of small stuff, lobsters, nudibranchs, moray eels, etc... The reef is really nice and varied, all in all I had great dives there...

I also dove in Protea, had 2 very poor dives but one which was really amazing with a tiger shark, 7 or 8 blacktip, 10 bull sharks, 5 guitar sharks, potato bass, tunas, eagle rays and even... a whale shark !!!

There it seems to be all or nothing, unless you do baited dives during which bull sharks are guaranteed... the diving is more advances than in Aliwal, with strong currents and reefs averaging a depth of 30m, no time for contemplation, you dive in Protea in the hope of seeing big stuff.

 

[widget]

I'm just back from SA and we did have raggies on Aliwal Shoal !!!
No one knows why but 8 of them (probably subadults) decided to spend the summer there instead of migrating with the others...

Yes, obviously because I live close by I dive there often for recreation, but I also do commercial work on the pipelines just off Aliwal.

We have been seeing a few lone Raggies around recently which is not too unusual, but to see the numbers you need to be there in June / july which co-incides with the sardine run chatted about here somewhere as well.

We are moving into probably the best time of the year for diving in South Africa (winter) and the seas are getting calmer and the visibility better every day. On Sunday past we had at least 20 metres horizontal visibility, pan flat seas and an abundance of fish life including Moray eels, black tip sharks (no raggies :depressed dolphins and the usual schooling fish.

Kitting up on the boat, one could look down and see the sand moving on the ocean floor 20 metres down - which for anyone who has dived here will know is quite unusual.

 

[Dive Tour S.A]

Hi there. I know its a bit late and you have most likely gone to Aliwal already, but if you ever plan on coming here again drop us an email and I'll do my best to assist with any info.

Thanx

Hi! I found a cheap flight to Jo'burg from Europe, and I'm thinking of diving the sharks on Aliwal Shoal/Protea Banks in february or march 2 weeks. Anyone can suggest
when - weather, vis, etc - to fly? Fast please, the ticket has to be purchased till
15th nov! Thanks

 

[steve2702]

Just back from Umkomaas, many thanks to Sue & Mick at Umkomaas Guest house for a Very warm & Freindly 4 night stay, it was the first stay there but certainly not the last.Also many thanks to the Shoal Dive charter for some fantastic dives.
Also on a more serious note on one morning dive there was a guy from another dive charter who had a suspected heart attack, when we came up we were picked up by a different dive charters boat, then transfered to another untill our boat came back from the rescue. It was great to see everybody working together on the Shoal to ensure the Safety of All. I would just like to say that the Shoal is not only a great place to dive but also the community spirit of all makes it as safe as possible for all to dive.
Lets not forget the Skippers of these boats who do a fantastic job from start to finnish