SA for the uninformed

[WyCal]

I may be working on a project on the east coast of South Africa in a couple of months and need some info. I've been told there is an area of jungle south of Durban, which is where we'd be working.
What are the diving conditions close to shore, such as waves, bottom composition and visibility? What kind of water temps can we expect in winter?
I'm actually looking for a sandy bottom, depth 7-10m, close to shore, easy access with possibly a pier or dock, but I need the vis to be at least 7m, even with many people kicking up the bottom.
Some of the people I'll be working with are insanely afraid of sharks; what kind of sharks are known to be in the area?
Thanks.

[rob_za]

Here's a couple of links to sites with some information.

Divespot (http://www.divespot.co.za/divevenues.asp?itemid=15) .
For sites South of Durban you'd need to look at Aliwal Shoal, Rocky Bay/Landers, Protea Banks. As far as I'm aware, none of these sites are close to shore, though.


For a bit of info on what can be seen during the year at dives sites in South Africa and Mozambique try this site http://www.adventuredivingsafaris.co.za/


Hope those help you out.

Rob

[WyCal]

Rob,

Thanks for the links. Since I know absolutely nothing about diving in South Africa, they help a lot.
I'm actually not looking for a "dive site", but somewhere close to shore (we need support people nearby, preferrably not on a boat) with decent visibility where we can do some filming of people, not critters, and not damage any sensitive marine life. Sounds kinda wierd, but if I tell you any more, I'll have to kill you;)

[whatdecostop?]

WyCal
Do you know where south of Durban you will be? Nearest town?
Once I know that I can put you in touch with some locals who would help you locate the dive site you are looking for.

[ShakaZulu]

Don't go there, you'll never want to come back..........I warned you!

[Mike Veitch]

Tigers, Bulls, Whites...

Please invite me and pay to bring my video camera... i wanna go!

[WyCal]

The jungle south of Durban is as close to an exact location I have right now. The guy who makes the location decisions (above water) is going next week to check things out; once he decides where he can work, hopefully we'll head over there and check out underwater locations nearby. We'd definitely like to hook up with someone local who can show us around.

I really hope this project works out, 'cause I sooo wanna see Africa! :D

[whatdecostop?]

WyCal
" Jungle" South of Durban ?? Interesting.
I have family in the area....Umkamaas, we don't actually call it jungle....dense tropical vegatation maybe but Tarzan you aint gonna find LOL :-) !!!!
Let me know when you have more details.

[WyCal]

" Jungle" South of Durban ?? Interesting.
I have family in the area....Umkamaas, we don't actually call it jungle....dense tropical vegatation maybe but Tarzan you aint gonna find LOL :-) !!!!

This is what we've been thinking since they pulled the plug on us in Thailand and decided to move the production to South Africa! :classic: I'm not complaining if they want to send us there to check it out. I'd love to see SA, especially if someone else is paying.:D

Any chance you might have some pictures of the "jungle"?

[ShoalDiverSA]

Is there a jungle south of Durban????

Sheesh, and I thought lions roaming the streets of Johannesburg was hectic! The only jungle we have around here is the "concrete jungle" of central Durban.

Most of the diving done around this neck of the woods (jungle?) is via rigid inflatable boats (RIBs). Hmmm... shore diving. There isn't really much that I know of in the area. Most of the shore diving done here is spearfishing - freediving only.

You could dive Vetch's Pier or Limestone Reef just north of the Durban harbour mouth. I cannot vouch for how good those spots are as I have not dived them personally. I have snorkelled of the north pier of Durban Harbour mouth and it was interesting - but nowhere as good as the Aliwal Shoal. Visibility is highly variable depending on sea conditions, but given that it is next to a commercial port, the best you could expect is in the 10m range. Maybe.

We have sharks of all sizes and descriptions along the Natal coast, but chance encounters with them are unlikely. Seeing that you are coming down in a couple of months, you could be here during Raggie season (Ragged tooth sharks) - on the Aliwal Shoal. There is also an operation that runs Tiger Shark tours on the Shoal (if that blows your hair back). The real shark action is to be found on Protea Banks off Shelly Beach on the South Coast of Natal. Hammerheads, Tigers, Raggies, Zambezis (Bull Sharks) are all to be found there.

But I am missing the point - you want to do some filming...

Good visibility close to the shore is going to be tricky. We have a lot of rivers that wash out into the sea making conditions pretty murky. But do-able for your needs if the surface is behaving. I have never thought about Durban waters for this type of work, so you have got me thinking. Maybe you could do your filming off the Bluff area south of Durban - quite a few colleagues of mine snorkel there, so it must be nice (?).

I'm going to give it some more thought.

Cheers,

Andrew

[AndyT]

To echo the others I don't think you will find the type of u/w location you are looking for in the Durban area . Natal sucks anyway :D , rather perhaps consider Cape Town for the u/w setting you were looking for in your first post , unless you need the "Jungle" in your shots as well .

Safe Diving


Andrew

[WyCal]

Thanks for the replies. The major portion of what is being filmed is supposed to be in jungle. The production team claims there is some south of Durban, which sounded strange to us, but we're just the worker bees. They would like us to find an underwater location near their "jungle" location to keep down the cost of moving the crew. We're not filming fish or reef; a sandy bottom would work best with about 10m vis.

Unfortunately (not for us), we already went through this drill elsewhere. We've made other suggestions, but SA is it for now. We should know more in about 10 days when the head guy gets to SA and sees the "jungle" for himself. Are we talking scrub brush with an occasional palm tree?