Hi!
We are almost one month to the day that we will be diving in South Africa on the east coast north of Sodwana Bay at Rocktail Beach Camp. Do you happen to know this area? We are hoping for Sardine Run, possible mantas and humpbacks?
Thanks for your reply.
We have the sam certifications AOW and Nitrox.
Have a GREAT time in Thailand with your Rescue and DM training!!
Hi Spagetti,
Allow me to answer this question addressed to Spoonman. Of course he might have more to add.
I have personally never dived at Rocktail Beach itself but have dived the general area a lot. Rocktail Beach Camp is a famously upmarket camp and I'm sure you will love it. I daresay you'll find few South Africans who can offer a lot of gen on Roctail Beach as it probably falls outside the budget of most of us locals. It certainly falls well and truly outside of my budget.
That said, the reefs you will be diving form part of the same reef system that we're diving from Sodwana Bay Lodge. You will probably be doing a fair amount of diving on 9 mile reef which is one of the real sought after reefs for Sodwana Bay divers, mostly because of it's distance from Sodwana Bay (9 miles).
Whalesharks and Mantas are always a possibility but by no means guaranteed. To be honest, as wonderful as the diving on the northern east coast of South Africa is, Whalesharks and Mantas are still to be considered a rare treat, not a regular occurrence.
As for the Sardine Run, chances are you will be too early as the water might not be cold enough yet in mid June. Apart from that though, the Sardine Run passes quite far off shore on the northern east coast than it does further south and I think it is safe to say that you won't see any of it - sorry. What you might get is an increased number of predatory fish in the general waters but for the Sardine Run itself you'd have to dive much further south down the coast.
Hope that helps. Enjoy Rocktail!
