Aliwal Shoal

[Supersid]

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Aliwal Shoal now in mid December and have som questions:

1. I've heard that there might be very shifting conditions due to e.g. current. Is that true? And how bad can it be? I'm not very experienced, but I have around 30 dives in tropical areas.

2. What's normally the temperature and visibility in the water in mid December?

3. What kind of "big stuff"-spieces can I expect to see at this time of year? Sharks, whales, dolpins, rays, you name it.....
And what is the chance for seeing those things? I is likely see it at "every dive", or just occasionally? I've read many different things about this, so I don't know what to believe...

4. Is there good coral conditions? Is there other interesting things to see except the "big stuff"?

Thanks in advance for answers

 

[PiscesDiver]

Hi Supersid!

It's always good to hear about people coming down to do some diving off South Africa's coastline - especially to Aliwal.

Ok i will try to answer your questions as best as i can with my limited knowledge.

1. Aliwal Shoal is located about 5kms offshore, so the currents definitely play a big part in the dive. In fact dives off the shoal are all drift dives (well the ones i have done), but it is not too hectic.

2. The temperature of the water in december is about 25 degrees celcius, but may be warmer. a 3-5mm wetsuit will be fine for these conditions.

3. Big stuff - hmm... the raggie (or sand tiger) season has just finished ( ends in November), but there should still be turtles and doplhins around. The tiger may be spotted, but they generally stay more off the protea banks then on Aliwal itself. The humpback whales are also unfortunately usually all further south by December. You should be able to spot a potato bass or 2 though (i dont now what it is called outside of SA, maybe potato grouper?) Because Aliwal is a marine sanctuary, with no fishing allowed, the variety and amount of marine life is unsurpassed off South Africa. I have yet to see a whale shark off there however..


As with most dive sites, it all depends where your boat drops you as to what you see, but there is plenty of both hard and soft corals, great opportunities for photography. There are also 2 wrecks that can be dived off the shoal.

Viz has always been good, i think the worst i have had has been about 10m, best 30+.

Are you planning on coming over on a dive charter?

 

[Karel26]

I did my first ow dive on aliwal shaol. . It is a awesome place to dive. . Your diving expience is enough to dive there. / On of the bets advice i can give you is to stay close to your dm and dive buddy , because diving conditions can change very quickly ( although it doesn't happen quite offten). .

The viz can be any thing from 6meters to 30meters, but you will be very luck if you get a
20m viz in the summer it is useally between 8meters and 15meters, the reson is the heavy rains in the summer and then the dirty river water flow into the ocean and there are a lot of rivers in the surrounding. . Water temp can be any thing from 22degrees to 26degrees sumtimes even 20degrees, just depent if there are rain and the current (south easter ussally cold but bring the clear cold water in from the cape). . Will be best to use a 5mm wetsuit, i dive with a 5mm semidry there all year around. .

The chances are quite good that you will get ragget tooth sharks also knwn as sand tiger sharks and get very close to them. . No need to fear them as they just swim past you and mind theirown business. . You may also encounter oceanic white tips and hammer heads if you are very lucky. . There are green, logger and hawksbill turtels, patato bass, scorpion fisheses, reef fishes and then your pelagic fishes. . If you look carefully you will find alot of nudibranchs and manta shrimps. .

There not a lot of coral. . You get some soft and hard coreal and then spunges and whip coral. .

Over all Aliawl is a good dive, there are many different reef sites and you would have to do a lot of dives if you want to cover the whole reef. . My personal favorite is raggies cave, manta point, cathedral and pinicals and then the produce wreck wich is just off Aliwal, that is a must dive for every diver. .

Hope you find the information usefull. .

Happy and safe divings Karel. .

 

[Supersid]

Thanks for good anwers PiscesDiver and Karel 26!

@ PiscesDiver: by dice charter, you mean a dive boat which you stay for e.g. 3 or 4 days in a run?

I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'll travel by myself at my stay in Aliwal, and therefore the only focus is diving. So my goal is to have the best diving experience possible. What to you reccomend? Book a hotel in Aliwal? In Durdan? Or dive charter?

As I understand, there might be possible to dive both Aliwal and Protea. So I might consider to take one day in Protea. But as I understand, the conditions there are pretty rough? Is it possible to dive there with my experience? OW and about 30 dives?

 

[PiscesDiver]

Hey Supersid

Sorry i think dive charter may have been the wrong choice of words- i meant to say are you doing this as part of a tour? But you have already answered that in your last post!

I have never stayed over at Umkomaas (the town where they launch from), but i think you should be able to find some accommodation down there, and it will be a lot more convenient to stay there than in Durban - as it will be like a 45 minute drive to Umkomaas every day. Only thing is, you may need to book soon because our schools all go on break over this time and the beach towns get flooded with visitors, so accommodation can get scarce.

Unfortunately to dive Protea Banks, you need an AOW certified as a minimum. I myself have never dived Protea, but perhaps someone else can provide more information on that.

If you need a bive buddy for these trips - feel free to PM me

 

[jolo]

Hi Supersid drop me a mail john@guinjatabay.co.za can help you with accommodation visit this site seasonal sighting chart mozambique what fish to see in mozambique you will get a good idea as to what you will see

 

[kosmonooit]

Be aware and be warned that December is high season for the annual migration of 'Vaalies' as we used to be scorned > up-country bumpkins with kids and everything else imaginable in tow. Its summer school holidays and peak season holiday time. The weather along the KZB coast can also be quiet wet that time of the year. Same goes all the way up the coast and southern MOz, where brats on Quad Bikes will drive you nutz.

 

[anguswalsh]

Aliwal is a great place to dive, have a look at destination-scuba.com for some info, there are some links there to accommodation in Umkomaas as well as a good dive centre, December is an excellent time to travel there, just be sure to book your dives ahead of time.
Viz is highly variable as others have said above, but there are always dives to cater for whichever conditions there are - the dives are almost always drift dives, there are some decent wrecks to dive on. Shark diving is also available, mainly Tiger Sharks and Blacktips are what you are looking for on those. There are whales there right now, some friends of mine are out there now and say whales breaching right next to the boat yesterday.

It is well worth the effort of travelling there.