Sharks in South Africa and Mozambique in January - where to go?

[ClairevL]

My buddy and I plan to spend about 2 weeks in South Africa/Mozambique in January for diving. However, there are so many exciting places to go to that we find it incredible hard to decide which ones to visit. So we hope somebody can advise us on where to go.

We love diving with sharks, especially big ones, and we would love to see tiger sharks. We saw them before in the Maldives (Foamullah), but they were quite far away...so I really hope to get a closer look here We don't mind strong currents. Apart from seeing sharks, we would love to see beautiful reefs and large schools of fish - I like to do wide-angle photography. We're both not particularly into macro stuff.
- We are thinking about Aliwal shoal, Protea banks, Sodwana Bay, and going to Mozambique, but we find it very hard to decide what to do exactly (we only have about 2 weeks).
- We have limited time, but if somewhat possible we would love to try to see the whalesharks. Would it be worth it to go to Tofo (it sounds spectacular)? What is the most affordable way to get there?
- End of January should be after the school holidays, right? We heard about Sodwana Bay being incredibly crowded during the school holidays.
- Spectacular dive sites are our priority, but where possible we'd love to stay somewhere where nature is beautiful and where we can find good food.
- We didn't book our flights yet, so that also still gives us some flexibility in terms of destination.
- What would be the most affordable option for transport in South Africa/Mozambique?

I would really appreciate any advise!

 

[ClairevL]

One additional question. I read a few posts about winter being the best time to dive in this area. Would January still be a good time or would it be better to go somewhere else in January and go to Aliwal/Tofo etc. later?

 

[Shaun Delport]

Hi Claire,

Your best bet would be to dive Aliwal Shoal. Wreck diving, reef diving and Tiger Dives. See photo I just posted in the gallery of a 5.5m Tiger Shark. Best time to see Tigers, up to 4 on the same dive, is mid Dec to end of Jan. Other shark species are Oceanic Black Tip, Dusky, White tip Reef shark and Bull Sharks

I dive with Aliwal Shoal Scuba. They are very professional, friendly and have accommodation from back packer to 4 star. They arrange to pick you up at the Durban airport and dropped off. Transportation in and around the area a private taxi can be arranged. Transportation to far away places such as Sodwana would also be arranged for you by the dive centre.

Contact them at www.aliwalshoalscubadiving.com and follow the links to FB, G+ etc.

Tel: +27 83303 7983

Mozambique is currently going through some fighting between Renamo rebels and the ruling Frelimo party. Google the info on this and the travel alerts for Mozambique.

Any other questions you have feel free to ask or mail the dive centre.

Hope this helps

 

[Shaun Delport]

By the way, the accommodation is on the beach. If you have a good stone throwing arm you could throw the stone into the ocean, no lie. You look out of your bedroom onto the ocean.