South Africa is known as an adventure destination due to it's proliferation of big animals that you can see both on land and in the water which when encountered close up by the majority of us, gets the heart racing and adrenalin flowing.
The land safaris have been well documented and publicised over the years but now it's time for the underwater domain to stand up and be counted.
It is said that the excitement of diving can be compared with a fairground ride.
Tiger Shark Dive - Aliwal Shoal
Some rides are slow and sedate with pleasant scenery and others can be for the adrenaline junkies like white knuckle rides.
The slow and sedate rides can be compared to a nice pleasant coral reef where you can take your time lining up your shot of a photogenic creature willing to pose for the camera for how ever long you chose to stay there.
The white knuckle ride can be compared with a fast drift dive when you see the bottom or a reef wall passing you by at a rate of knots, or when you come face to face with a large wild animal in its own domain.
There are many Elite dive location around South Africa like Sadwana Bay which is situated up towards the border of Mozambique where the reef systems run parallel with the shore and the dive sites are named by their distance from launching point in Sadwana Bay like 2, 5 and 7 mile reef, and so on.
In Sadwana Bay you may get the opportunity to see many large shoals which you wouldn’t see in the Northern hemisphere and many variety of Indian Ocean reef fish, large rays, turtles, dolphins and shark. Whale shark s are often spotted in this area.
Further in land you can see the large land animals in one of the Game Reserves.
On our tour there in February 2007 we encountered buffalo, rhino, giraffe, zebra, elephant, wart hog, baboons, antelope, crocodile, impala, and monkeys all just roaming around as nature intended.
Also on our February 2008 we had the same encounters.
Further to the South lies the long surfing beaches of Durban and near here is where we visit the Natal Sharks board where you get a presentation of their work and the marine life of the local area, often followed by a dissection of a big fish they may have found in a their nets earlier that day.
An hour’s drive down the coast from Durban is where we find the dive area of Aliwal Shoal and Protea Banks with their unique reefs systems along the Kwa-Zulu Natal coast. The pelagic life is its main attraction with schools of yellowtail, king fish, tuna and barracuda attracting a variety of top predators. It’s specially known for its large Bull and Tiger shark populations and it’s here that you can see these creatures on a regular basis when they are offered bait to draw them close. This is rated as one the world’s top shark dives.
It was here that we come across Black tip, Bull, Hammerhead and Tiger sharks.
The Great White – this name conjures up all sorts of emotions for most people with fear being on top of the list, so it’s strange that most divers the world over have a fascination with them and would like to see one up close. We’re not saying they’d like to be out in open water with one but it’s this fascination that has built up it’s own industry in the Southern Tip of South Africa where you can get in a cage hung from the side of he boat and watch the ultimate predator cruise past where they sometimes take an interest in who’s peering out of the cage at them.
Surely, the Elite of all Sharks.
