Protea Banks, Aliwal Shoal & Tofo in March? Help Pls?

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outpost31

Contributor
Messages
118
Reaction score
28
Location
Surrey, UK
# of dives
200 - 499
Hi SB'ers,

I'm planning a trip to SA in March '14 for about 10-13 days (depending on cost) and I need help to work out how to divide up that time and which places to go. I'm an single AOW diver with shark experience & looking to get some great photos of both big & small stuff. Here's what I want to see:

At least 3-4 baited Tiger/Bull dives...and hammers if i'm lucky?
Some diverse diving to see smaller stuff like nudis
Whale shark/Manta/other diving in Moz, Tofo looks very good.

After looking at a few posts, it seems that in SA it's typically just 2 dives a day, is that right?

I've seen that Scubaaddicts offer a SA/Moz trip but i'd like more than 18 dives and to go to Tofo, does anyone know a company that offers that this and handles all your transfers? Is Tofo better than Ponto Do Oura for WS/Manta?

If not, would it be cheaper/more dives if I organise it myself visiting PB, AS & driving up Tofo alone? Would I hire a 4x4 to drive from durban airport to SA, then up to Tofo, then back to Durban?

If it is, how would you recommend I divide up my time to make the most of these places & avoid disappointment with the sharks? My main interest is to see the sharks & whale/Manta.

I've looked at Afridive & Peri-peri, who seem good, any other tips on who to dive/stay with?
Any help you could give with recommendations and transfer tips would be much appreciated.
Many Thanks!
 
Thats a big list of questions.

There are no Baited Tiger shark dives that I am aware of, actually drawing sharks in with bait (chumming) is a somewhat controversial issue here, but never the less, the only caged dives for big predators is for great whites, theres lots of operators you can google depending on your locality but most are down in the Cape, I particularly like the Gansbaai area, but its dead boring if you dont dive as theres not much else to do.

For other big marine life I cant stress Aliwal Shoal enough, its a magnificent dive site and well worth a lengthy stay, but it can be unpredictable and rough with heavy swells, surge and strong currents, so bear that in mind, however March is usually a pretty good time.

For smaller stuff Sodwana Bay or Ponta are great, plus the water is warm and you can pretty much dive quite comfortably everyday.

It is correct that most divers typically only do 2 dives a day, theres a few reasons, distance to the site, depth, unpredictable conditions which can be challenging and fatigue a diver quickly....but in places like Sodwana Bay and even Ponta three dives are usually possible if conditions are good, you just need to chat to the operator ahead of time.

Tofo is known for Manta's, so if you want to see Manta's thats where you need to go, you may see them in Sodwana or Ponta, many do, but its a crap shoot, whereas the chances of a sighting in Tofo are much higher.

Personally I would not suggest driving to Tofo as a single person, too many variables and chances for issues, even a Ponta drive can be a tricky drive if it rains for instance.

The best suggestion is to drive to the SA/ Moz border post and leave the car there in the designated area. Most Ponta operators will fetch you from the border post in a 4 x 4 for free or a small cost and is what I would suggest, contact Select Africa Safaris (Pat or Lawrence) Select Africa Safaris and Africa Scuba Travel and chat to them, they can keep you in the loop and will advise the best option for you, thats what they do.

For Tofo diving I would suggest Tofo Scuba Tofo Scuba - Home again they will advise you best, drop them an e-mail.

Unfortunately your list of requirements means you may have to travel the length of the SA east coast, not impossible, but SA is a big country and will mean a lot of travelling due to your time constraints.

You may want to try and be a little more regional, Durban up the coast to Tofo should be fine, but that sort of cuts out the great white experience.

Difficult choices,.....good luck.
 
Hi outpost31,

If you want to see bull sharks you should head to Protea Banks, the chances to see them in Aliwal Shoal are very small if none.

In Protea you'll also see Balcktips, duskys, raggies and if you're lucky tigers and hammerheads.

In Aliwal Shoal there are mainly blacktips and raggies. On the reef dive you can see huge groupers, rays and little stuff to photograph.

You said that you go in May... if you can postpone for 1 month you'll also have the chance to see the Sardine Run. Absolutely worth it!

Hope helps :wink:
 
Hi Widget,

Thanks for the info, very helpful. The baited dives I mean is this one...
Tigershark diving Protea Banks South Africa

I think I'll be trying to pack too much in if I went to Moz so I'll leave that for another time. I'll just do PB & Aliwal and divide my time between the two. If I was there for 7 days or so, how many days do you think I should do in each?

Hi EDA,

thanks for the reply. No, I said i'm going in March, june will be too late as I'm going on to Oz to see family. The Sardine Run is definitely something I'd like to do but I always thought it was unpredictable and was only worth going there if you had enough time to wait for it to turn up, so to speak? Thank you tho.

If I had a day or two more, after the diving, is there any places to interact with young lions like in a sanctuary/reserve, like a place that rears them to be released back into the wild? Or are there just places to go on (mini) safaris that are close by?

many thanks!
 
Hi Widget,

Thanks for the info, very helpful. The baited dives I mean is this one...
Tigershark diving Protea Banks South Africa

I think I'll be trying to pack too much in if I went to Moz so I'll leave that for another time. I'll just do PB & Aliwal and divide my time between the two. If I was there for 7 days or so, how many days do you think I should do in each?

Hi EDA,

thanks for the reply. No, I said i'm going in March, june will be too late as I'm going on to Oz to see family. The Sardine Run is definitely something I'd like to do but I always thought it was unpredictable and was only worth going there if you had enough time to wait for it to turn up, so to speak? Thank you tho.

If I had a day or two more, after the diving, is there any places to interact with young lions like in a sanctuary/reserve, like a place that rears them to be released back into the wild? Or are there just places to go on (mini) safaris that are close by?

many thanks!

Oh yeah, okay, maybe I misunderstood you a bit as I thought you were looking for a cage dive where they draw the shark right up to the cage with bait, but this is a little different in that they simply (or hopefully) bring the shark into the area, no actual feeding or luring of the shark up close happens, but Yeah, its an interesting adventure. I also know Roland well and would be very comfortable endorsing his operation, but all the operators there are very cautious and professional, in the end it would just be a personal choice.

My opinion is that I would spend longer at Aliwal, but thats just my personal choice, there are a lot of good operators there, perhaps just contact a few and get some feedback, :: Oceanworx Dive Charters :: Aliwal Shoal, South Africa ::, Agulhas House - Umkomaas Accomodation | Aliwal Shoal | Scuba Diving | PADI Dive Courses, Shark Diving|Baited Shark Dives|Scuba Diving Resort|South Africa are just three, there are lots more and all will give you a warm welcome.

Maybe EDA can assist better on the Lion or big game bit, but the only place I know of is in Johannesburg The Lion Park in South AfricaCub World - but its a great experience and I think if you have a day or so a visit would be well worth while. Its almost slap bang in the centre of Johannesburg so lots of good hotel accommodation and other attractions close by.
 
Thanks Widget,

I did look at that lion park but a couple of reviews suggested that the time spent with the cubs is very short. A reviewer said that the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve is a good one but It says you only get five mins with them, has anyone been to these or any others that give you a bit more time? I don't want to go to any that rear lions for Canned Hunts tho.

Update: My brother just suggested that he may want me to come to Oz in July which changes this trip, although I still keeping it open right now, but it does mean I may be able to do the Sardine Run. Looking at some operators it looks quite expensive for just (typically) fours days at sea with obviously no guarantee of catching it. I'm gonna start a new thread to see if anyone knows of operators that offer more days.
 
Thanks Scubadollar,

I'll look into them too. When I get back I'll post a Trip Report.

Update: After looking into the Sardine Run I don't think I afford to go there long enough to have a good chance of catching it so I'll leave it for another time.

So, if anyone has any experience regarding the Lion Experiences near Durban or relatively close to it, please let me know, thanks.
 
Hey outpost
I dont know if you've finalaised your plans yet but if you want to see bull sharks (zambezis) protea is the only place to go for a very high chance and you'll also have a good chance of seeing hammerheads, tigers, black tips, guitar sharks and possibly raggies and theres always the chance you'll have whales in the area you probably wont see them underwater but will definitely hear them if they're around. Roland at african dive adventures is an excellent operator they do the baited drum dives for tigers here but i've found i've never seen a tiger on one of these but seen them on the reef, probably just unlucky on the baited dives(which are a lot more expensive). The diving is also quite easy as they are almost always drift dives but deep 30 mtrs with a negative entry.
Aliwall is another excellent site but more hit and miss for sharks unless the raggies are there which is possible in march. The tiger dives would appear to be more established here with a lot of operators offering them and if the tigers dont turn up you'll more than likely be swamped with blacktips or duskies anyway. Umkomass is a town built around diving the shoals and there plenty of good operators.
If you still want to get to moz cant recomend fofo highly enough would not recomend driving though roads are horrendous ieould fly up to tofo sa airlines are reasonable enough but i think you can only fly direct to inhambane from jo burg. Peri peri are an excellent set up and work a lot with andrea and simon from the manta and whale shark research. Mantas and whale sharks are year round here so the chances of seeing them are high. Punto is another excellent site but would be a site for bull sharks rather than mantas or whale sharks they could turn up but not as likely as at tofo.
As an aside if you end up down near cape town i would recomend doing the blue shark and mako dive out of simonstown its not cheap and is a long way out but is brilliant , check with the operator whether you want to cage dive or not some use them some dont and on the way back in you can dive with the cow sharks(six gills) in false bay knowing there are great whites swimming around outside the kelp forest.
Cheers and enjoy sa is definitely the best place to dive with sharks

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
 
Hi Carcharis,

Thank you for the info! My plans aren't finalised yet but I am decided on spending a few days in both PB & AS, Tofo I'll leave for another time.

Right now I'm just trying to gauge how many regular dives and how many baited shark dives I should do at each place. Are you saying I should save my money for more baited dives in Aliwal rather than in PB because I'll see sharks on regular dives anyway in Aliwal?

The blue shark diving sounds great but I may have to leave that for another time, It's added to my list.

Thanks for your help mate!
 
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