Diving Durban with Calypso Dive Center and Aliwal Shoal with Aliwal Dive Center -- TR

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Thank you for sharing your write-up. The surf launches in Umkomaas are quite 'interesting', no? I'm used to diving off an RIB -- it's how pretty much all boat diving in South Africa is done -- but getting out through that surf was something new. I was also lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins underwater when I was at Aliwal Shoal. The diving there is a bit rough and tumble, but it can be really worth it.
 
Thanks for the write up jnash. Hope you guys will come back some day. Give Sodwana Bay a try next time.

xyrandomyx, I believe Aliwal is for advanced divers? Aliwal is next on my list after diving in Ponta in June (can't wait!). I just want to make sure I have the right experience before going to Aliwal. I have done my AOW and logged 15 dives now (11 at Sodwana, rest at our quarry, Miracle Waters). My buoyancy and profile are very good. I can move around quickly if I need to, so I am an average swimmer. I am just concerned about surface conditions and heavy currents. I have unfortunately not had any experience with heavy currents or bad surface conditions. Do you think I need more experience before diving at Aliwal on a bad day? I am not afraid of rough launches and I don't get sea sick on the rides out back/in or while kitting up to roll off the boat. Funnily enough, I really enjoy the boat rides. Adds a bit more excitement to the dive.

I have been lucky to snorkel with dolphins twice now, but would love to experience dolphins while on Scuba. Very lucky!
 
Thanks for the write up jnash. Hope you guys will come back some day. Give Sodwana Bay a try next time.

xyrandomyx, I believe Aliwal is for advanced divers? Aliwal is next on my list after diving in Ponta in June (can't wait!). I just want to make sure I have the right experience before going to Aliwal. I have done my AOW and logged 15 dives now (11 at Sodwana, rest at our quarry, Miracle Waters). My buoyancy and profile are very good. I can move around quickly if I need to, so I am an average swimmer. I am just concerned about surface conditions and heavy currents. I have unfortunately not had any experience with heavy currents or bad surface conditions. Do you think I need more experience before diving at Aliwal on a bad day? I am not afraid of rough launches and I don't get sea sick on the rides out back/in or while kitting up to roll off the boat. Funnily enough, I really enjoy the boat rides. Adds a bit more excitement to the dive.

I have been lucky to snorkel with dolphins twice now, but would love to experience dolphins while on Scuba. Very lucky!

I'm probably not the best person to ask, since I'm not the most experienced diver myself and have only done five dives at Aliwal Shoal myself (one dive trip). But I'll answer anyway (and leave it to you to weight my opinion appropriately). It was a lot tougher diving than Sodwana Bay. The currents on 4 out of 5 of the dives I did were 'strong'. It's hard to give a precise definition of 'strong', I'd probably just be lying if I were to put a number to it in knots, but it was strong enough that I, a moderately fit person, would've struggled to make any progress against the current for more than a minute or two. And that progress would've been very slow.

The visibility on 4 out of 5 of the dives was around 8--10 metres. Pretty good by Cape Town standards, not great by Sodwana Bay standards (and terrible by the standards of some tropical locations). There wasn't much surge beneath 10 metres. It was pretty choppy on the surface and the swell was fair-sized, but I'd already experienced considerably worse in Cape Town.

The fifth dive, everything was somehow close to perfect. Mild current, only really noticeable if you hovered and watched the bottom slowly move under you. 15--20 metres of vis. No chop, a bit of swell, but nothing much. The sixth dive didn't happen because of bad weather.

So. Um. To try answer your question: I suppose it depends a lot on how comfortable you feel. I only had 20-something dives when I visited there, I did alright. There were OW students on the boat with me. That said, more experience couldn't hurt and you might get more out of it (more of the fun of diving, rather than focus on the mechanics of it). You could also look into hiring a private DM (maybe on a day-to-day basis, ditch them if you realise they aren't necessary).
 
Thanks for the write up jnash. Hope you guys will come back some day. Give Sodwana Bay a try next time.

xyrandomyx, I believe Aliwal is for advanced divers? Aliwal is next on my list after diving in Ponta in June (can't wait!). I just want to make sure I have the right experience before going to Aliwal. I have done my AOW and logged 15 dives now (11 at Sodwana, rest at our quarry, Miracle Waters). My buoyancy and profile are very good. I can move around quickly if I need to, so I am an average swimmer. I am just concerned about surface conditions and heavy currents. I have unfortunately not had any experience with heavy currents or bad surface conditions. Do you think I need more experience before diving at Aliwal on a bad day? I am not afraid of rough launches and I don't get sea sick on the rides out back/in or while kitting up to roll off the boat. Funnily enough, I really enjoy the boat rides. Adds a bit more excitement to the dive.

I have been lucky to snorkel with dolphins twice now, but would love to experience dolphins while on Scuba. Very lucky!

Cant see you needing more dives, many people do their qualifying dives at Aliwal. I recon you will be fine.

As we are coming into winter this is actually a good time to go dive there as the conditions are more stable, but as Xyrandomyx mentions its a different dive, maybe a little harder on an average day, but in my opinion a lot more rewarding.

Book with one of the excellent operators down there, and go dive the shoal, you'll enjoy it.

Let us know how it goes.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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