Whale sharks in Mozambique/South Africa

[Katja]

Hi,

Does any of you know where to get the chance of scuba diving with Whale sharks - in Mozambique or South Africa.

 

[PeterET]

I know my dads friend dives with whale sharks in mozam. They were at Guinjata Bay

 

[Dive Bug Bit Me]

I have seen in Sodwana bay in SA in December. To be honest, this was blind luck and not that common an event. You are better off in Moz.

 

[Katja]

Thanks for your answer. But where in Mozambique then?

 

[Dive Bug Bit Me]

Hi Katja,

From the resounding silence, you probably guessed that I cannot pretend to tell you where you will find whale sharks, I can only tell where you might see them if you are lucky.

Basically my understanding is further north is better. I see that PeterMT suggested Guinjata Bay. I have never been there so no idea. Probably worth a Google.

 

[LiquidAdventures]

We have whale sharks here in Tofo year-round. We don't see them on SCUBA very often. Most of the whale sharks are seen feeding at the surface, and are best seen on snorkeling trips (we call them ocean safaris).

It's far too cumbersome to try to keep up with them with SCUBA gear, and they're far too fast. Snorkeling is the way to do it.

 

[Katja]

Thanks for all yours answers - sounds like Mozambique is where to go )

 

[mikekelly1980]

Katja,

Mozambique is indeed the place to go, in particular Inhambane province, otherwise known as the Manta Coast - Guinjata Bay (Praia de Jangamo), Tofo and Barra.

With one of the largest concentrations of whale sharks in the world, and THE largest recorded concentration of manta rays on the planet, diving off the coast of Inhambane really is world class.

As the poster from Liquid Adventures pointed out, you mostly see whale sharks on ocean safaris in this area, although sometimes you can be lucky enough to catch one cruising past on your safety stop. All of the local dive operators run regular ocean safaris and the height of the whale shark season is the summer months - October to April.

Manta rays are most commonly seen whilst scuba diving at the local cleaning stations, where the mantas come for their vital cleaning rituals. The most famous being Manta Reef, which all dive operators in the area visit and has 3 registered Manta cleaning stations. Mantas are present all year round but again the peak season is October to April.

The winter months - May to September - are when the humpback whales visit and can be seen migrating in great numbers from the southern oceans to northern mozambique and back.

I run a dive centre in this area, so if you would like any more information please visit our website - just google Jeff's Palm Resort, we're at Praia de Jangamo.

Good luck with planning your trip, you're going to have an amazing time!

 

[Kate in Africa]

Sorry to hijack your thread, Katja, but I'm really interested in Mozambique too, for next September. It's coming down to money - if we can afford it, it'll be Mozambique; if not, then Red Sea Egypt.

Anyone have a rough idea of total cost for a 7 day trip to Moz inc flights from London and 5 day's diving?

I've had a look at the Palm resort site, Mike - looks great! Is Sept too early for the whalesharks? My priority would be the humpbacks, because I've seen whalesharks a lot before (off Mafia) but my dive buddies have specifically said they'd want to see the whalesharks... so if Sept was likely for both, that'd be the clincher! Does your dive centre organise the humpback trips?

Thanks for any help guys!

 

[Seasidegirl77]

Tofo is the best place in the world apparently for manta rays and whale sharks with large populations and year round encounters.