Scuba Diving & Safari Tours

Although best known for the “Big Five”, South Africa is undoubtedly ranked amongst the top dive destinations worldwide. On this trip of a lifetime, you will be treated to the finest diving that South Africa has to offer alongside a Safari in style.

Our underwater adventures begin by taking in three full days diving the untamed wilderness of Aliwal Shoal. The Shoal is famed for its “big stuff” - Bottlenose Dolphins, Manta Rays, game fish and a variety of sharks. The most famous attractions of Aliwal are its sharks, and for many who dive the Shoal the place quite simply means sharks! The spotted Ragged-tooth Sharks, better known by locals as “raggies”, is a winter visitor but Tiger Shark diving is also available most of the year round. This is true adventure diving, allowing for an intimate, eye-to-eye encounter with these formidable creatures, as they leisurely cruise amongst us, normally accompanied by an encore of Blacktips or Dusky Sharks. If you are able to turn your back on all of the “big stuff” and put your nose down to the rugged reef you may also be surprised by a number of small and challenging finds. The Shoal lies in a transition zone between the tropical and temperate regions and showcases a mixture of both tropical and warm-temperate species.

Moving northwards we head towards the more tropical diving off Sodwana Bay, rated alongside Aliwal as one of the top international dive sites, and certainly South Africa’s most popular dive destination. The reefs are truthfully exquisite, with warm waters, great visibility and biodiversity said to rival that of the Great Barrier Reef - from minute nudibranchs best viewed with a magnifying glass, to gigantic Whale Sharks. Our focus during the summer months is the Ragged-tooth Shark which has become the flagship species at Quarter-Mile Reef. With a short pointed snout, small beady eyes and a mouth crammed full of needle-like teeth the Ragged-tooth Shark oozes malevolence. Looks are however misleading and we have learnt that, unmolested, raggies are gentle and quietly accommodating despite their menacing appearance.

After two days at Sodwana, we migrate a little further north to Rocktail Bay. Few places along the South African coastline are as unspoiled and secluded as this “secret spot” and during our two days here we will be spoiled with extraordinary diving, intimate service and pristine sandy beaches. Here the hype in winter is the arrival of the Humpback Whales - they may be viewed whilst on the boat en route to the dive sites or if you are truly blessed, on a dive. Their voices carry through water over vast distances and they are often heard by divers as they perform their long, complex and haunting songs. These reefs are bathed by the mighty Agulhas current, which pushes warm, crystal clear, blue water down the east coast allowing for some of the southernmost coral reefs in the world — the region has more hard coral species than the Caribbean and more than half the world’s soft coral species! During the summer months a highlight is the mighty Whale Shark, the largest living fish in the world! This gentle giant is almost always attended by other companionable fish, such as Pilotfish, juvenile Kingfish, Prodigal Son and Remoras. At this time of year the reefs are exquisite, with warm waters, stunning visibility and a spectacular assortment of marine life - Nudibranchs, Paperfish, Pineapplefish, Ghost Pipefish, and for those of you who prefer the big stuff an assortment of rays - Honeycombs, Electric Rays, Sandshark, Sharpnose Stingrays, Eagle Rays, Blue-spotted Rays and Round-ribbon Rays. Turtles are numerous, Loggerhead, Green, Hawksbill and even possibly a Leatherback could be spotted under the water. Although the Leatherback is elusive and not usually seen whilst on a dive, these ancient mariners along with Loggerhead Turtles can be viewed in the summer evenings as they faithfully return to Rocktail Bay beaches to nest in burrows excavated above the high water mark.

A wildlife trip to South Africa would be incomplete without a game safari, and as we head back to Durban for our onward flights we take time for a three night stopover in the heart of the Zulu Kingdom’s “Big Five” territory for some splendid mammal viewing.

Those who decide to do the Cape extension will be treated to a feast of nature and remarkable beauty. The Mother City, Cape Town, widely considered one of the world’s most beautiful cities, will be our base for this extension. From here we will range out to explore the varied ecosystems conveniently accessible from our comfortable base. During the winter months, we will take a day trip out to Seal Island to view the fabulous “flying” Great White Sharks. Seal Island, although most famed for its breaching sharks, is home to thousands of Cape Fur Seals as well as Jackass Penguins. Although there will be opportunity to cage dive and to see the sharks underwater, we will focus on observing the sharks from the deck doing what they do naturally - hunt seals! Depending upon timing, we will also take advantage of the annual migration of Southern Right Whales, which move into the protected Cape bays during winter, escaping the harsh Antarctic climate in order calve and nurture their young. We will also take a day trip to Hermanus, undoubtedly the best place in the world to view whales from the shore. Here we will also take to the sea to appreciate close up the beauty, bulk and astonishing behavior of these whales (no diving is permitted). During the summer months we will take advantage of the warmer, less sharky waters and dive off Seal Island where we will enjoy fabulous encounters with ballets of Cape Fur Seals. A trip to the Cape would of course be incomplete without a visit to the winelands, and this will form a relaxed and decadent ending to an astounding trip.

The annual drama cast beneath the sea as numerous shoals of millions of sardines migrate up the East Coast from the Cape has been dubbed “the greatest shoal on earth”. This unique marine wonder occurs nowhere else on Earth and is easily just as dramatic as the famed migrations of wildebeest in East Africa. It is not merely the glistening shoals of sardines that are a spectacle, but the dinner party of awesome predators that follow - dolphins, whales, game fish, sharks, seals and birds. This spectacular phenomenon takes place in late June or early July and can be enjoyed as an optional extension to this magnificent tour.

Seasonal calendar (please note that this calendar serves as a guideline only and marine life is variable from year to year)

Whale Sharks	Sodwana, Rocktail	December to March
Tiger Sharks	Aliwal	November to August
Ragged-tooth Sharks	Aliwal	June to November
Ragged-tooth Sharks	Sodwana	November to March
Humpback Whales	Aliwal, Sodwana, Rocktail	June to October (lull in August)
Southern Right Whales	Cape	June to November
Great White Sharks	Cape	Mid April to mid September
Sardine Run	Eastern Cape	Late June or early July