SCUBA DIVING: South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Mauritius, Lake Malawi and Egypt (Red Sea), have some amazing diving sites in the world. For your customized itinerary, please email us and we can assist you with your destination choice.
South Africa Diving Sites:
South Africa diving is a must destination for the experienced diver searching for adventure. There is nothing quite like the absolute beauty of scuba diving in South Africa. The sea life and intricate reefs you’ll observe when scuba diving in South Africa will leave you reeling in disbelief. South Africa is an ideal location for some spectacular scuba diving as it has an extensive coastline with widely varied conditions and water temperatures. Diving centers know safe and calm diving sites for beginners and students but generally the conditions can be quite hard. Experienced divers will have the opportunity to make a lot of unforgettable dives. South Africa diving highlights are numerous. South africa is the paradise for shark lovers! Starting with the Great white shark diving around Dyer Islands South East of the Cape of Good Hope. Diving with sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus) in the region of Durban without forgetting the great hammerhead and whaleshark. Sodwana Bay benefits from warm water coming down from Mozambique so there is a great variety of sea life including bottle-nosed dolphins, sharks, whale sharks and turtles. More than 1200 species of fish are found in these waters.
South Africa is surrounded by the sea to the west, south and east and has a lengthy coastline. This coastline is swept by two major ocean currents, the warm Mozambique Agulhas and the cold Benguela systems. The contrast in temperature between these two currents partly accounts for important differences in climate and vegetation between the east and west coasts of South Africa. It also causes big differences in marine life, because the cold waters of the west coast are much richer in oxygen, nitrates, phosphates and plankton than those of the east coast. The Atlantic is cooled by the Benguela current coming up from the southern Atlantic and bringing with it water rich in micro-organisms. This accounts for the huge kelp forests found on the Atlantic as well as the fish, seals and whales which feed on the smaller animals. The warmer Mozambique current results in slightly warmer water and different marine life - more invertebrates and colorful sponges.
Average air temperature during the year: 7°C (44°F) to 32°C (90°F)
Average Water surface temperature: 9°C (49°F) to 20°C (68°F)
We recommend diving in dry-suits or good quality 7mm, 2-piece wetsuits and bring a torch for the deeper reefs and wrecks.
Water temperatures average 4°C higher on the east side than on the west.
Coldest time: May through August (Winter)
Warmest time: January and February (Summer)
Contrary to logic the water is at its coldest in summer. This mean that in summer it's also advisable to take a good wetsuit (a 7mm wetsuit in good condition or a drysuit)
It is possible to dive all year round depending on the dive site. Many dive sites are not dived during certain periods of the year because of the poor visibility or rough conditions. Best time to dive: June, July, August, March, April and May
Visibility average: 3 to 20m
South Africa Diving sites:
Sodwana Bay, Protea Banks, Aliwali Shoal, Kosi Bay and the Cape Peninsula. Also along the Garden Route, there is some scuba diving and snorkling– Mossel Bay, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay
No matter where you choose to scuba dive in South Africa, you are guarantee an unforgettable time. An underwater camera is a definite so you can capture the astonishingly beautiful marine life in South African waters.
Mozambique Diving Sites
Mozambique is sites, with its long sunny deserted white beaches and tropical atmosphere it’s every diver’s paradise. In Mozambique dive sites are not crowded and consists of a abundant wide variety of marine life. This marine life include tropical and game fish species as well as rare creatures like dugongs, whale sharks and turtles. Conditions are favorable most of the year. The beauty of diving at Mozambique is that it is still not commercialized yet and most of the dive sites are still unspoilt unlike the Caribbean or the Great Barrier Reef.
Water temperatures range from 22°C in winter to 31°C in summer and visibility between 5 and 35 meters, with an average year round visibility of 15 metres.
There a numerous dive sites you can check out each with its own unique experience. The following are the most popular:
Ponto do Ouro
There are five dive sites at Ponto do Ouro where you can encounter anything from hammerheads, kingfish, barracuda to potato bass.
Vilanculos
In Vilanculos you can dive with whale sharks. These gentle giants are fairly common and of no danger to humans as the live of plankton. You can also dive at Manta Reef where like the name say you can swim with the gracious manta rays, but also turtles.
Bazaruto Island
At Bazaruto Island the best sites to dive at are Tandy’s Reef and Vengie’s. The Greek Temple has a series of pinnacles and pillars which rise from the ocean floor and is a popular dive spot.
Benguerra Island
Diving here is ideal because a short barrier reef that protects a narrow channel between Bazaruto and Benguerra. Here you will find several completely unspoilt dive sites. It has a colorful variety of hard and soft corals and supports numerous schools of reef fish like fusiliers, coachmen, goldies and snapper. Gamefish are also frequently encountered as well as many types of shark.
Pemba and the Querimbas
Gorgeous coral reefs lie off the coastline here, just waiting to be explored. Lucky divers may also see dolphins and whales.
Ponta Malongane
Situated in southern Mozambique just north of the South African border; the dive sites are unspoilt coral reefs ranging from 10m to 30m deep with visibility around 40m. The reef has many caves and gullies where you can encounter giant turtles, whale sharks, a beautiful wide variety of tropical fish, dolphins and scary sharks
Tanzania: Zanzibar & Pemba:
Tanzania offers divers world-class reefs and plentiful schools of tropical fish just offshore of popular beaches and secluded locations. Most of the reefs are accessible to snorkellers and equipment is easily rented from dive shops and lodges. Diving can be done year-round, but during the rains visibility can be limited. Most diving is done on the following sites: Mafia Marine Park, Pemba island Reefs and Zanzibar Marine Reefs.
Kenya:
Kenya also has some world class scuba diving sites which can be found in: Malindi Marine Park, Watamu Marine Park, Mombasa Marine Park & Reserve, Kisite Marine Park & Mpunguti Reserve and Kiunga Marine Park
Mauritius:
Mauritius- the island of incomparable beauty situated in the Indian Ocean is home to some of the world's finest coral reefs teeming with marine life. Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like the rush of swimming with schools of fish streaming by your side as you take in the beauty of vibrant coral reefs and the marine life of Mauritius.
Seychelles:
The Seychelles is made up of 115 of the most beautiful islands in the world. The granite islands of the Seychelles are laying on a submerged plateau just 4 degrees south of the equator, in a sea rich with fishes and coral, the Indian Ocean. Diving is offered both from dive centers on the islands or from a hand full of live boards with good facilities. The Seychelles has four marine national parks, and more than 150 species of tropical reef fish have been identified.
Lake Malawi:
Explore one of the world’s top freshwater dive destinations and indulge on hidden and unspoilt tropical islands that dot the warm and clear waters of Lake Malawi. There are 11 main dive sites around Nkharta Bay which generally comprise of big underwater boulders covered in algae which provide some interesting swim through and hundreds of beautiful fish.
Egypt:
Most of the diving in the Red Sea area is done with a shore-based, day boat dive operation or a live aboard dive boat. The currents in these areas vary from no current to very strong, so it is strongly advised to dive or snorkel with guides or with experienced divers who have dove in the area before and are familiar with the conditions. The dive sites are found in Sharma Rl Sheika, Hurghada, North & South Sinai.
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