Having done a side trip from Egypt via
Israel to Greece, primarily so Tracy could see Pete at Tattoo
Kos and get her Lionfish Tattoo, we finally decide on our next
destination and purchase a couple of one way tickets to Johannesburg,
South Africa.
We arrived in South Africa fairly jet lagged and tired as we had
a night flight from Athens via Cairo (with a 3 hour wait at Cairo
airport from 1am 'til 4am - not a very pleasant experience). As
soon as we checked through customs, we set about the task of getting
an internal flight to Durban, which we managed to achieve fairly
easily and booked a flight that was leaving within 2 hours. We
rang Zeta (who we met in Taba) and arranged to stay with her and
she kindly offered to pick us up from the airport when we arrived
in Durban. So while we waited for our flight we retired to the
Keg (pub) for a couple of pints of Boddingtons (South Africa is
such a civilised country) and a decent glass of wine.
A quick flight (one hour) to Durban and we were whisked off to
Zeta's house in Umdloti where we met her family and had a hot
shower and caught up on some much needed sleep. The next day Tracy
got her first real taste of South Africa. Firstly watching wild
Vervet monkeys at play in the garden, then a walk along the beach
with Woody, Zeta's father, where we saw whales breaching and a
pod of dolphins playing amongst the surfers! The next treat was
a huge family of Mongoose in a neighbours garden, then another
troop of monkeys!! Needless to say Tracy, with her love of wildlife,
especially monkeys, had a sensory overload and fell in love with
South Africa immediately.
We stayed with Zeta for a couple of days then moved on to Owen's.
Another friend we made in Taba. We went out for a few night outs
and eventually decided it was time for a dive! The next day we're
booked up to go diving with D.C, from The Whaler Dive Centre in
Umkamaas. Terry, being the only one out of the three us who had
already dived the Aliwal Shoal, knew what the day would hold in
store. We kitted up at the dive shop, then drove to the beach
where we had our dive briefing. This was followed by a very hectic
launch in the Rubber Duck dive boat through the surf and swell
to the shoal. Tracy had a rather uncertain look on her face the
whole journey out and an even more perplexed disposition when
she came face to face with several ragged toothed sharks!! Owen
was totally unphased by the whole scenario and looked like someone
who'd been diving for years - not just a matter of weeks.
We decided to stay in Umkamaas at a guesthouse run by Les Leiper.
We bid a farewell and see you soon to Owen and we are on our own
again trying to hatch a plan for our next onward move. After a
few more dives with the Whaler, and a great deal of indecision
on our behalf, we take Bret (the owner of The Whaler) up on an
offer of:- if we help him out on a big dive course for the following
weekend, we can stay at his home rent free and dive as much as
we liked! It was just what we needed as, even though the pound
was so strong against the Rand, and everything like eating and
drinking was fairly cheap, it was the cost of accommodation that
was eating into our budget rather quickly! We were now part of
The Whaler dive team along with DC and two divemaster trainees,
Tyron (a local) and Ed (a young English backpacker who had become
stuck in Umkamaas!).
As time went on in Umkamaas, we ended
up house sitting for a local couple, Ruth and Ginger, who were
so friendly they decided to "adopt" Ed and take him
into their home rent free for as long as he liked!! (As far as
we know, he's still there now!) Terry went to Sodwana Bay for
a long weekend with Brett as his Divemaster and became good friends
with two customers, Trevor and Vicky. We had a 5 day fly-drive
trip to Cape Town where Terry went diving with Great Whites (Tracy
would have gone but needed to stay on board to get photos!!).
Tracy visited a monkey sanctuary we watched wild Baboons at Cape
of Good Hope. Then a trip from Durban to HluwHluwe (pronounced
shoo shlooy) Game Park where we were treated to Rhinos, Elephants,
Buffalo, Giraffes and Zebra among many other incredible wild animals.
In December we spent an amazing Christmas Day and ate a fantastic
Christmas dinner, courtesy of Rob, Tyron's dad and another diver,
and a brilliant host who left you wanting for nothing. We went
out a few more times with Owen out and about Durban. Then a final
dive on the shoal to say our goodbyes to everyone before heading
back home to England.
We will return one day and maybe buy that
house in Clansthal if it's still on offer. Africa is truly a magical
country full of good people. Top
THE
ALIWAL SHOAL
Taking it's name from the
three masted vessel "The Aliwal", captained by James
Anderson, which sunk after hitting the reef in 1849, The Aliwal
Shoal is fast becoming one of the top dive destinations in the
world with foreign divers. It's unique surf entries and
exhilarating beach landings in the Mkhomanzi River in the
"rubber duck" dive boats. Together with the fact that
nearly every launch is like a white water rafting ride and a whale
watching trip rolled into one, this place has the feeling of real
adventure to it which sometimes is not to everyone's enjoyment -
particularly if there is a big swell over the shoal! The South
Africans are proud of the ruggedness of the shoal and are
constantly saying "..if you can dive here you can dive
anywhere in the world.." which tends to grate after the
hundredth time of hearing it (mentioning no names… DC!!).
Most of the diving on the shoal is fairly shallow and is centred
around "Raggies Cave", "The Chunnel", and
"The Pinnacles". The main attraction is the presence of
the fierce but docile Ragged Toothed Sharks which make the shoal
their home and breeding ground during the winter months. It is
quite common to have 15-20 "raggies" around you at any
one time, which can stress a few divers out (Tracy too!) as they
try to overcome the natural urge to panic when surrounded by so
many sharks, even though you have it drummed into you that these
sharks never attack and they are just like big puppies. Some do
get inquisitive but most are shy and do keep their distance.
There is one deep dive commonly used on the shoal called "The
Cathedral". Formed by a hole in the reef and descending to
28m where there is an archway for entry/exits. The Cathedral is
also home to a fair few Raggies during the season when it's
preferred if you don't actually enter the Cathedral, but stay
either at the entrance of the archway, or on the top of the reef
so as not to disturb the sharks.
Ragged Toothed Sharks are not the only highlight of the Aliwal
Shoal. It is home to most reef fish ranging from the very small to
the larger pelagics. Colour here is not as vivid as other tropical
destinations but this is easily counteracted by the uncertainty of
what you will possibly be treated to! On several dives, Terry saw
a school of 30+ Devil Rays whilst doing a safety stop with
customers. Also schools of Dolphin plus many Guitar sharks,
Leopard Rays and even a Whale Shark on one occasion! The great
thing about Aliwal Shoal is it's uncertainty, be it sea conditions
or what pelagics will come cruising past. Not forgetting to
mention the friendliness and camaraderie you will experience with
the local divers, especially over a big fried breakfast back at
the dive shop (thanks Les!) Top
MV PRODUCE WRECK (ALIWAL SHOAL)
Located at an approximate position of LAT 30 15 00S LON 30 49
30E and lying in a north south orientation at a depth of 30m.
The 80m long, 13358 ton Norwegian built bulk carrier sunk on 11th
August 1974 after it struck the Aliwal Shoal, while en route to
the UK from Durban with a full cargo of molasses. No lives were
lost as the crew were rescued by the freighter S A Oranjeland
(which was subsequently wrecked 2 days later off East London,
having put the survivors of The Produce ashore).
The wreck is broken into discernible sections. The bow lies at
30m and rises to 16m. The midships section ranges from 30-24m
and the stern rises from 30-14m. You can dive the whole wreck
in one dive but if there are strong currents or low visibility
it's best to do one section, exploring the many swim throughs
and holds and trying to work out exactly what part of the ship
you are on. Terry was particularly pleased one dive when he realised
he had just swum past the main engine and was now sitting on it's
rocker gear and tried to explain this with great difficulty to
a rather non-plussed Tracy! The main sea life attraction on the
wreck is the huge but shy Brindal Bass that have made it home
as well as the usual pelagics that often as not cruise past. Safety
stops have to be done in "blue water" as the highest
point of the wreck is 16m. This can be a bit disconcerting for
some divers, especially if there is a current, but as long as
everyone stays with the surface marker buoy, there is always a
boat waiting for you when you surface. Top
SS
NEBO WRECK (ALIWAL SHOAL)
Located slightly closer inland than the
wreck of The Produce, the steamship Nebo, sank in stormy weather
in 1884 with a full cargo of railway sleepers and now sits at a
maximum depth of 26m, rising up to around 18m. Because of it's
depth, bottom time on the wreck is fairly limited but can be
lengthened by using Nitrox which most of the South African divers
tend to use and can easily be obtained from Brett at The Whaler
Dive Centre in Umkamaas. There are some fairly tight swim throughs
on this wreck formed by the broken up plates of the hull. The
wreck's quite scattered so it pays to have a good look around -
but be careful where you are going as there is a lot of sharp
debris and scorpion fish lurking well camouflaged all over the
wreck! Once again Brindal Bass are common here, as are the cute
little Natal Catfish (they look like baby sharks and are know as
"Open Water One" sharks by the locals). Also varied
forms of rays are generally found in the sand around the wreck. As
usual with diving in Aliwal Shoal, you never know what is going to
cruise in from the blue water! Again, safety stops are done in
midwater, drifting with the usual currents that prevail in these
parts. Top
SODWANA BAY
Sodwana (meaning "little one on it's
own" in Zulu) is situated on South Africa's east coast
close to the border with Mozambique. It boasts unspoilt beaches,
a wide variety of wildlife, including nesting grounds for
Loggerhead and Leather back turtles. Colourful diving with a
wide variety of hard and soft coral, plus around 1200 species of
indo-pacific tropical fish and plentiful supplies of Marlin and
Sailfish for game fishermen.
The whole area from Cape Vidal up to the Mozambique boarder is
now a Marine Reserve with it's boundaries stretching from the
spring high tide mark to 5km out to sea. It is forbidden for
divers to remove any souvenirs and for fishermen to fish for
reef fish or the sea bed. Most fishermen who understand and love
the area operated on a tag and release system so as to keep the
sea's plentiful, but, as with the diving community, there will
always be one or two who seem determined not to treat the area
with respect and spoil it for others.
The diving generally starts from the beach
at Jesser Point which is the main launching site. The launches
are nowhere as hectic as the launches at the Aliwal Shoal and
the seas are a lot calmer. All the dive sites are reefs running
North from Jesser Point and are names by their distance from the
beach. Top
Two Mile Reef
This is the longest and most popular reef. It is about 2km long
and 900m wide with a depth varying from 9m-24m, but can go to
40m at Sponge Reef. Mostly the sites used are Four Buoy, Caves
& Overhangs and Antons Reef.
Five Mile Reef
Five mile reef is relatively small with a depth of 15m to 22m,
but home to a large amount of anemones and Skunk Clown Fish. The
inward part of the reef offers protection for turtles and rays
which can often be seen here.
Nine Mile Reef
This is a protected reef and only a certain amount of divers are
permitted to visit this site. It is renowned for it's colourful
soft corals. Depths range from 5m-24m.
Terry travelled up to Sodwana Bay for a long weekend with Brett.
Staying with Rhian, the Skipper, and two of Brett's customers from
Johannesburg, Trevor and Vicky, in the luxury of one of Sodwana
Bay Lodges finest lodges!! Terry got on very well with Trevor and
Vicky and persuaded them to come down to Durban a couple of weeks
later - even though Trevor seems intent on throwing his beer over
Terry at every possible opportunity - and taking bad weather with
him wherever he goes!! Needless to say then, it rained heavily
most of the weekend, causing the run off to affect the visibility
on the diving greatly. Two mile reef was the only site to be dived
that weekend apart from one "big blue" dive to 40m, but
no pelagics came drifting by. The highlight of the weekend, apart
from Trevor's jokes, was that they saw (very briefly) a Tiger Shark
on one dive. Well they think they did, but the visibility was so
bad you never know!! Top
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