Top 10 spots for snorkelling and diving in Southern Africa
While you're enjoying your relaxing holiday near the seaside, snorkelling is one of those activities you simply have to do. Check out the top 10 spots for snorkelling in Southern Africa.
Top 10 spots for snorkelling and diving in Southern Africa
Posted by Dalene Ingham-Brown on 18 Nov 2011, 14:52
Categories: Travel News
Immersed in a world of fascinating sea life, coral and other squishy things that wriggle and blow bubbles, snorkelling gives you the opportunity to explore a world millions of people don’t get to experience. Even the smallest tidal pool can prove amazing for a bout of snorkeling, but if you want the very best in underwater viewing, check out these top 10 spots for snorkeling and diving in Southern Africa.
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Above: The waters of Mozambique
1. Sodwana Bay
Sodwana Bay offers one of the best snorkeling and diving areas in the world! For a grand variety of sea-life and tropical reefs, Sodwana Bay National Park is an absolute playground!
2. Aliwal Shoal
Aliwal Shoal is on the South Coast of KwaZulu Natal and is known for sightings of ragged tooth sharks, cold water fish and warm water reef fish. This stretch of aqua is home to an array of sponges, soft and hard corals, and an interesting shipwreck dive.
3. Maputaland
Maputaland in northern KwaZulu Natal has Cape Vidal near Saint Lucia village for sheltered snorkeling at low tide. Kosi Bay Nature Reserve, at the mouth of the Kosi Lakes, on the Mozambique border, is a lovely spot for aqua exploration! The warm waters over the only coral reef are gorgeous, in the underwater world to be found within an estuary.
4. Protea Banks
Protea Banks is just off Shelly Beach, south of Port Shepstone. Catch a glimpse of the Zambezi tiger and hammerhead sharks in summer as well as ragged tooth sharks in winter.
5. Knysna
Knysna is a beautiful spot filled with great dive and snorkel spots. Coney Glen offers great rock pools for some leisurely snorkeling fun in the sun. Knysna is home to the Knysna Seahorse which is both rare and beautiful, but if you have a little patience and good eye, you could spot one. Considered to be endangered, if you do manage to lay your eyes of one of these beauts, you’ll want to have your underwater camera ready!
6. Plettenberg Bay
Plettenberg Bay, along the Garden Route is filled with plenty of invertebrates, like sponges, anemones and nudibranchs. These organisms offer a brilliant array of colours for a dose of fun underwater discovery.
7. Tsitsikamma Marine Park
Storms River at Tsitsikamma Marine Park is filled with rare marine animals, but be careful of rough waters.
8. Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay is home to lovely shallow reefs where a wide variety of sea dwelling critters have made their home.
9. Nelson Mandela Bay
Nelson Mandela Bay, just off Port Elizabeth is great for snorkeling and diving in a cold-water coral garden with tropical vagrant species, jellyfish and octopus.
10. Two Mile Reef
The Bazaruto Archipelago, in Mozambique is home to the pristine Two Mile Reef. This spot is one of the top snorkeling and diving sites in Africa! At Two Mile you can wander through the colourful tropical gardens in crystal-clear waters and ogle at the amazing schools of stunning tropical fish with their vibrant colours. A truly breathtaking experience.
Grab your kit, beg, borrow or buy an underwater camera and venture off to experience a variety of fauna often not experienced on your average holiday. But who said anything about your adventure in Southern Africa being average right? Take extraordinary holiday!
Reader Comments
- Monica on April 17 2012
Are the Fur Seals completely tame in Plettenberg Bay? I’ve heard of people being bitten by seals further West in the Cape Peninsula.
They are not tame at all, these are wild seals in their natural environment. They are just not aggressive towards snorkels at all. Think we dont pose a threat to them in water as we are clumsy swimmers compared to them.
Most cases of where seals have bitten people is on land, where people go to close to them trying to pet an wild animal and in most cases the seals themselves are injured.There has been no such cases to date in Plettenberg Bay
I just chatted to a contact of mine who is a diver. Apparently 95% of the time seals are easy going and playful with snorkelers and divers in the water, which makes for a greatly enjoyable experience. However it is possible to encounter an aggressive seal in the water when diving, without provoking them in any way first.
A good rule of thumb is to not snorkel off a boat that has been chumming to attract seals, or where there has been fishing on, or near, the boat. Seals may mistake hands or feet for fish when entering the water and attack instinctively.
