False Bay’s southern peninsula is a hive of activity. In between fishing, surfing, kiteboarding and swimming you can also go scuba diving and snorkeling.
Dive sites are typically novice-friendly, although there are a few challenging spots around. Depending on where you dive you’ll find artificial reefs, sea horses, crayfish, blue-fin tuna, sharks, seals and a number of wrecks. Pro Diver SA contains a list of dive spots in the area.
Some recommended dive sites include:
• Sunny Cove at the tip of Fish Hoek on the way to Simon’s Town is known for two things: sunny day time dives with pipe-fish, sea horses and interesting kelp, and night dives with dog sharks and sole.
• The Clan Stuart Wreck at Glencairn beach dates back to 1914. The engine block of the British turret steamer that ran aground is all that’s visible from the surface, the rest is home to shysharks, octopi, cuttlefish and red roman. According to Pro Diver SA, it’s a nice wreck dive for beginners.
• Roman Rock, somewhat unsurprisingly, boasts a large population of red roman. It also has loads of reef fish, invertebrates and seals.
• Windmill Beach is just past Boulder’s Beach in Simon’s Town and is popular with beginner divers because it has easy entry and exit points. It’s also sheltered and chock full of octopi, kelpfish and nudibranch. A little further around the point and you’ll encounter pajama sharks and dogfish.
• The “A“ Frame is in the Oatland’s Point area of Simon’s Town, around a cluster of rocks about 60m from the shore. It contains gullies, hidden rocks and caves to keep divers entertained, as well as soft and hard cold water corals and sponges, shysharks, pyjama sharks, and stumpnose fish, sea urchins and Abalone. It’s also a popular site for night dives.
• The SAS Pietermaritzburg was scuttled to form an artificial reef just north of Miller’s Point. It teems with marine life and is suitable for novice divers, provided they are accompanied by someone more experienced.
• Pyramid Rock is between Miller’s Point and Castle Rock and is known for its large kelp forests which house a host of different species of reef fish, not to mention some cow-sharks.
• Castle Rock is also famous for its kelp forest and abundant marine life, which includes red roman, pyjama sharks, butterfish and galjoen.
• Outer Castle is near to Castle Rock and boasts large rays, gulley sharks and yellowtail. It also has an air filled underwater cave.
• A little further along the coast is Batsata Rock, which contains crevasses, pinnacles and gullies. Marine life includes soft corals, sponges and crinoids and the clear water is ideal for underwater photography.
Jade Scully is a copywriter excited about writing copy and stories, blogging about the world and editing. She currently and regularly publishes her stories on a number of blogs. Jade loves animals and hopes to begin writing copy for the animal rescue charity TEARS as her contribution to the cause.
