Aliwal Shoals

About five kilometres from KwaZulu-Natal’s coast, the remains of an ancient sand dune makes up a rocky reef inhabited by a variety of corals, sponges, tropical and sub-tropical fish. Just beyond the sheltered waters of the reef you can dive into waters that have claimed the wrecks of two ships. Indeed, Aliwal was the name of a boat that nearly sunk here in 1849.

Aliwal Shoals became a marine protected area in 1991, and this year it was extended to cover a total 670 km². Protecting deep reefs and spawning grounds for the overexploited fish such as seabream, from collapsing. There are also many lesser known species in the newly navigated world on the upper slope (to depths of 2200 m) that scientists are just starting to uncover

We briefly explored the Aliwal Shoals in June, after a wonderful week on the sardine run. I could not resist the opportunity having heard such wonderful tales and reports of the biodiversity we could encounter. The reports were not wrong. We bumped into turtles, groupers, rays and a wonderful array of sub-tropical fish. The magical thing about the ocean is there is so much to see and connect with once your time in the water is over. Soon after getting back onto the boat we got to witness the astonishing humpback whales migrate their way north, closely followed by a pod of playful dolphins.

The most wonderful experience however, was going to Raggie’s Cave and watching over 12 ragged tooth sharks, also known as grey nurse sharks, swim around us. Being nocturnal small fish feeders, daytime divers are no threat. The raggies come here to spawn from June/July through to November. It’s a real treat to be among these sharks, to observe the way they move and interact with each other and us. For many divers, this is a normal outing, but for others, it is well worth experiencing this and getting close to these sociable hunters of the sea.

The following morning, we joined a research team and spent an hour with 7 female black tip sharks. Full or excitement we dove into the enchanting world of the sharks where we had a serene 30 minutes eye to eye with them, then snorkeled for another 30 minutes while they went about their business. It was a phenomenal experience just being with these creatures. Not only do you become ‘at one’ with these ocean hunters, but you also get to know them. You see the fishing line left in their dorsal fin; or the hook left in the mouth, from deep sea fishers. Quickly you get to see different behaviour and personality traits too, and if you are lucky, they bump you gently as a way of greeting you. While you are experiencing this, the scientists continue to gather their data and feed it into a vital channel so that people can begin to understand and respect sharks. Sharks are the ‘lions’ of the ocean, and a needed predator to keep the ocean waters in balance.

For those that would like an exclusive experience of diving in the Aliwal Shoals, where you will be guaranteed turtles, rays, groupers and sharks between the months of June –November, contact us. We can put together a sea safari just for you.