Diving Protea Banks
A world-renowned shark-diving reef in Southern KwaZulu Natal
South Africa Travel
If you want to dive with sharks, this is the place. We saw 8 different species of sharks, scalloped and great hammerheads, ragged-tooth (also called the gray nurse shark, sand tiger shark or blue-nurse sand tiger) sharks, tiger sharks, lots of Zambezi (bull) sharks, oceanic black tip, dusky and giant guitar sharks in the short time we spent here.
Protea Banks is situated approximately 7.5km out to sea from Shelly Beach on the East Coast of South Africa. The reef lies at a depth of between 27 and 40 meters. It is about 6km long and 800m wide. Essentially a fossilized sandbank that comes up from 60m.
We booked 10 dives over 6 days for ourselves and a group of our preparation year students. Every day was like opening a lucky packet, we had dives from 5m to 25m visibility in one week. This is due to the time of year we visited; December is not their high season. We mainly went to see the schooling hammerheads which are there from October to March.
African Dive Adventures has been diving on Protea Banks, a world-renowned shark-diving reef, since 1994. Their love for the ocean and especially sharks is inspiring. Changing people’s generally negative opinion of sharks is vital to their conservation and it starts with passionate people.
Scuba Diving on Protea Banks
Because all the dives on Protea Banks are in the DEEP diving range it is advisable that divers are Advance diver qualified and is comfortable diving in strong currents. Dives are generally done as drift dives. Diving here may not always be the easiest, but it is extra rewarding and will keep you coming back for more.
The Protea Banks reef is divided into two main dive sites, the Northern and the Southern Pinnacles.
Diving the Northern Pinnacle
This area has two caves that are used by the ragged tooth sharks on their annual migration and congregation route. The dive starts at the larger, first cave. Divers then pass the tunnel, and the canyon, and get to the second cave. This cave has several chambers, each one with a wide opening overhead.
Caves Filled with Raggies
These were amazing dives. The caves are big and spacious, giving enough room for a group of divers plus a shiver of ragged tooth sharks. Swimming into these spaces with the sharks makes for a thrilling dive, especially if you’re the first diver to enter, you poke your head down into the opening and find that it’s filled with sharks. The caves provide shelter from the current and create a peaceful space to observe and enjoy the sharks in their natural habitat.
Schooling Hammerheads
Leaving the last cave, we started to slowly ascend to drift in mid-water. There were large schools of scalloped hammerheads passing by. These sharks are painfully shy, and we were not fortunate enough to get them in good visibility. But they were there, intriguing silhouettes moving just out of sight as we tried to get a closer look. It’s a good idea to book your stay for a longer period, giving you a better chance at great sightings in good visibility.
Once back on the boat, we were pleasantly surprised to be accompanied for some distance by a small group of great hammerheads cruising at the surface. What a delightful sighting to see them through the water with the rise and fall of the swell.
Diving the Southern Pinnacle
We dropped down to around 30 meters with the bottom being between 35 and 40 meters. Again, just relaxing and drifting with the current, hardly having to kick at all. A school of trevally met us with much interest, schooling around us.
Giant Guitar Sharks
As we moved along, a large sand patch emerged in the distance which is called Sand Shark Gully. Here we saw giant guitar sharks in big numbers all over the sandy bottom. This was excellent news for local scientists as they are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN red list. Their population is believed to have declined significantly due to unregulated high levels of exploitation for their flesh and fins. These sharks can be seen here from November to March.
On each dive, different sharks were appearing and disappeared into the distance. Some allowing us a proper view, some in fleeting moments, and others as dark shadows at the fringe of visibility. This made each dive a real adventure full of anticipation for what you might encounter next.
Baited Shark Dive
Doing a baited shark dive almost felt unnecessary, as you get to see sharks on most dives anyway, but the baited dive give divers an up-close and personal experience. This is where video and photography enthusiasts have their chance at great footage.
Meeting the Zambezi Shark Up Close
At first, it was quiet, with no sharks to be seen not even a single oceanic blacktip which are frequent visitors on baited dives. Then after a while, below us, we could just make out the shape of a Zambezi shark circling and minutes later he was joined by another. In the end, we had three Zambezis playing around us for the entire dive. They were calm and quite interested in us, swimming right up to the divers to check us out. It is unfortunate that on this dive the top layer of water was very dirty making it a low-visibility dive.
Why Dive with Sharks?
We take groups on Shark Dive Trips, to break down the generally negative image of sharks through education and exposure. Showing people what wonderful and necessary animals they are.
I started diving with these magnificent animals more than 8 years ago. From the very first shark dive I ever did, which was with our local broadnose sevengill sharks, my fear turned into immense respect and admiration. We aim to educate people about sharks as well as give a firsthand experience of being in the water with them. This is a teaching experience like no other. We protect what we love and come to love only what we endeavour to understand.
We Protect what we Love. Join the movement!
by Madelein Wolfaardt
Images ©️ by @sealife_madeleinwolf
www.madeleinwolf.co.za
