Reef
down to 14 m
South Sands
- Open Water
- Dolphins
Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks
Diving in South Africa
12 documented dive sites, 3 of them for Open Water divers. Known for ragged-tooth sharks, bull sharks and hammerhead sharks.
- Best months
- May–Nov
- Water
- 19–24 °C
- Levels
- Open Water, Advanced
When to go
Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.
Pick a month
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks in October
Best season- Sea
- 22 °C
- at the surface
- Air
- 24 °C
- 17 °C at night
- Rain
- 100 mm
- one of the wettest months
- Wind
- 15 km/h
- on average
The coolest water of the year. The windiest month.
Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.
Diving runs all year with seasonal megafauna. Umkomaas operators call winter the prime season (ragged-tooth sharks May–Nov, humpbacks May–Nov). Summer (Dec–May) brings tiger and bull sharks on baited dives, and hammerheads (Oct–Mar at Aliwal; all year on Protea Banks), so those months are shown as good rather than off-season.
Dive sites in Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks
From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.
Open Water friendly
usual dive down to 18 m3 sitesRock formations
down to 15 m
Bo Boyi Reef
- Open Water
Reef
down to 20 m
Potato Reef
- Open Water
For Advanced divers
usual dive down to 30 m9 sites
Cathedral
In raggie season up to 40 ragged-tooth sharks rest in this reef amphitheatre; in summer, look out for hammerheads above.
- Advanced
- Rock formations
- Hammerhead sharks
Drift
down to 40 m
Protea Banks
A marine protected area since 2019 where dives bring close encounters with tiger, bull and hammerhead sharks and giant guitarsharks.
- Advanced
- Bull sharks
Cave
down to 18 m
Raggies Cave
Aliwal's most popular site: kneel at the cave entrance to watch ragged-tooth sharks in season, then hunt for shed shark teeth in the sand.
- Advanced
- Ragged-tooth sharks
Wreck
down to 32 m
MV Produce
A molasses freighter sunk in 1974, lying upright in three sections; home to lionfish and, reputedly, two giant brindle bass.
- Advanced
- Tiger sharks
Drift
down to 30 m
Arena Reef
- Advanced
Marine life
When the big encounters happen, month by month.
| Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ragged-tooth sharksSource: blueoceandive.co.za | ||||||||||||
| Humpback whalesSource: blueoceandive.co.za | ||||||||||||
| Bull sharksSource: blueoceandive.co.za | ||||||||||||
| Hammerhead sharksSource: blueoceandive.co.za | ||||||||||||
| Oceanic blacktip sharkSource: aliwalshoal.co.za | ||||||||||||
| DolphinsSource: blueoceandive.co.za | ||||||||||||
| TurtlesSource: blueoceandive.co.za | ||||||||||||
| Manta raysSource: blueoceandive.co.za | ||||||||||||
| Tiger sharksSource: blueoceandive.co.za | ||||||||||||
| Whitetip reef sharksSource: blueoceandive.co.za |
- Peak season
- Seen
Ragged-tooth sharks: May–Nov. Humpback whales: May–Nov. Bull sharks: Dec–May. Hammerhead sharks: All year. Oceanic blacktip shark: All year. Dolphins: All year. Turtles: All year. Manta rays: Dec–May. Tiger sharks: Dec–May. Whitetip reef sharks: Dec–May
Also reported here, season not documented yet:
- Great white sharks
- Thresher sharks
- Guitarfish
Where is Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks?
Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks: frequently asked questions
- When is the best time to dive Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks?
- The best months to dive Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks are May–Nov. Diving runs all year with seasonal megafauna. Umkomaas operators call winter the prime season (ragged-tooth sharks May–Nov, humpbacks May–Nov). Summer (Dec–May) brings tiger and bull sharks on baited dives, and hammerheads (Oct–Mar at Aliwal; all year on Protea Banks), so those months are shown as good rather than off-season.
- Is Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks good for beginner divers?
- Yes, partly: 3 of the 12 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including South Sands, Bo Boyi Reef and Potato Reef. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
- What is the water temperature in Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks?
- The water is usually between 19 °C and 24 °C over the year.
- What marine life can you see in Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks?
- Divers regularly see ragged-tooth sharks (May–Nov), humpback whales (May–Nov), bull sharks (Dec–May), hammerhead sharks (all year), oceanic blacktip shark (all year) and dolphins (all year).
About this page
Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.
Your next dive is somewhere out there.
Find my next dive tripPhoto credits
- Umkomaas river mouth and coast from the air, launch point for Aliwal Shoal, Noelmcdonogh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Cathedral Aliwal Shoal dive site, Aliwal Shoal, South Africa, Peter Southwood, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash
