2000 Chapbook

Any trip to Africa is best coupled with an inland safari. The diving off the coast of Kenya and Tanzania is hit-and-miss. Timing your trip so that it coincides with animal migrations as well as the best diving season is a complicated affair; check with a specialist.... Better diving is found around Pemba Island and off the coast of South Africa.

South Africa/Mozambique

Adventure Diving South Africa/Oatlands Holiday Village, June 1999, Georgina Wiersma (gwiersma@caiw.nl), Monster, ZH. Netherlands. Vis: 40-60 ft. Water: 15-16 degrees Celsius. Sunny. water: calm, restrictions: 40 meters. While Cape Town is technically on the Atlantic Ocean, it's on the point where the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean meet. Sealions, special sharks, kelp forests, great variety of marine invertebrates. Saw whales in the bay. Great diving, different from reef diving, but absolutely worth the effort. Cape Province topside a must: nature reserves, monkeys, ostrich farm, Cape of Good Hope. Magnificent views. Resort very nice, dive staff helpful and friendly, smooth running operation. Big penguin colony 5 min. drive from resort. Cape Town Aquarium diving is a must: swim in a tank with five big sand tigers, rays and turtles. Restaurants in the neighborhood serve great food at low prices: bistro menu for two, including great wine, appetizer and dessert for US $20. Resort restaurant even cheaper!

Andy Cobb Eco Diving/Winklespruit, June 1998 & April 1999, Valerie Hewitt, Boca Raton, FL. Vis: 60-80 ft. Water; 80-83 degrees. Beautiful country. Capetown picturesque with a coastline similar to Monterey except for the moderate $40/night at a pleasant Holiday Inn. Day tours around the Cape, to the wine country and Table Mountain. Andy Cobb EcoTours picked me up in Durleen and lined me up with their group to the game parks and diving. We proceeded to rhinos, giraffes, impalas, wildebeests, and stayed at the beautiful Hilltop camp. Went to Sodwana Bay 6/98 and Mozambique 4/99 for interesting diving including dolphins, turtles, tons of lionfish and 1 guitar fish. Diving from Zodiacs launched through the surf requires some agility to get on and off. Both Sodwana Bay Lodge and the accommodations in Mozambique are rustic by American standards but pleasant, clean, own bath and own restaurants (no roads in Mozambique, travel is by 4x4 and Sodwana Bay roads not paved). Cost averaged $100/day including lodging, Andy and diving & parks. One can certainly spend more or less depending on size of group and accommodations. Andy and his wife Jane went out of their way to ensure a pleasant trip. I would probably not return to South Africa just for the diving unless it was Andy's environmental shark classes July-November. I would return in a minute to see this beautiful country. I would trust my life with Andy - exceptional guide both above and below water. (Mail: PO Box 386, Winklespruit 4145 Kwazulu Natal South Africa; Telephone: 00 27 31 9164239; e-mail: andycobb@iafrica.com; website: www.adventurescuba.co.za)

South Africa, January - February 1999, Steve Beddoe (steve@colesberghotel.prestel.co.uk), Jersey, CI. The plan at the start was to dive with great whites, whale sharks, and see the Ragged tooth Shark. Went to dive with the great whites at Gaansbai, 2.5 hr drive from Capetown. Dove with JP Botha's company and a skipper called Ese; could not fault their operation. Though we only saw 2 sharks briefly was not through lack of trying, nothing the next day. Memorable experience to see the world famous Dyer Island and the seal colony of Geyser rock and the channel of shark alley. . . .Flew to Durban and were met by Brett from The Whaler Dive Centre 40 mins. away in the lovely little town of Umkomaas. Brett was a credit to his profession. Umkomaas is the jumping of point for Aliwal Shoals world class diving on steroids, everything in XXL. Sharks, rays, grouper. Diving is not for the pampered; open ocean drift dives on submerged reefs rolling of RIBS and down quick, stick with your buddy and the guy with the SMB. After Umkomaas we headed south to Protea Banks; incredible diving. Same procedures as Aliwal but more sharks: guitar, hammerhead, Zambezi and bull. Met a fabulously kind chap, Peter Oaks, well known in Red Sea circles as the former manager of Sharm Al Sheikh Oonas Divers. Now guides small groups in SA. Treated us as a member of his group. We met Peter at Umfolozi game reserve where he took us under his wing for 3 fabulous days at this incredible park. home to white rhino. Saw giraffe, elephant, buffalo, hyena and other wildlife. Headed into Mozambique for more fabulous diving with Big Roger at Ponta D'Oro. Great location, superb beach, poor infra structure, but who gives a shit when you have great diving, magnificent scenery and good food. Supposedly a good place for whale sharks; we were unlucky but still had memorable dives followed by a 2 m grouper. Though we did not achieve any of our goals (I do not count the Gaansbai sighting, it was over in a blink of an eye) I cannot praise our adventure enough. If you were to ask me which place I would wish to return to out of Cocos Island, Palau, Yap, Burma Banks Tukanbesi, Indonesia or South Africa, I would choose South Africa. Contact the operators to find the optimum season for the best chance of seeing great whites or whale sharks or the ragged tooth shark breeding.

Zanzibar-Tanzania

SSI/Karafuu, August 1998, Mr. & Mrs. Caussiol, Levallois, France. Vis: 80 ft. Water: 80 degrees. Restrictions: Time. Diving in Tanzania should be better on the island of Pemba. Snorkeling in the lagoon of Zanzibar: interesting lots of shells (alive), juveniles (morays, octopus). The old city of Zanzibar (Stonetown) is decrepid but fascinating. We also went to game parks on mainland Tanzania.