August 2023
VIDEOS - Short Version
For a long time, I’ve wanted to dive with sharks. I first became fascinated with the idea after watching an episode of "Descending" (the best diving show ever to be on TV, in my humble opinion!) where they visited South Africa to dive with sharks.
In the show, they head to Aliwal Shoal for a baited shark dive. The hosts, Ellis and Scott, dive in and are instantly surrounded by dozens of oceanic blacktip sharks, As part of their preparation, they are told that anything that swims away from a shark is considered food, and they should "project confidence" while in the water.
If you've watched the series, you'll know Ellis is the braver of the two, while Scott is, well, terrified of pretty much everything! After a few moments in the water, the camera turns to Scott, who mutters the best line I’ve ever heard on TV: “It’s hard to project confidence when you’re in the middle of shitting in your drysuit!!” He didn’t seem to be having a great time!
I, however, was absolutely captivated. So, when my wife said she wanted to go to South Africa for her 50th to see hippos and go on a safari, I couldn’t let the opportunity go to waste!
During my research, I found statements from other divers who had experienced this, calling it “life-changing” and describing an “altered world view.” That’s exactly what I wanted. I wanted my life to be changed and to see these creatures from a new perspective.
So, in August 2023, we boarded a flight from Heathrow to King Shaka Airport in Durban to start the best adventure I’ve had to date.
Dive Centre
I chose Blue Ocean Dive Resort, located in the sensational village of Umkomass, about an hour’s drive from the airport. I had previously met one of their representatives at both the GoDive show in the UK and the BOOT show in Germany. They were incredibly nice and helpful, answering countless questions over a few months as I did my research about the trip.
Booking was straightforward, but I had some issues with my credit card. Due to the prevalence of scams from Africa, getting the payment authorised required multiple phone calls to my credit card security. Keep that in mind.
The centre is fully equipped and supports full CCR if that’s your thing. I brought my Horizon and found the price for Zorb as they call it, very reasonable. Nitrox, 100% O2, and Helium are all available with an onsite booster. There is a full suite of tools to deal with any leaks or loose bits. Bring your own common spares like o-rings if you have funky sizes, as there might not be an LDS nearby to get spares if you need them.
They have three fully kitted out RHIBs with twin engines. It’s a short drive to the beach to launch, and you pile in the back of a truck for the journey. I thought this was brilliant! In the UK, health and safety would have a fit!
The centre employs several porters to load and unload your kit. I tried to help a few times but was quickly and forcefully told that I was on holiday, and they would do it for me. It’s something to get used to if you’re like me.
As with most centres, you wash your own gear. There are multiple rinse tanks for different items depending on how sandy they are. There is plenty of space to hang wetsuits, boots, etc. Once washed, your gear goes back into your allocated plastic box and into your own dedicated kitting-up area inside. It’s all very civilised.
Nice clean and hot showers with supplied towels made post dive personal refreshment a very pleasant experience.
The centre is part of the hotel, restaurant, and bar, making it fully self-contained. You never need to leave if you don’t want to.
By 7 PM, the centre is locked up and secured, so make sure you’ve done everything you need to by then.
Diving
Diving from Umkomass is primarily focused on Aliwal Shoal, a large rocky reef about 3 miles from shore with caves and sheltered "lagoons" dotted around. Depths range from 6m down to around 20m. There are a couple of wrecks in the area: the Nebo, which sank in 1884, and the Produce, which sank in 1974. Both are now little more than scrap piles. The Produce in particular, has deteriorated significantly since its appearance on "Descending." Storm damage has flattened the wreck.
But it’s not the wrecks that draw you here—it’s the critters, and one thing you need to know about South Africa is that they’re BIG! Everything is big here and bold!
Starting with the obvious and my main reason for being here, the sharks!
Oceanic blacktips are resident on the shoal and can be seen year-round. Depending on the season, you can also find tiger and bull sharks here, though we were too late in the year to see these. I highly recommend the baited dive. Some might be squeamish about these, but I’m not, and I think it’s a fantastic way to see and interact with these magnificent creatures in a way that would otherwise be impossible.
The baited dive involves a large buoy that suspends a ball with holes and a tub at the bottom of the line. The ball and tub are stuffed with sardine bits, fish oil, and other foul-smelling things that attract the sharks. I was lucky enough to do a baited dive on my very first dive. I expected some waiting around for the sharks to show up, but as we arrived, you could already see dorsal fins! A few scraps of sardine thrown into the water confirmed we had quite a crowd waiting for us. I was buzzing to get in!
They certainly didn’t mind shoving each other for the food, and there was a fair bit of thrashing on the surface. On the second baited dive, they fed them a bit too close to the RHIB, and there was a bit of a scrap. Suddenly, the rear port side tube was deflating; a thrashing open mouth must have caught the tube and caused quite the gash. Needless to say, the guide was not the skipper’s best mate that day!
Any fear I had evaporated in an instant once I saw them from the surface. The only thing I worried about was landing on top of one when we rolled in! The instructions from the guide were simple: once we rolled in, we’d descend to around 6m where the large ball was suspended and stay about 5m away from it. That way, we could get a good wide-angle view of the action.
As we dropped in, it became clear we were surrounded by between 15 and 20 blacktips, most of which are female. The female-to-male ratio is around 40 females for each male. "Lucky guy!" says the guide. Depends on your point of view, says I!
The first thing you notice about the sharks, apart from their size, is the way they swim. It’s unlike anything else I’ve seen. They swim with confidence and purpose and are not shy! They are at the top of the food chain and know it! They swim at you from all directions, and they are powerful. From a slow cruise to lightning-fast in an instant, they were simply amazing to watch.
I have to admit, I’m not a patient man. After 20 minutes of watching the sharks wrestle each other for the chunks of fish, I decided I needed more close-up action. So, at about the half-hour mark, I was literally holding the line just above the bait ball. To be honest, I’d have been hand-feeding the sharks if I’d had my way. The only thing that stopped me was the thought of getting a massive bollocking from the guide!
At no point did I worry that a shark might mistake me for food. They eat fish. I don’t look like a fish, have nothing shiny or silver glinting on me (no earrings or necklaces, folks—wear all black), and I hope I don’t smell like a sardine! I’m confident I don’t because the sharks never tried to take a bite! However, although I’m clearly not a fish, I might be competition and being so close to the food source, I was fair game for the pushing and shoving the sharks were giving each other as they fought for the falling fish scraps. These ladies are not shy, and I was taking knocks left and right. It wasn’t exactly like a rugby scrum, but if you want to get into the thick of it, expect to take some shoves and knocks.
Once you’ve had enough shark action, you can drift down to the bucket that hangs around 10m and meet another giant you’ll probably encounter on every dive at the shoal—the Goliath Grouper. This massive species can reach up to 2.5 meters in length and weigh over 350kg. Once nearly fished to extinction on the shoal, the area’s designation as a reserve has allowed their numbers to bounce back rapidly. Conservation works—who knew?
In stark contrast to the indifference shown by the sharks, the Goliath is super inquisitive, in your face, and frankly, a bit of a bully! They’ll eye you up, and while they may not think of you as food, if something fits in their cavernous mouth, they’ll have a go just to see. Whether it’s because I was on the unit and quieter than the other divers I don’t know, but I got “gummed” multiple times: on the top of my thigh, my left arm (including the unit controller), and even an attempt at my head, which I thankfully deflected. And people worry about being eaten by sharks! They are terrible photo/video bombers too as they circle you, making sure nothing has fallen off that they can eat.
Away from the feeding frenzy of the baited dive, they are however wonderful fish to interact with. They have distinct personalities, and with a good guide, you can start telling individuals apart within a few dives. One particular fish, called Rocky, resides in Raggie Cave. If you crinkle an empty water bottle nearby, he’ll swim out to find you and guide you back to his home. Pretty amazing!
Raggie Cave is named because it’s a resting spot for another shark species Aliwal is famous for—the Ragged Toothed or Grey Reef Nurse Shark. These seasonal visitors were few during our trip, with just one or two hanging around. They have poor eyesight, making it easy to take photos as you can position yourself right in front of them until they bump into you. These sharks lose up to 30 teeth per day, and a quick rummage in the sand yielded several lost teeth that I salvaged. I had them made into matching “Croc Dundee” style necklaces for me and Sarah—though they’re a bit pointy to wear all the time!
I can’t leave this section without mentioning the biggest critter we encountered—the Humpback Whales. One reason for visiting in August was to catch them migrating north after giving birth and breeding in the south. We were super fortunate to hear whale song on almost every dive. If you listen closely in the videos, you can hear it too! We even saw two females and a calf pass overhead during a safety stop.
We saw several mums with small calves from the boat when we we’re traveling to and from site. One calf was playing, and in my head I believe I caught its first-ever tail splash from the boat! We were lucky enough to watch a couple of teenage males practice mating displays, jumping and slapping the water, from our room, well from the bathroom really. Now that was a poo with a view! These amazing creatures left me with treasured memories that will last a lifetime.
While these were the trip's highlights, we encountered many more amazing things. Huge leopard morays, massive spotted stingrays, catfish, and a plethora of fish species—some familiar and some new. For any squidge fan, South Africa offers amazing experiences!
Guides
The guides can truly make or break a trip, and I’m happy to report that they were exceptional at BODR. They had the usual youngsters starting their professional careers, working for the season before moving on. They were great and full of energy, as expected.
But then there's Rae. Rae is the lead guide, and I can honestly say I’ve never met anyone so passionate about what they do. Don’t confuse that with gushing—Rae is quite reserved and introverted, but in the water, she comes alive!
She loves being there and is in no rush to get you out. She’s keen to share her special bit of the world with you. Dives are long and unhurried. Although it was group diving, we went during the quiet time, so the largest group was six people, with three of those being staff.
Rae is also an amazing underwater photographer and shoots epic videos. It’s all natural light photography, mostly CFWA stuff. If you check out the BODR Facebook page (which you should), almost all the clips and shots are Rae’s work. Her photos adorn both the centre and the hotel—some real gems!
So, it’s a 10/10 for the whole crew, from porters to skippers to guides.
Rooms, Food & Drink
The rooms at BODR have recently been refurbished and are spacious and comfortable with A/C in every room we looked in.
We ate almost exclusively at BODR while in Umkomass, which has its own restaurant very popular with locals and hotel residents. They have a fabulous selection of food, including a wood-fired pizza oven. The pizzas were amazing! You can also get steak, seafood, burgers, and specialty items. I highly recommend the Sausage Basket, which included five different types of sausages with chips and all the trimmings. I think I had it four times while I was there! They do cooked breakfasts, as well as all the sweet “american” style options.
They have a full selection of beers and, of course, South African wine which was super affordable. I was also pleased to see a good selection of ciders, which I don’t often find abroad. Result!
In Durban, we ate at a few locations, including the hotel, and always found something tasty. Durban is home to the largest Indian population outside of India, so the food is strongly influenced by Indian cuisine. While researching, we found out about the local dish called “Bunny Chow.” Don’t worry, no bunnies are harmed—it’s basically a curry (you choose which) served in a hollowed-out crusty bread roll. We sought out the best local place in Durban to try it. Despite my high expectations, it’s literally curry in a cob—so it’s a “meh” from me.
One thing you must try though is the Biltong. Africa, being the home of this spiced dried meat, puts the stuff we have over here to shame. Found in pretty much every local shop or garage, I ate Biltong made from almost every game animal in South Africa. They were all amazing!
Other Things to Do
The restaurant at BODR offers varied and entertaining activities at night. The rugby, as you would expect, plays on the TV constantly. If you’re there when the famous Springboks are playing, it’s well worth getting involved for the brilliant atmosphere. They also have live music and a very entertaining pub quiz, so evenings are well covered.
On the one day we were blown out on the trip, we visited Croc World, home to the oldest living crocodile. It was a fun day meeting all the crocs, birds, monkeys, snakes, and even the local bird pests! In the UK, our pest birds are pigeons, or seagulls if you live near the coast—hardly impressive. When we sat down for lunch in the restaurant, we got mugged by their local pest bird—the peacock! Talk about putting us to shame!
The other obvious thing to do after you’re done diving is a safari. We spent 10 days with BODR, then moved to a hotel in Durban, from where we did a day’s safari in Hluhluwe Game Reserve (pronounced “shish-loo-ee”) and then over to St. Lucia to do the hippo safari. Both were mind-blowing experiences made better by the fact we booked private tours with Tim Brown Tours, who I highly recommend. The guide was super patient and determined to make sure we saw everything we could. We were picked up in a modern Land Cruiser, which we stayed in for the main safari through the park. Obviously, we did the hippo tour by boat.
Costs
Although the flights were not the cheapest, once you arrive in South Africa, your pound goes a long way. Everything is much cheaper there than in the UK. Food and drink are significantly cheaper, and even the posh four-star hotel we stayed at in Durban cost around the same per night as a Premier Inn over here. For example, BODR had a special at their restaurant at the time of writing: a 500g T-Bone steak with chips, onion rings, and all the trimmings for R269, which is around £11.70. You can’t get a dried-out, nasty burger from a pub in the UK for that!
The diving packages have recently changed. We did the unlimited 10-day dive package with accommodation, which has now been upgraded to include full board as well. At £1,300, I think that’s excellent value—I would book this if I went back. If you can’t quite make the 10 days, they also have an 8-day package coming in at just under £1,000. They can cater to any duration; just drop them a line for pricing.
Conclusion
South Africa was a real adventure for us, and we loved it. The warmth and generosity of the people and the amazing landscapes and wildlife is just unreal, and it’s left its mark on us as well as a desire to explore more of this fabulous continent. Whilst it’s a big world and I’ve plenty more of it to explore, I would like to return to Aliwal Shoal at some point for sure and have myself another South African Adventure.
Drop me a line if you'd like any more info about what we got up to or you have any questions about booking your own South African Adventure.
Andy
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