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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Brunswick

The dive site Brunswick is an inshore historical wreck in the Simon's Town area on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand

The Brunswick was an English East Indiaman of 1 200 tons, an armed merchant ship of 30 guns that transported goods between Britain and the East Indies. She was captured while homeward-bound on her sixth voyage with a cargo of sandalwood and cotton by Admiral Linois on the French vessel Marengo in 1805, and brought to Simon's Town as a prize of war. It ran aground at Simon's Town on 19 September 1805 after losing three anchors during a south-east gale. The cargo was sold along with the wreck in an auction. Most of the cargo was salvaged, although archaeologists have spotted the odd piece of sandalwood on the wreck site. The Brunswick was about 40 m long and 13 m wide with three decks, built of wood with iron knees, iron and copper drift bolts, and copper sheathing.

The wreck was officially discovered and identified as the Brunswick in 1993. There is quite a lot of wreckage buried in the sand, which shifts with the seasons and weather to cover and uncover different parts of the wreckage. Steentjies annually uncover areas of the wreck to lay their eggs.

Position

 * S34°10.880’ E018°25.607’

About 120 m offshore, approximately off the north end of the long white apartment block at the bottom of Redhill road.

This site is in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area since 2004. A permit is required.

Name
Named for the wreck of the Brunswick at the site.

Depth
Maximum depth is about 6 m, average about 4.5 m

Visibility
Visibility is usually moderate, as the area is sheltered from westerlies and to some extent from south easterlies. It is seldom very good, as it is close inshore, but the shallow depth allows good lighting most of the time.

Topography
The wreck lies in fairly shallow water (about 5 m) The bottom is fine sand. The wood structure of the wreck has become broken up over the years and a large part is buried under the sand. The wreck lies at about 45° to the shoreline. The centreline of the debris field is at about 215° True, from S34°10.859’ E018°25.625’ to S34°10.884’ E018°25.603’, It is about 58 m long, 17 m wide and it extends over an area of about 800 m2

Geology: Sand.

Conditions
The site can sometimes be dived in easterly winds as long as they are not too strong and the shore break is not too rough. The site is usually dived in winter, when it is frequently fairly calm as it is well sheltered from south west swell.

Facilities
None.

Get in
This site can be dived from a boat or the shore.

Shore entry: Parking on main road in front of Long low white block of flats at the bottom of Redhill road. Walk over the railway lines and down the jumble of old concrete sleepers which forms a breakwater. Depending on the tide there may be a narrow sandy beach. It is an easy entry and exit if swell is low. Climbing the breakwater requires some care, but should not be difficult for a fit person. The lower sleepers may be slippery and some will rock when walked on. Be careful.

Boat dive: Be sure not to drop the anchor on the wreck. Anchor just downwind of the wreck to prevent damage. You are allowed to dive on the site, but it is an offense to damage the wreckage or remove any artifact.

Marine life
The wreckage is heavily overgrown by kelp and other seaweeds, and a range of invertebrates and fish can be seen.

Features
Remains of a historical wooden shipwreck. The wreckage is an archaeological site protected by legislation and may not be disturbed.

The keelson, part of the copper strap attaching the rudder to the boat, a number of iron knees, and one or two pieces of sandalwood are still on the wreck site.

Photography
Wide angle lenses are most likely to produce useful results when photographing the wreckage. The site is shallow, so natural light is usually adequate. For close-up work a flash will restore the natural colour.

Routes
Swim straight out to the wreck on the surface, Dive and explore the wreck, then swim back to shore on compass bearing 330° magnetic.

Hazards
No site specific hazards known.

Skills
No special skills required. Suitable for night dives, preferably by boat from Long Beach, to avoid the climb over the breakwater.

Equipment
No special equipment recommended. Reasonably good site for photography. A light is useful to look into crevices.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Simon's Town area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast

 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Buffels Bay

The dive site Buffels Bay is a shoreline rocky reef in the Buffels Bay area on the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Position
S34°19.217' E018°27.73' Between the slipway at Buffels Bay and the small sandy beach just to the north.

This site is in a Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required.

Name
"Buffels Bay" is the name of the small bay of which the dive site is a part.

Depth
Fairly shallow, less than 10 m.

Visibility
Visibility is affected by any waves which break at the beach to the north of the reef, as the water is shallow and the sand is fine.

Topography
Geology: Ordovician sandstones of the Table Mountain group, probably of the Graafwater formation.

Conditions
The site is exposed to wind and waves from the south east, and is very near to Cape Point, so some south west swell will make it round the corner. The site should be dived in fairly flat conditions. The site is reasonably protected from north westerly wind and waves.

Facilities
Off road parking in reasonable security (lock your car, the baboons know how to open the doors), Toilet facilities, slipway, beach, tidal pool and picnic area. Fires may be made in designated fireplaces.

Get in
This site is usually dived from the shore, as the access is easy, though there is a slipway at the site.

There is adequate paved off road parking at the site.

Entry and exit is usually at the small sandy beach just to the north of the rocky shoreline of the dive site. This is easy walking distance from the parking and the path is obvious. There may be surf at the entry point, which can make access difficult or hazardous.

Marine life
The reef is shallow, and is dominated by kelp forests and algal turf understorey, but there are areas with sponges, feather stars, Rock lobster and Abalone.

Photography
The site is shallow, and the surf at the beach picks up a lot of fine sand, which reduces the visibility and caused backscatter, so macro photography is most likely to produce acceptable results. On a very quiet day wide angle with natural light may also work.

Routes
Enter at the beach to the north of the picnic area or at the slipway and swim around over the reef. There are no specific recommended routes.

Hazards
Surf entry and exit may be a problem if the swell is high. There is a slipway where skiboats can be launched, so there is a possibility of boat traffic. If you dive near the slipway be aware of the possibility of boats being launched and recovered.

Skills
No special skills required.

Equipment
No special equipment required. If boats are operating from the slipway a surface marker buoy may be prudent.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Buffels Bay area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast

 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Caravan Reef

The dive site Caravan Reef is a large area of inshore rocky reef between Miller's Point and Rocklands Point on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand

Caravan Reef is a large area of granite reef to the north east of the slipway at Miller's Point, and as such is very close to the launch area. One would think that it would be a popular dive site, but it is largely unexplored, unlike the adjacent wreck of the SAS Pietermaritzburg, which is one of the most frequently dived sites on the Cape Peninsula.

Position
Approximately half a square kilometer of reef centred about 750 m north-east of the Miller's Point slipway, and about 700 m in diameter.
 * S34°13.311' E018°28.564' — named for its proximity to the wreck of SAS Pietermaritzburg
 * S34°13.352’ E018°28.733’
 * S34°13.408’ E018°28.528’
 * S34°13.436’ E018°28.562’
 * S34°13.513' E018°28.721'
 * S34°13.500' E018°28.450' — (estimated)

This site is in a Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required.

Name
This site is offshore of the caravan park at Miller’s Point, which may be the origin of the name "Caravan Reef".

Depth

 * Central: Maximum about 19 m, Top of reef about 3 m
 * North: Maximum about 22 m, Top of reef about 12 m
 * South: Maximum about 20 m, Top of reef about 4 m
 * PMB Pinnacles: Maximum about 22 m on the sand to the east. Top of highest pinnacle about 6 m.

Topography
This is an extensive area of granite reef. It can be subdivided into a number of sections:

North Caravan Reef: Sand at about 26 m on the north-east side, 21 m to the south-west. Top of the reef is at about 12 m. There is a long ridge running roughly north-west/south-east which is high to the south-west side, with a steep wall and occasional transverse jointing, and lower to the north, with steeper parts further south. Below the wall there are some clusters of fairly large boulders on the sand. This section is separated from Central Caravan Reef by a band of sand bottom at about 20 m depth. The reef has a relatively low area to the north east of the high reef, and a long rather broken lobe extending further east, about 22m deep on top, with sand bottomed cracks running deep into the rock on the south side, where the sand is about 2 m shallower than on the north side, only a few metres away over the rocks outcrop. To the south east, over a narrow sand gap is another lobe of the reef, on fairly level sand between 21 and 23 m deep, with a flattish top at 16 to 17 m, and a long, deep crack along the length.

Central Caravan Reef: The largest contiguous section of reef, and roughly central to the other sections. Much of this section is low profile outcrops and scattered boulders, with quite a lot of narrow sand tongues breaking the reef up, but there is a group of a few pinnacles in an area of high and medium profile reef, several reaching to within 6 m of the surface, with the highest at about 3 m depth on top. Depth on the surrounding sand varies from around 16 m on the inshore side to about 19 m on the north-eastern side, with a minimum of about 13 m to the south west in the gap between Cenral and Inner Caravan Reefs. There are several enclosed sand patches of various sizes scattered around the reef, which is only partly surveyed.

South Caravan Reef: Separated from Central Caravan Reef by a narrow belt of sand. Huge granite outcrops with scattered smaller boulders on a shelly sand bottom. Quite a lot of cracks, but mostly quite narrow and not very deep. A few small overhangs. The pinnacle is quite shallow, at about 4 m, but most of the outcrops are much lower, and are seldom as shallow as 10 m. The pinnacle is at the south-eastern end of the outcrop. To the northwest the reef is much lower, with a large area of medium- to low-profile boulders and small outcrops to the northwest. There is a tall spike of rock to the southeast of the reef, with its base at the sand edge, rising from about 20 m to about 13 m on top

Inner Caravan Reef: Separated from Central Caravan Reef by a narrow belt of sand. Not yet surveyed.

PMB Pinnacles: Separated from Central Caravan Reef by a narrow belt of sand. This section has a compact group of fairly massive boulders, including an almost pyramidal pinnacle, standing on a flattish base of rock at about 15 m, and rising to a small peak about 4 m from the surface. Nearby to the south, across a very narrow sand belt, there is a patch of mostly low reef with a few boulders rising above 15 m. The adjacent sand is at a depth of 18 to 22 m.

Geology: Late Pre-Cambrian granite corestones of the Peninsula pluton on a sand bottom.

Conditions
The site is moderately protected from south westerly swell. South east chop may make it unpleasant on the surface, but it may be quiet below the wave base, however a strong south easter or one that blows for a long time will push up a swell that will make it unpleasant all the way down. Generally considered a winter dive site but there are also occasional opportunities in autumn and spring.

Get in
Boat dive from Miller's Point slipway or Simon's Town jetty. About 1 km from the slipway to (Caravan North) or less to the other sites. From Simon's Town jetty it is about 6.8km to Caravan Central.

Marine life
A wide range of typical False Bay invertebrates may be found on the reefs.

The sand patches of the central area are known for lamp urchins.

Southern area: In the 15 to 20 m depth range the cover is split between a dense turf of large sea squirts with common feather stars on the steeper surfaces, occasional gaps with strawberry anemones or encrusting sponges, and upper surfaces often covered by red-chested or mauve sea cucumbers, with a scattering of golden cucumbers. Some low areas with serpent skinned brittle stars. A fair number of gorgonian sea fans, a few cauliflower and sunburst soft corals. Quite a number of smallish thickets of arborescent hydroids. Occasional small plocamium. In shallower areas a lot of red-bait or similar on top of the reef. Lamp urchins are relatively common on the sand patches. There is not much kelp, and most of it is Laminaria (split-fan kelp).

Photography
On a day with good visibility, a wide angle setup is likely to produce spectacular results. The reef is also full of small critters, so a macro setup will also work well.

Because of the depth, external lighting is highly recommended to achieve good colour.

Routes
No particular routes recommended.

Hazards
This is an area where boat traffic may be heavy. Great white sharks have been sighted near this site.

Skills
No special skills required, though the ability to deploy a DSMB is useful in case you need to surface away from the shot line.

Equipment
Surface marker buoy recommended if you ascend away from the boat as this is an area with a lot of boating traffic, not all of which pays a great deal of attention to diving flags.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Miller's Point area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast

 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Castle Rocks

The dive sites at Castle Rocks and Parson's Nose are a group of inshore rocky reef areas in the Castle Rocks restricted area on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand
These sites are good for fish and invertebrates, and in many places have spectacular topography. All are accessible as shore dives, but the shore access is not easy.

Position

 * S34°14.353' E018°28.591'

This site is entirely inside the Castle Rocks Restricted Zone in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required.

It is one of the best shore entry diving areas on the Cape Peninsula. The entries and exits are not the easiest, particularly in moderate to large swell, and the climb to and from the roadside requires reasonable fitness. The site requires some discretion and understanding of the sea conditions for safe entry and exit. Once in the water there is a bit of kelp to negotiate near the shoreline, but beyond that there is more topographic variety and biodiversity than in any other western False Bay dive site reasonably accessible from the shore.

Name
The name "Castle Rocks" applies to the point as a whole and the offshore rocks to the South East. The point is a small rocky peninsula that is nearly an island at high tide. The name also applies to the Marine Restricted Zone which stretches from Rumbly Bay, just south of Miller's point, to Baboon Rock, just south of Partridge Point. "Parson's Nose" refers to a small rocky point in the Castle Rocks South area.

Depth
The depth of the different sectors varies, but the maximum is probably about 18 m, with an average bottom depth nearer 10 m

Topography
Castle Rocks reef is a large contiguous area of shoreline and inshore granite reef around a small rocky peninsula and adjacent rocky islet. To the north the bottom is rocky, with granite boulders and bordered by a belt of sand from the shoreline out between Casle Rock and Pyramid reefs. This belt is about 350 m long and is parallel to the north coast of the Castle Rocks peninsula. The width varies from almost nothing in places to about 30 m, and it tends to be wider inshore, with a narrow section about halfway along. The bottom in this belt is fine sand inshore, and sand and pebbles further out. Further east is a series of big outcrops and boulders, some reaching almost to the surface, with gullies and gaps between. Beyond the point are large high profile parallel ridges and gullies running approximately north-south (010° magnetic). The bottom of the deeper gullies is sand with steep sided ridges between, of varied length, width and height. Further out the gullies are wider and the ridges shorter, but the general tendency is the same. Further out the reef thins out and there is more coarse shelly sand and the wave ripples may indicate a northerly wave direction.

Further to the south of this is a mixture of high and low ridges with sand bottomed gullies and gaps between them. Some are high, from the bottom at 14 m up to 7 m, others lower, down to less than a metre. These can be quite spectacular in good visibility.

The sandy bay visible from the roadside to the south of the point between the islet and the Parson's Nose promontory has a fine sand bottom sloping from about 2 m deep near the boulder beach entry to about 12 m at the southern extent of the reef south of the islet. The reef adjacent to the islet group are big granite ridges with some small to medium sized holes and tunnels, most of which are too small to enter, and one large swim-through. There are deep gullies at the back of the islet, and further south is flat fine sand bottom with small ripples and occasional widely spaced low rock outcrops. The small sandy beach south of the Parson's Nose marks the southern edge of the area.

Geology: Granite of the Pre-Cambrian Peninsula pluton, surrounded by sand.

Conditions
Usually considered to be a winter dive but there are also, occasional opportunities in other seasons. The site is well sheltered from north west wind and chop. Swell from the south west or south east will cause surge, and a strong south east wind will produce an uncomfortable surface chop which can make some of the exit areas difficult and may reduce visibility in a few hours. Judge by the conditions at the entry point and the colour of the water further out.

Facilities
None. Security at the parking area is said to be poor. Lock up your valuables where they can not be seen. The grassy patch at Castle Rocks is a pleasant spot for a picnic, but it may attract the attention of baboons.

Get in
Generally considered a shore dive. There is limited parking on the gravel shoulder on both sides of the main road (M4). The path to the shoreline starts at steps at the apex of the bend in the road and goes between the houses. If you are parked further north, the gravel access road also leads to the path.

The top of the path leading to the entry areas starts at the extreme left foreground of the photo. The path can be a bit slippery and is not all in good repair, but it is not a difficult climb for a fit person. There are entry and exit points north and south of the grassy patch.

North entry: It is often convenient to use the sheltered area inshore of the rounded rock ridge at S34°14'19.98" E018°28'35.92", in the middle of the picture, and to swim out round the left end of the rock. The ridge is roughly parallel to the shoreline, which provides a fairly sheltered little gully. In the centre background is Boat Rock, or Bakoven Rock, and the top of Pyramid rock can just be seen closer inshore to the left, beyond the kelp. This entry point can be used for dives to Shark Alley and Pyramid Rock, and anywhere on the North side of Castle Rocks. The boat just visible on the extreme right is probably anchored at Outer Castle. The north access depends to a large degree on tide and swell. Make your own decision after checking on site.

There is also an entry point right at the tip of the point on the north side at S34°14'20.62" E018°28'39.38'. To get there go towards the tall rocks and skirt them to the left until you reach a series of Red-bait fringed rocks. These drop off directly into quite deep water, but are not an easy exit, specially at low tide.

The south side has more options for entry. The rocky little beach nearest the road is generally usable. The photo shows the entry and exit point most popular on this side, which is right beside the large rock in the middle left of the photo. Stay to the seaward side close in to the high ridge at S34°14'22.43" E018°28'35.95" for exits. The gully to seaward of this ridge is deceptive and can be an unpleasant exit if a wave catches you as the surge can be strong.

You can use the large flat topped Black rock further to seaward at S34°14'22.84 E018°28'38.25" for entry and exit if it suits your dive plan. The top of this rock is almost black, and can be slippery when wet, however it is reasonably flat, and there is a convenient crack and ledge to help get back on if the tide is not too low.

All these shore access areas require walking over irregular rocks and boulders, some of which may be loose.

Do
Dive at one of the listed areas, or follow one of the routes.

 * S34°14.322' E018°28.650'. This area has a fairly shallow rocky bottom with granite boulders and outcrops of moderate height near the entry point. Further east is a series of big outcrops and boulders, some reaching almost to the surface, with gullies and gaps between. Around the point there are a ridges and gullies running more or less north-south. Along the north side about 20 m off the big boulder with two vertical cracks, there are two entrances to a swim-through at about 9 m depth, which can be found by following the edge of the kelp zone. The swim-throughs join under the boulders and split into three exits, to the left, sloping upwards, in the centre sloping upwards and to the right into a hole surrounded by boulders. Use the north entry, swim out a few metres, descend and follow the coast toward the point in the kelp forest. As you approach the point, look out for the swim-through. Continue round the point and either return by the same route, or make your way through the gap between the point and the offshore rocks to the south.

 * S34°14.400' E018°28.800'. Also known as Outside Castle (but not Outer Castle, which is part of the Pie Rock reef, somewhat further offshore): This is a large area of roughly parallel ridges and gullies, running approximately north-south (010° magnetic). The bottom of the deeper gullies is sand with steep sided ridges between, of varied length, width and height. Further out the gullies are wider and the ridges shorter, but the general tendency is the same. Further out the reef thins out and there is more coarse shelly sand and the wave ripples may indicate a northerly wave direction. Further to the south of this is a mixture of high and low ridges with sand bottomed gullies and gaps between them. Some are high, from the bottom at 14 m up to 7 m, others lower, down to less than a metre. These can be quite spectacular in good visibility. There are no particular routes. Entry at the black rock, swim out through the gap and explore. Return to the entry point for exit.

 * S34°14.356' E018°28.826' — A group of fairly tall pinnacles along the edge of the sand. One of them has a large swim-through under it. The Castle Pinnacles area is part of Pyramid Rock reef, but as a shore dive the entry is usually at Castle Rock, and it was named before the area was surveyed. This area is best dived in good conditions as the mood is then excellent. In autumn there are often large assemblies of fish, including schools of Roman, Bank Steenbras and Fransmadam. In winter, when the water is colder, there are fewer fish, but the whole area looks impressive in the better visibility. Enter at the tip of the point on the north side. Descend and swim out to the north across the sand strip, then follow the edge of the sand to the west until you find the pinnacles. Return by compass or natural navigation to the gap and exit at the black rock. The course from the swim-through pinnacle to the gap is 282° magnetic for about 250 m. Maximum depth on the sand is about 15 m. First described by Guido Zsilavecz, although probably already known in the 1980s.

 * S34°14.460' E018°28.674'. South Side, or Inner Castle, is the sandy bay visible from the roadside to the south of the point. There is fine sand bottom sloping from about 2 m deep near the entry to about 12 m at the outside of the large rock group to seaward of the sand patch. This group is big granite ridges with some small to medium sized holes and tunnels, most of which are too small to enter. There are deep gullies at the back of the offshore rocks, and further south is flat fine sand bottom with very small ripples and occasional widely spaced low rock outcrops. There is a deep, fairly wide rocky bottomed gully running south from near the south end of the islet rock group, which is roofed by a huge boulder near the south end to form a spacious swim-through. Concentrate on the boulders and reefs to the south of the point. The sandy bottom of the south cove can be interesting if there is not too much surge, which tends to pick up the fine sand and detritus and reduce the visibility. This area is where you may see sole and sand sharks, and near the boulders, snakelets, Platanna klipfish and Leprous platanna klipfish.

Routes
Grand Tour: For the active swimmer, the rebreather diver, or the diver with large cylinders, it is possible to work your way through all these areas on a single dive, entering at the north entry and exiting at the rocky beach, or the reciprocal route.

Marine life
There is a belt of heavy Red-bait growth fairly close to the surface, and below this there is a zone where sea urchins dominate, particularly on near horizontal surfaces. There are fairly dense kelp forests in the north entry area, between the point and the southern rocks and on the submerged rocks between the southern rocks and the mainland. In the deeper reef areas there is often a dense cover of feather stars and sometimes red sea cucumbers. This is a site well known for variety and size of fish and a diversity of invertebrates. Sometimes even a whale.

Features
The swim-through pinnacle at S34°14.363' E018°28.820' in the Northern Pinnacles part of the site is a group of large outcrops capped with a large flattish boulder. There are two distinct and spacious swimthroughs under this pinnacle from the sand tongue more or less north east onto the reef.

Photography
The site is good for fish and invertebrate photography. Almost any camera setup will be usable if conditions are good, but macro and wide angle arrangements with external strobes will usually be most versatile.

Hazards
No special hazards other than those associated with shore access at the sites.

Skills
The Southern part of Castle Rocks includes the group of large rocks in the middle right of the photo. The water inshore of these rocks is fairly sheltered and has a sandy bottom with scattered rock outcrops where the kelp is visible. This is a popular training area for entry level divers, and is also suitable as a base point for night dives.

A moderate level of fitness and agility is required for shore access at these sites.

Equipment
No special equipment is required. A light is useful for looking into dark holes and overhangs and for restoring colour loss due to depth. A compass can help you to keep track of your position and is useful for finding your way back underwater and at night.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Castle Rocks area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast

 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Castor Rock

Castor Rock is an offshore rocky reef with some named dive sites in the Simon's Bay area on the Cape Peninsula side of False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand
Castor Rock is close to the launch site at False Bay Yacht Club and the Simon's Town jetty, and is relatively sheltered from southwesterly swell. The site is shallow and suited to entry level divers, but has areas of high profile scenic topography.

Position

 * S34°10.720’ E018°27.605’ (7m) The nominal mark for Castor Rock – An extensive area of rocky reef north of Roman Rock lighthouse with several pinnacles.

This site is in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required. The site is mostly inside the Boulders Restricted Zone.

Name
The area is shown on SA Navy charts as "Castor Rock".

Depth
Maximum depth is about 18 m to the south, and 22 m to the north. The highest point on the reef is about 7 m deep. There are a few other pinnacles above 12 m.

Visibility
Visibility can be expected to be similar to Roman Rock

Topography
This is an extensive reef of granite. Basically a large area of moderate to low outcrops with occasional high areas, small gullies, ridges, boulders, small crevices and overhangs. The edge of the reef is penetrated at irregular intervals by small sandy bottomed gullies between the ridges.

The reef is divided into two large lobes by a pair of narrow sand tongues which encroach into the reef from the east and west, and nearly meet just north of Wonders Pinnacle on the west side of the south lobe.

The northern lobe is Castor Reef proper, and is more compact and substantial overall than the southern lobe. The edges are also penetrated by gullies, but to a lesser extent. The northern end is relatively flat and slopes gradually down to the sand, but the eastern and western sides are more ruggedly profiled. Castor rock reef north lobe has a very different character to Roman and Rambler rocks. The reef top is of moderate relief, with relatively shallow sandy gullies, small overhangs and boulders, and has some steep areas at the edges. The sand to the south is coarse and shelly in places.

The southern lobe is longer and narrower than the north lobe, and has an area of pinnacles at each end. The reef between is lower and somewhat broken along the edges. This lobe is also known as Wonders Reef.

The western pinnacle is Wonders Pinnacle, and the eastern area is Roman's Rest pinnacles. The main pinnacle of Roman's Rest is a huge outcrop rising from the sand to just above 12 m at the top, very steep on the north east side, and with several deep round bottomed indentations. The east side is also pretty steep, but the south west side is more gradually sloped and the north west side steps down towards a pair of lesser pinnacles to the north west. These are huge boulders standing on a flattish rock base at about 20 m depth and rising to about 12 m at the top. One of them is relatively narrow for its height, about 5 m one way and about 7 or 8 m the other way, and is about 8 m high and pointed on top. The other is wider and a bit lower, but they make an impressive pair. They can be seen from the edge of the sand tongue in reasonable visibility.

There are occasional low outliers around the east end of the reef near the pinnacle.

Castor reef has several other reefs nearby which are known as good dive sites, These include Roman Rock, Tivoli Pinnacles, Friskies Pinnacle and the Rambler Rock reefs.

Geology: Granite corestone outcrops and boulders of the late Pre-Cambrian Peninsula pluton.

Conditions
The site is exposed to winds from all directions, which can produce an unpleasant choppy sea, and make it difficult for the boat crew to see a diver on the surface. Generally considered a winter dive, as this is when conditions are most likely to be good, but can be dived any time the swell is low and the visibility is acceptable. This can happen any time of the year after a period of light winds when the swell is low or short period.

Get in
Always dived from a boat. The site is 3.3 km from Simon's Town jetty, or 5.6 km from Miller's Point slipway.

Do
Dive at one of the drop points and explore the vicinity, or follow one of the suggested routes.

North lobe:

 * S34°10.690’ E018°27.590’ (5m). There is a high profile outlier reef section a few metres across the sand to the north of the main reef known as Northern Pinnacle, which is a good site with impressive topography, comprising a tall steep pinnacle with overhangs and swim-throughs. The main reef edge can be seen from the Northern Pinnacle reef on a good day. This site is small enough to be comprehensively explored on a single dive, but is pretty enough to return to several times.

 * S34°10.720’ E018°27.605’ (7m) The pinnacle to the north east of the contiguous reef is Castor Rock (Central) pinnacle, which is a locally shallow area with a steep drop to the sand on the north east face, and more gradual slope to the reef top on the other sides.

 * S34°10.765’ E018°27.650’ (7m) The high point of an area of local high profile reef on the eastern edge of the north lobe.

 * S34°10.765’ E018°27.600’ (9m) A locally shallow area on the southern part of the north lobe. More of a marker for the surrounding area than a specific destination.

South lobe:

 * S34°10.812’ E018°27.650’. (8m) Drop off at the pinnacle, dive the surrounding reef and ascend at the pinnacle. This is a relatively small area, but enough for a good dive.

 * S34°10.831’ E018°27.802’. (10m) Drop off at the pinnacle, visit the twin pinnacles, explore the reef and ascend at the pinnacle.  This is a small area, but enough for a good dive. If you have time to spare, it is not very far to the western reef section near Wonders Pinnacle.

Routes

 * 1) Main Reef: Drop off over the main reef and work your way down to the sand, then back up to one of the pinnacles if the surge is not too strong.
 * 2) North Pinnacle: Either drop off over the North Pinnacle, or at the northern pinnacle of the main reef, and swim north over the sand to the North Pinnacle. After the dive either shoot a DSMB and ascend, or swim back across the sand to the south and ascend at the northern pinnacle of the main reef.

Marine life
Large variety of invertebrates, and if you do your safety stop near one of the pinnacles you may be visited by shoals of reef fish including Hottentot, Galjoen, Dassie and Fransmadam. Relatively large numbers of Bank steenbras have been seen here, but mostly quite small. Zonation is variable according to depth and surface orientation. Some kelp above about 10 m, but small and sparse. Red bait and other large ascidians fairly numerous, but not densely packed. There are patches of encrusting sponges and ascidians on relatively horizontal areas. Moderate numbers of elegant feather stars are scattered around. Common feather stars are also common in some areas, mostly where it is fairly steeply sloped. There are also clumps of red chested cucumbers, mauve cucumbers, striped anemones, Stephens' codium (relatively shallow), bushy corallines, encrusting corallines and Coral plocamium.

There are lots of gorgonian sea fans along the reef edges in the 15 m to 20 m depth range. Palmate, Sinuous, and Flagellar fans appear to be equally common. There are huge numbers of golden sea cucumbers on the reef slopes to the north and more expectedly, also in the sand along the reef margins. Occasioanally virtual carpets of hairy brittle stars can be seen at the north end of the reef.

Features
The north pinnacle is spectacular in good visibility. It has high relief including a fairly large swimthrough.

Photography
Good photographic site. Most equipment will be usable depending on visibility.

Hazards
Great white sharks have been seen in the vicinity.

Skills
No special skills required, though the ability to deploy a DSMB is useful in case you are separated from the group or need to surface away from the shot line.

Equipment
A light is useful to restore colour at depth, a compass to keep track of your movements, and a DSMB will let the boat know where you are when surfacing.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Roman Rock area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast

 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Cleeve's Tunnel

The dive site Cleeve's Tunnel is an inshore rocky reef in the Clifton area on the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand

The site is notable for the relatively long and fairly tight swim-through tunnel under a large pinnacle.

Position

 * S33°56.540' E018°21.894' — (top of the pinnacle), about 450 m at 025° magnetic to South Lion's Paw.

This site is in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area since 2004. A permit is required.

Name
Cleeve's Tunnel is named for the diver who either discovered the tunnel or at least made its position known.

Depth
Maximum depth is about 20 m. and the top of the pinnacle is about 3 m. Average depth is likely to be about 12 m, and the tunnel bottom is from 15 m at the north entry to 17 m at the south entry, and maybe a metre or so shallower in the middle.

Visibility
Visibility may exceed 20 m after an upwelling, but will usually be less.

Topography

Cleeve's Tunnel is a low and relatively narrow space under a huge boulder pinnacle that stands on an even larger bedrock base at a depth of between 15 and 18 m. The local bottom is at about 20 m, and the peak of the pinnacle at slightly less than 3 m depth. The reef breaks in moderate to rough weather, and probably at low tide in anything less than very low swell.

The pinnacle comprises several large rocks and there are undercuts where it stands on the base rock, some of which are quite large overhangs, and as mentioned, in the middle of the formation, the main tunnel extends through from north to south, and is large enough to allow somewhat constricted passage to an average sized diver with backmount cylinder.

A map showing the approximate layout of this pinnacle and the position of the entrances to the tunnel is shown. The tunnel is fairly wide to the north, but has low headroom: a diver with a 15 litre cylinder is likely to touch the top or bottom several times during a transit. The tunnel's southern entrance is at about 17 m depth, and the northern entrance at about 15 m. The length is about 35 m, and the axis of the tunnel is about 040°magnetic. If visibility is good, light can be seen through the tunnel from the south entry from two places, to the east of the opening and to the west.

The pinnacle is very shallow on top, where it rises to within 3 m of the surface. It is fairly large, and is about 45 m north to south, and 90 m east to west at a depth of 15 m. On the south side there is a tall narrow rock a couple of metres away from the main reef, and the southern entry to the tunnel is under the overhang to the west of this rock. This overhang is about 6 to 8 m wide, and there is a visible tunnel through on both east and west sides. The west side is known to be sufficient space for an average sized male diver with a 203mm diameter cylinder (steel 15 litre or 12 litre dumpy or aluminium 12 litre) on a backplate and wing harness. The east side is not known to have clearance, and looks tighter from outside. The diver who reported the tunnel also described a dog-leg, which was not found during the survey. this may indicate another route through.

At the east side of the pinnacle, another tunnel has been found, also at a depth of about 17 m. It is roughly parallel to the main tunnel, but is formed by the triangular space between two large boulders lying on the base rock. This tunnel has not yet been transited, and the clearance is unknown. The north entry is unknown, and the position on the map is a guess. The south entry is not obvious, as it is down a crevice a couple of metres, but once there, light can be seen at the far end. The tunnel looks large enough for a diver, and appears higher than the width, and almost straight.

Geology: Pre-Cambrian granite of the Peninsula pluton

Conditions
The site is exposed to westerly winds and seas so should be dived when the westerly components of the swell are low and short period, particularly if you are considering a transit of the tunnel as this could be excessively exciting in a strong surge.The site should be good in flat seas during or soon after south easterly winds. The site is well protected from south easterly winds, but if they become too strong the water may become unpleasantly choppy and the ride home will be wet and bumpy.

The site is usually at it's best in summer but there are also occasional opportunities in autumn.

This is an area which sometimes has upwellings of cold clear water following strong south easterly winds. these will usually be followed by a plankton bloom which will reduce the visibility without raising the temperature.

Get in
This site is normally a boat dive from Oceana Power Boat Club slipway. The distance is about 8.2 km

Marine life
Heavy red bait growth on top, with some kelp. Sides covered with assorted sponges, black mussels, nippled sea fans, multicoloured sea fans, noble corals, sea urchins, west coast rock lobster, solitary and colonial fanworms, arborescent bryozoans and hydroids, starfish, anemones, soft corals and colonial ascidians. Shoals of Hottentot seabream may be seen.

Features
The main feature of this site is the tunnel which gives it its name.

Photography
There are many subjects for macro photography, and if the visibility is good, wide angle could produce interesting results inside the tunnel.

Suggested Routes
The obvious route is the tunnel, but that is a do it at your own risk route, and the ends are easy to find, so go there, assess the conditions and make your own decision about how to go about it.

The rest of the reef is pleasantly colourful and does not have any particular routes at this point. A possibility is to start at the south entry to the tunnel, look into and through it, taking into account the surge conditions and visibility on the day, then work your way around the base and sides of the pinnacle until you get to the north entry, where you can take another look under the overhangs before making your way up to the top of the pinnacle for a safety stop with a view. Just be careful if the surge is strong. Surface downwind/downcurrent from the peak for a safer pickup.

Hazards
There are two significant site hazards. Firstly the pinnacle extends to within 3 m of the surface, and will break if there is much of a swell running. Generally if there is a break, the tunnel will be particularly unsafe due to surge currents which could wedge a diver between the floor and ceiling of the tunnel, and there are many places where this is possible. The break is also a hazard to the dive boat, and if the swell is in sets, it may look safe until suddenly a large set comes though and breaks. This would not be a good time for a boat to be over the pinnacle peak.

The other hazard is the tunnel. It is low headroom and slopes gradually from the highest parts towards the sides, so the majority of the section has places too low for a diver to fit through, and most of these are gradual reductions in clearance, so it is quite possible to be swept along by surge and wedged in tightly between the roof and floor. This is not a place for inexperienced divers. The tunnel is about 35 m long, and the tightest constrictions are about in the middle, quite a difficult place to assist a person who is trapped. The south entry is more constricted than the north side overhang, so it may be advisable to make first transit attempts from the south, as once past the midway point the rest of the way north is relatively clear.

Skills
Divers should not attempt the tunnel transit unless they are suitably skilled. If you get it wrong, you were not suitably skilled.

Equipment
Large divers should consider low profile rigs if they wish to do the tunnel transit. Sidemounts would probably allow all but the largest to get through, but any transit is entirely at the diver's own risk.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Clifton area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Clifton Rocks

The dive site Clifton Rocks is an inshore rocky reef in the Clifton area on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Position

 * S33°56.346’ E018°22.222’
 * S33°56.448’ E018°22.371’
 * S33°56.487’ E018°22.415’

This site is in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area since 2004. A permit is required.

Name
The site "Clifton Rocks" is named for the large group of large rocks at the point at the southern end of Clifton fourth beach.

Depth
Maximum depth is about 14 m, average about 7 m

Topography
Granite corestone boulders of large size rising from about 10 m depth to in some cases 5 or more metres above the water. Many of the boulders are undercut at the bottom and resting on granite outcrops, so there are deep crevices and overhangs, several smallish swim-throughs and a few fairly narrow gaps. Surge can be strong at times in the gaps. The jumble of rocks gets denser and shallower to the south and surge and breaking waves can be quite impressive. Sand bottom to the north and inshore of the big rocks is mostly quite fine, with occasional areas of shells and coarse sand.

Geology: Huge granite boulders of the late Pre-Cambrian Peninsula pluton, with fine white quarz sand bottom

Conditions
The entry and exit area is exposed to north west swell, but protected from the south west. The dive site is exposed to both north and south west swell, which can be extremely turbulent in the narrow spaces between the rocks if large or long. There will almost always be some surge. The site will be best when the swell is low and short, which is often associated with south easterly winds. The site is usually at its best in summer, but there are also occasional opportunities in autumn and early winter.

Facilities
Parking may be a problem on weekends as the beach is very popular in summer and it is sheltered from the south Easter. Get there early.

Get in

This is normally a shore dive. Turn off Victoria Road, Clifton, south of Fourth beach into The Ridge. Drive down to the furthest available parking area. The path to the rocks is at the sign for house #93. There is a narrow paved path with steps which passes between the plots and comes out on top of rocks facing to the north. Entry points are a few metres further along the point on large gently sloping north-facing rock with encrustation of black mussels. Entry and exit are easy, and well sheltered from south westerly swell.

Boat dives would usually be from the Oceana Power Boat Club slipway in Granger Bay, or the V&A Waterfront.

Marine life
Typical of the general area. Heavy kelp on rocks in gaps and on top of submerged rocks of shallow depth. The sea bamboo Ecklonia near the surface and the Split-fan kelp Laminaria in deeper water. There may be large numbers of bobtails on the sand, where they bury themselves and lie with only eyes exposed, until startled, when they dart off leaving a little cloud of ink.

Features
Narrow gaps and swimthroughs, and a little enclosed inlet at the north western corner of the exposed rocks.

Photography
Fairly good site for photography. No specific equipment suggestions.

Routes
Surface swim out to the inshore side of the big rocks. Dive and swim around the big rocks anti-clockwise to the offshore side and to the last big rock. Depending on conditions, retrace your path or if a quiet day, make your way back in between the rocks or continue further south and west. These areas are shallow and can get very rough. At the north west corner of the high rocks there is a little inlet among the rocks which is quite pleasant. Return to the entry rock by compass across the sand bottom will take about 20 minutes if you have enough air.

Hazards
Cold water, Strong surge and breaking waves over exposed and shallow rocks. Sea urchins.

Skills
No special skills required. There are areas of sand bottom which would be suited to basic skills exercises, though the main dive site is a bit far for entry level trainees. This is a good area for snorkelling. A reasonable level of fitness is required for shore entries

Equipment
A light is useful to look into crevices, and a compass helps keep track of where you are, but is not essential.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Clifton area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Container Bay

The dive site Container Bay is a shoreline rocky reef in the Rooi-els area on the east side of False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand

This is a site which you might dive if you are staying at Rooi-els or nearby, and wanted a bit of variety. The site is more suitable for snorkelling, and has been popular for collecting rock lobster in season.

Position
S34°18.75’ E018°49.05’ (approximate)

The last bay at Rooi-els that is accessible by public road.

This site is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.

Name
The name "Container Bay" refers to a shipping container that was washed up on the rocks in the 1980s or earlier, and has since almost completely rusted away.

Depth
Maximum depth is about 14 m.

Topography
Rocky reef around the perimeter of the bay, with a sand bottom in the middle with occasional rocky outcrops.

Geology: Sandstone probably of the Peninsula formation.

Conditions
There is often quite strong surge due to the shallow water.

The site is exposed to swell from the south west, so should be dived when this component of the swell is low and weak, and is often good in south easterly winds.

The site is usually at it's best in summer but there are also occasional opportunities at other times of the year.

Facilities
None

Get in
Usually a shore dive. The shore entry is fairly easy and there is no point in taking the trouble to arrange a boat trip. Park at the side of the road. Note that this road is a narrow unpaved cul-de-sac and there are no areas suitable for turning. You may have to reverse back to the fork. There is a path from the roadside to a gully suitable for entry and exit at S34°18.674’ E018°49.162’. Alternative entry and exit points are possible, but the only one with reasonable road access is to the north of the bay, and is over a shoreline of small rounded boulders which can be seen at the top left of the aerial photo.

Marine life
Extensive kelp forests and clumps wherever there are rocks on the bottom. This was a popular site for Kreef and Perlemoen diving, but they have mostly been dived out. The reef is fairly shallow and there is quite a lot of understorey seaweed, including areas of feathery caulerpa. There are various ridges and gullies and most of the interesting and colourful reef life is under overhangs and in crevices. The point to the south has gullies which are relatively deep.

Photography
This is not a particularly good site for photography, and macro equipment is likely to produce the best results.

Routes
Enter at the gully and work your way across the sand and central outcrops to one of the points, then back along the shallower reefs to the entry gully.

Hazards
Strong surge in shallow areas and gullies, and over the top of ridges, particularly in a long period swell.

Skills
No special skills required. The site is suitable for snorkelling as most of the interesting areas are quite shallow.

Equipment
No special equipment required or recommended.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Rooi-els area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches

 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Coral Gardens (Oudekraal)

The dive site Coral Gardens (Oudekraal) is a rocky reef at south Oudekraal, on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand

The high biodiversity, stunning colour and spectacular topography make this one of the region's most rewarding dive sites.

Position

 * S33°59.270' E018°20.782'
 * S33°59.247’ E018°20.921’
 * S33°59.129' E018°20.508'
 * S33°59.162' E018°20.460'
 * S33°59.205' E018°20.378'
 * S33°59.183' E018°20.408'
 * S33°59.193' E018°20.414'

Off the M6 just south of the Twelve Apostles Hotel

This site is in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area since 2004. A permit is required. The site is within the Karbonkelberg restricted zone.

Name
The name "Coral Gardens" is derived from the large numbers of Noble coral Stylaster nobilis which can be found here.

Depth
Maximum depth of the inshore area is 19 m, and you will have to look for this north of the pinnacle. Average for the popular areas of the site is about 10 m. The maximum depth in the Coral Gardens bowl is probably about 17 m on the sandy bottom patches.

Visibility
Visibility is variable, but on a good day can be in excess of 10 m. Water colour can be important, as when it is clearer it tends to be more blue. On those days the colour of the reef life will be most apparent. If the water is green, the visibility will generally be less and colours faded.

Topography
The landscape both above and below water is dominated by large to very large granite corestone boulders and outcrops. There are lots of overhangs, crevices and small caves, with occasional swim-throughs. There is an air bubble cave under the inner group of high rocks on the south west side, at S33°59.242' E018°21.817', about halfway along the south side of the group, at about 8 m depth. The site is identified by a four-lobed rocky promontory and several groups of offshore rocks.

The ridge: The main landmark is the southern point, which has a cylindrical white trigonometrical survey beacon on top, and which continues to seaward in a north westerly direction as an underwater ridge to beyond Groot Pannekoek, the huge flat rock several hundred metres to the west. This ridge includes the inshore group known as the high rocks, which is an important landmark, both for finding the pinnacles, and because it marks an area with deep gullies and an air cave. Water depth to the south west of the ridge drops fairly rapidly to about 17 m, where there are a few sandy patches. To the north east of the ridge the depth is about 10 m and there is a moderately dense kelp forest with a few sandy patches on otherwise fairly low profile granite reef. The kelp forest on the south western side of the ridge is more or less restricted to reef shallower than about 10 m, and the 9 m contour is therefore also the approximate extent of the kelp. The area to the west of Groot Pannekoek includes shallow reef and usually white water. The south western side of the ridge is generally very rugged profile and good diving.

The pinnacles:

This is a group of very tall boulders out to the south east of the point, with kelp on top reaching the surface at low tide. The base jumble of low boulders and outcrops round this reef covers a fairly large area, with 4 or 5 high pinnacles close together in a sort of "U" pattern, all of much the same height. The top of these pinnacles is at about 5 m depth, the sides are mostly near vertical, with narrow gaps between them. There are several deep overhangs and caves at the base of the pinnacles and there are occasional sand patches on the bottom between the rocks at about 16m depth between the pinnacles and the shore to the south, and between the pinnacles and the ridge to the north east.

Southern shoreline:

Big boulders with narrow gaps and overhangs and heavy kelp can be found in the area just west and south west of the gap between the point and the high rock group. The reef gets deeper over a short distance to about 12 m where there is sand in small patches between moderate sized boulders and outcrops. Further west along the shoreline reef, there are some larger sand patches and some huge boulders. This area is not very well explored, and is generally more open than the bowl between the ridge and pinnacles.

Western reefs:

Further offshore, beyond the pinnacles, are more rocks which reach the surface. These help protect the Coral Gardens bowl from some of the power of the waves, and this area is usually white water. Details are not yet recorded, as it is a long swim to get there, and divers tend to stay with the known area as it is good.

Terra incognita:- The offshore reefs

There is a sheer sided pinnacle near the outer blinder, which extends to within about 3 m of the surface, and down to about 20 m. This reef is at S33°59.129', E018°20.508'. The reef is a short ridge running NW-SE with almost vertical walls on both sides down to about 15 m Further west the reef slopes down to about 30m at the edge of sand. This pinnacle is about 650 m from the entry area and should not be attempted as a shore dive if there is a south easterly (offshore) wind forecast.

Other pinnacles in this vicinity have been found by sonar but have not yet been dived. They are slightly south-west of the surveyed pinnacle, so even further from the shore entry point. They are not known to have been dived, and nothing is known about them other than position and depth on top.

Geology: Corestones of late Pre-Cambrian granite of the Peninsula pluton and white quartz sand.

Conditions
Often at its best during or after south easterly winds (offshore). The swell should be low, and short period, though a bit of white water on the outer reefs is normal. The site is exposed to the south west swell, which will both ruin the visibility and make the access difficult, though to some degree this is dissipated by the reefs south of Groot Pannekoek. This is a site where good visibility is usually accompanied by cold water. There is usually some surge, and it can be quite strong in the narrow gaps.

The entry and exit area is very well protected, and access is safe when conditions at the bowl are way beyond what you would want to dive in. Limiting conditions at this site are visibility and surge in the areas you want to visit, and offshore winds which may make return to shore difficult, or boat access unpleasant.

Keep a lookout for times when the south west swell is low with a short period. This will usually be in summer, but in winter there may occasionally be a good day.

Facilities
Limited off street parking with fairly good security, Clean, neat toilet facilities, Fresh water showers and taps, picnic sites (no fires permitted), shade, seating, garbage cans, a nice little beach and pleasant and protected snorkelling areas for beginners. This is probably the best site in the region for shore facilities, and Parks Board staff keep it tidy and in good condition.

Get in

Shore dive: Use the Table Mountain National Park Oudekraal parking lot off the coast road if there is space. You pay for entry (R40pp - adults) but the facilities are good, including clean toilets, picnic areas, shade trees, braai (barbecue for foreigners) fireplaces and a fresh water shower. Security is better than most places. Alternative parking is available at the side of the M6, but the walk is longer. If the parking lot is full it may be possible to persuade the staff to allow you to drive in to unload and load gear. Payment by cash, and if the facilities are functional, by credit card.

Go down the stairs at the west end of parking lot and straight across the grassy area to the steps and the rocks at the westerly cove. There is a bit of a rough clamber over the rocks from the bottom of the path to the entry area which is usually quite a placid spot as it is well sheltered by reefs a few metres out, and heavy kelp, which is easier to negotiate if the tide is high. The long climb down the stairs and the clamber over the rocks require a reasonable level of fitness, but there is fresh water on tap at the top of the stairs and a few litres on your head and suit before the descent will keep you cooler.

The photo shows the entry area at low tide, and the kelp which can be seen to the right of the photo may require some effort to swim through in these conditions. It is easier at high tide when the kelp is about a metre under water.

Boat dive: It is a long boat trip to get to Coral Gardens; about 14 km from either Hout Bay Harbour or Oceana Power Boat Club, but for those who have difficulty with the shore access, this can be done as a boat dive. This is not a good anchorage, as the anchor is likely to foul amongst the rocks and damage the corals, so a live-boat dive is necessary. A shot-line is not recommended, for similar reasons, and the high rock group and beacon on top of the point provide adequate reference points. At high tide the kelp on the pinnacles may not be recognisable from a boat, so use a GPS or compass bearings as described in "Routes" to find the spot.

The offshore pinnacles are more suitable for boat diving, as the swim from the entry point is long and the offshore south-easter may come up while you are at the site. Getting back on the surface into a strong south-easter will be difficult, even if possible, so for a shore dive allow enough gas to swim back at about 3 to 5 m.

Marine life
Very rich in noble corals (Allopora nobilis), small sea fans, sponges of a wide variety of shapes and colours, soft corals, bryozoans and colonial ascidians on walls and overhangs. Also of interest are walking anemones (Preactis millardae), Box jellyfish (Carybdea alata), and various nudibranchs. Mandela’s nudibranch (Mandelia mirocornata) is relatively common here, and seldom seen anywhere else. The Cowled nudibranch (Melibe rosea) is also seen here more frequently than most dive sites in the area.

There is a significant difference in the encrusting organisms found on the rocks which is dependant on both depth and slope of the surface. Upper surfaces in shallower areas tend to be covered by algae and large ascidians, mussels or limpets, while the near vertical surfaces from about 5 m depth tend to host sponges, corals and colonial ascidians, and these are also common under overhangs. The upper surfaces in deeper areas seem to have largely ball sponges and coralline algae, while the flatter reef out towards Groot Pannekoek has large areas dominated by the Cape sea urchin Parechinus angulosus, and some dense cover of sea cucumbers in patches. A kelp forest in the entry cove extends out several metres to the south west of the high rock cluster, and to seawards as far as the Groot Pannekoek rocks, approximately following the 9 m contour. To the north east the kelp is more sparse, and there are sandy patches scattered among the boulders at a depth of about 10 m. There is more sea bamboo kelp on top of the higher rocks of the outer groups, down to about 9 m, and split fan kelp on deeper rocks, along with a range of other smaller algae. The rocks near the surf zone have a dense layer of corallines and limpets, and lots of small brown algae. At times shoals of Hottentot (Pachmetopon blochii) numbering several hundred fish can be seen amongst the kelp stipes.

Photography
The site is excellent for invertebrate photography. Many of the organisms are small, and macro facilities will be useful. On the other hand, wide angle close-ups can be stunning, and when the visibility is good, good scenic views can be taken.

Routes
The flat rock (Groot Pannekoek) is shown to the upper right of the photograph, and the high rocks are the group to the upper left. The cave is under the left-most rock of the high rock group. The group of rocks in the middle distance is exposed at low tide, but may be completely submerged when the tide rises. To get to the Coral Gardens, enter here and swim out to the left of the central group as far as the near side of the high rocks. Dive in the area to the left of this.

There is quite heavy kelp, you may have to work your way around some clumps, especially if the tide is low.

 * 1) Pinnacles: Swim to the south east into the Coral Garden bowl. There is an area of pinnacles rising to within 6m of the surface, with the highest at S33°59.270' E018°20.782' at a depth of about 5 m at high tide, and large granite boulders scattered around the whole area. You can identify the pinnacles by the kelp which grows on top and reaches the surface at low tide. Alternatively take a bearing on the beacon, which should be 110° magnetic, and the high rock should be about 060°. Descend on the pinnacle and work your way around the steep walls, narrow gaps, overhangs and caves of this rugged group of rocks. You can return by compass if you have sufficient air.
 * 2) Air cave and high rock group: Dive at the inshore end, along the edge of the rocks on the south west side where you may find the air pocket cave, then swim north along the group of boulders and around through the gap to the kelp forest, and return to the entry cove by compass through the kelp.
 * 3) Box jellies: Follow the rocks south towards the shore, visiting the narrow gaps and overhangs, them head South west to the deeper water with occasional sand patches between the boulders, where swarms of box jellyfish often congregate.

Hazards
Cold water, Strong surge in gulleys and swim-throughs. Sea urchins. Strong offshore winds may develop over a short time. Access to entry/exit point over large boulders may require some scrambling, particularly for those with short legs.

Skills
The site requires fitness and good buoyancy control. There are lots of delicate invertebrates which should not be subjected to a battering by the fins and flapping arms of a diver who can not deal with a bit of surge. There is no particular minimum qualification recommended, but this is a site for the reasonably experienced and skilled diver.

The three small coves are very sheltered and quite shallow, and are suitable for beginners to snorkel, if a bit chilly. They are not recommended as scuba training areas.

Equipment
This is a site where choice of exposure suit is important. The water is cold, the dive is moderately deep and requires a fairly long swim, but there is an energetic walk required before you get in. Do not skimp on insulation. If you are fit enough the extra weight needed for a dry suit will be compensated by the warmer dive you will enjoy, specially if the conditions are very calm. Make use of the water available at the parking lot to wet your suit before or just after putting it on. For a boat dive, a dry suit is definitely an advantage.

A light is recommended for looking into the many cracks and overhangs, where the invertebrates are particularly colourful when full spectrum light is used to illuminate them. If you have the choice, a wider beam angle is better, as you will use it from fairly close up most of the time. A compass is useful for finding the pinnacles, and swimming back under water, and Nitrox may be advantageous depending on how long and deep you dive. A DSMB may be used if diving from a boat, but is not essential as this is not an area where you can easily get lost, there is always the option of swimming to shore in an emergency, and there is seldom any boat traffic. An SMB is not advised, as it is a hassle in the kelp.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Oudekraal area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches

 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Coral Gardens (Rooi-els)

The dive site Coral Gardens is an inshore rocky reef in the Rooi-els area on the east side of False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand

This site has interesting and varied topography and large numbers of colourful sponges, ascidians, soft corals and sea fans.

Position
This site is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.
 * S34°18.144’ E018°48.795’ Entry area
 * S34°18.117’ E018°48.672’ 12 m.
 * S34°18.126’ E018°48.684’
 * S34°18.136’ E018°48.691’

Name
The site is named "Coral Gardens" for the abundant sea fans and soft corals found in the area. The hard "Noble Coral" is also found here. It could just as well have been named Sponge Gardens, but perhaps that doesn't sound so good.

Depth
18 m is likely on an ordinary dive, 20 m is conveniently accessible, and it is possible to get 30 m over the sand after a very long swim. This is the point on the east side of False Bay where the 30 m isobath approaches the shore most closely.

Visibility
This is a site where the visibility is seldom good, though rare days of over 15m have been reported. It is quite common for the visibility to vary considerably with depth. It may be fairly good at the surface, maybe 6 to 8 m, but then drop off to 3 m or less below the thermocline, and on other occasions it may be cloudy with algal bloom near the surface and open up to 6 to 8 m some way down. When it is calm and there is little surge, the fine organic silt settles on the bottom, sometimes in swathes of several centimetres depth, and this is very easily disturbed by finwash, and can destroy the visibility very quickly. Divers without expert trim and buoyancy control are likely to mess up the viz quite rapidly on those rare days when it is good. The up-side is that very few people dive this site, so the viz is usually undisturbed by divers. Unlike the west coast of the Cape Peninsula, where a strong south-easterly wind often precedes an upwelling with good visibility, at this site there is no obvious correlation and a south-easter is often followed by an upwelling with bad visibility.

Topography
Rocky ridges run approximately north to south. Large outcrops and boulders make rugged relief and provide a habitat for a large variety of invertebrates. Most of the relief is in the range of 1 to 3 metres, with a notable exception at the three pinnacles which rise to about 12 m from a local maximum of about 21 m

The entry gully is quite open towards the mouth, with a bottom of smallish rounded boulders and pebbles at 4 to 6 m. This gully extends out beyond the heads, and is a useful landmark for finding your way around, though it is less clearly defined further out. It appears to be interrupted by a few low ridges. Several small sand patches in the outer gully start quite close to shore, Inshore reef to the north is mostly not very high profile, but there is a long fairly straight ridge a few metres high quite far out beyond the pinnacles. There is another long wall-like ridge closer in, which stops at the low area of the extended gully. The bottom of the low area has fairly large areas of pebbles about fist size and patches of sand. There is high profile reef further north, with long high ridges, gullies, big rocks and boulders, occasional overhangs, small caves and an arch. Probably all Peninsula formation quartzitic sandstones.

Straight out: (True west of the entry point headland) Big rocks, deep gullies until about 20 m, then lower reef with occasional pebble patches. There are three large pinnacles at the south end of a ridge, with the bottom at about 21 m and tops of the pinnacles at about 12 m. They are in a line running approximately north/south about 160 m west from the entry point The south-easternmost of these ridges has an arch feature just south of the high point at a depth of 17 m in a narrow cleft between the big 11m pinnacle and a much smaller one to the south. The northern pinnacle has a cave/swim-through under a big boulder on the eastern side, at about 20 m. This cave is accessible from at least two points at the bottom, and has a chimney against the ridge. The gully between the middle and outer ridges is deep and steep on north, east and west sides and supports a large variety of sponges. Higher up on the ridges are a variety of gorgonians and soft corals. There is another 12 m pinnacle a bit further north-weat, which may be a continuation of the ridge. The reef continues out to about 350 m offshore, where it drops slightly to almost level sand.

North of gully mouth: Close ridges and gullies approximately parallel to shore, mostly not very long, and tending downwards fairly fast. Big boulders and outcrops further out.

South of gully mouth: Big rocks and ridges approximately parallel to overall shore line.

Geology: Ordovician sandstone of the Table Mountain group, probably Peninsula formation. Strike approximately north-east south-west, and dip about 25° south east.

Conditions
Exposed to south west swell. Only diveable if the swell is low. Usually best after several days of south east wind in summer. Visibility is not often good, even when there is not much surge, as there is a very fine silt that is easily disturbed that deposits in the gullies in the deeper areas. Protected from south easterly wind, which does not produce a swell here as the fetch is too short. It may produce an upwelling of colder water from the bottom of the bay, but this is not often clear, due to the fine silt.

Facilities
None. Park at the side of Rocklands road where you can find space. Do not park in driveways.

Get in

Shore dive: Very limited parking at the side of Rocklands road (gravel). Turn off the R44 into Anemone street. Drive to the T-junction at the end and turn left into Rocklands road. The road swings to the right and then turns quite sharply to the left. At this point you should see a sloping rock face several metres high in front and a relatively open area sloping down to a series of small ridges and gullies and then the water on the right. Park as near to this corner as complies with the rules of the road, but not on someones driveway.

The path passes to the left of the boulder in the left foreground, then down between the ridges to the centre of the photo. The route continues between the ridges on the left side of the gap. Walk down between and over rock ridges to the entry/exit point at the side of the main gully. Access is limited to good weather with very low swell, and becomes tricky if south west swell picks up.

The entry point is at the end of this little ridge. The water is quite deep beyond the end of the ridge and it is possible to simply jump off the end of the ridge. Getting out is a bit more of an exercise, as the rock is quite steep and encrusted with barnacles. Watch the sets, choose your moment and scramble up the end of the ridge from the mouth of the gully. Try to get high enough to be out of reach of the next wave before attempting to remove kit. Reinforced kneepads and gloves are highly recommended. It is not a good idea to come into the side gullies as you will then be caught by the next wave and thrown against the rock. The alternative exit at a ledge just to seaward (left) of this gully is an easier exit in moderate surge and is suitable for use at high tide. Exit can be hard on the knees if you keep your fins on, but if you take them off in the water it can be difficult to control your position for a clean exit. Keeping one fin on may be a workable compromise, but try not to lose the other. You will need to use both hands. A buddy can be helpful here.

There are alternative exits at ledges in the gully depending on tide and sea state. Familiarise yourself before diving, and take time before attempting an exit to judge timing and strength of the surge, and choose an exit point according to conditions. Not a site for the novice or a diver unfamiliar with local conditions unless you have a guide. The little side gullies are generally unsuitable for entry or exit as the surge in them is strong.

Boat dive: The site may be dived from a boat from the local slip if you have the required permit, or from Hangklip or Gordon’s Bay, but this is quite a long ride.

Marine life
There are kelp forests inshore and in the gully. The reef is encrusted by a large variety of interesting invertebrates, including many kinds of sponges and colonial ascidians, often under slight overhangs, or in the darker depths.

See the Gallery for more images, particularly of the variety of sponges at this site

Features
Pinnacles, overhangs and ridges, with a few small cavern swimthroughs and a stone arch

Photography
This is a good site for close-up photography of invertebrates, particularly sponges and colonial ascidians. The generally poor visibility means that the site is usually relatively dark, so artificial light will almost always be essential, and the suspended particles will cause backscatter if internal flash is used except for close up work. Macro equipment will almost always produce good results, but close-up wide angle equipment is also likely to be suitable, as many of the more colourful subjects are in the order of 100 to 500mm across.

Routes
Enter and swim out to the mouth of the gully. There is good diving in all directions, deeper straight out.
 * 1) Three pinnacles tour: Swim out due west over the boulder bottom of the entry gully, keeping to the left wall, through the kelp and over the ridges beyond the mouth, down onto the wide gully which has a flattish bottom and patches of pebbles at about 10.5 m depth. Swim along near the gully bottom with the higher rocks on your right hand side. At 13 m depth you should pass a small sand patch, followed by a low, broken ridge across the gully. At 15 m depth, pass a big patch of pebbles, followed by a low smooth rock, which looks as if it gas been worn by abrasion with stones. Continue past a large rock at 17 m depth on the right hand side of the gully with an orange wall sponge to the north, and a small gully branching off about north west. Continue along the side of the wide gully a short distance past a sand patch at 18 m depth to a fairly smooth ridge crossing the gully. The ridge is a couple of metres high and tapers down from north to south and has a notch in the north side of the crest. Turn right and follow this ridge a short distance to the north, where it rises up and becomes the first pinnacle. Just over the ridge at the base of this pinnacle is the Arch, with a pothole to the right of it. Keep the pinnacle to the right and swim past it over a patch of sand bottom at about 21 m depth. On the seaward side of the pinnacle are some fairly high rocks which you keep on your right until the second pinnacle. Swim around the south side of this second pinnacle and then round to the west, to a gap between two high ridges, with a large rock in the gap. Keep this rock and the next ridge to the right and you will soon come to a large overhang with a silty bottom and a small cavern a few metres off the bottom. This ridge is the third pinnacle. Continue with the high rocks to the right, past another lower overhang, to a large boulder which has a swim-through under it with about three entries at the bottom and a chimney against the pinnacle. Proceed round the pinnacle clockwise, passing another large overhang at about 18 m depth on the seaward side. There is another lower ridge visible to seaward of this pinnacle. Continue round the pinnacle to the gap and then move to the next ridge to the east. Follow the ridges clockwise and you should end up back at the arch. Head approximately south east through a gap to return to the wide gully at the rock with the wall sponge, then keep the high rocks to the left to return to the entry gully. There is a sudden rise at the end of the low open area, where the heavy kelp starts. Keep on a course due east magnetic to get back to the entry gully, which is recognizable by the round boulder bottom and lack of kelp in the middle. Follow the southern wall of the gully until the kelp starts again and surface near the exit point. This is quite a long dive and is best done on Nitrox if you want to spend time looking at things.
 * 2) For a 30 m shore dive, swim out approximately 600 m on the surface on 290° magnetic, dive and attempt to find your desired depth of 30 m. This is best done at high tide, as the sand slopes very gradually away from the reef. The depth decreases gradually towards the shore, and to avoid decompression (on air) it will be necessary to swim part of the way back in mid-water. Alternatively this dive can be done on Nitrox on open circuit or a rebreather, which may allow you to stay near the bottom without incurring decompression obligations.

Hazards
Shore access requires a scramble over rocks. Exit can be tricky in larger swells.

Skills
No special skills required. Ability to navigate by compass is useful if diving further out, and the ability to deploy a DSMB is useful for boat dives.

Equipment
A flashlight is useful for illuminating under overhangs. Nitrox is useful for the deeper areas and a reel and DSMB is suggested for boat dives. This is a site where a compass is particularly useful for keeping track of where you are.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Rooi-els area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches

 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Coral Gardens (Rooi-els)/Gallery

There are a diverse variety of sponges and colonial ascidians at Coral Gardens (Rooi-els) Most have not been identified, and many are probably not described.


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Cow and Calf

The dive sites Cow and Calf and Stone Dog are on a shoreline rocky reef in the Gordon's Bay area on the east side of False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand
Cow and Calf is a reasonably accessible shore dive close to Gordon's Bay, in an area relatively protected from south westerly swell, and provides a reasonable range of depth and good variety of reef life. Anchorage on the sand is adequate though fairly exposed.

Position
This site is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.
 * S34°10.310’ E018°50.263’
 * S34°10.376’ E018°50.183’ shore entry ledge below the dog

Name

Named "Cow and Calf" for the twin reefs just offshore which approach and sometimes break the surface, and which are reminiscent of a whale cow and calf.

Depth
Average depth about.

Maximum depth about on the sand.

Topography
Cow and Calf: The gap between high reef ridges and shore is about 5 to 8 m deep, with low ridges and boulders. The inner ridge of the reef breaks surface at low tide, The outer face of this ridge drops to about 7 to 9 m, and the gap to the next reef is about that deep. The outer reef is very sheer on seaward side, rising from 10m to very near the surface. The bottom slopes down gradually to sand at 12 m, with a narrow band of pebbles and small boulders. At the base of the ridge it may be possible to see across the pebbles to the sand if the visibility is good, and the pebble zone tapers away to the south west. These are rugged reefs of sandstone with quartzite veins. The bottom inshore of the ridges is rock and medium to small boulders with pebbles, sand and shell in crevices. The inner reef is about 33m from the shore and is about 35 m long. The outer reef is about 45 m off the shore and about 50 m long. Stone Dog and The Slot:

There is a deep narrow gully ("The Slot") 100 m south west along the shoreline from the entry ledge, which connects by a short, shallow, narrow tunnel at the surface to a second gully (“Stone Dog gully”) which opens to the bay about 150 m from entry point. There is a large rock above this gully which from the water looks a bit like a sitting dog. Oddly enough, from the landward side it looks more like a dog standing with its front feet on a rock. The Slot is deep and narrow, with almost vertical sides, getting shallow suddenly at the tunnel, then a similar gully other side at roughly 90° to the Slot. The tunnel is mostly in the intertidal zone, and is angled sharply down on the seaward side. Quite a strong surge usually runs through the tunnel and may rise to the ceiling. This could be very dangerous in a big sea. Position of the tunnel is approximately S34°10.370’, E018°50.202’. Stone Dog gully has several relatively big boulders in it and the surge can be very strong. It is passable in very calm conditions at high tide by a streamlined diver with minimal projecting equipment which may hook up and jam the diver in the gap. Attempt at your own risk.

About 30 m further west along the coastline is Red Bait gully, a deep narrow gully a couple of metres wide and about 7 m deep, with walls covered by red-bait pods. Another 40 m west is a pair of gullies of similar depth but somewhat wider, at the extreme east of the "Pinnacle" dive site area.

Geology: Ordovician sandstone of the Table Mountain group, probably Peninsula formation. Strike is parallel to the shoreline and dip is steep, about 60° to the southwest

Conditions
The site is exposed to the north west wind. It is slightly protected from south west swell but is shallow and there will be surge, which will reduce visibility as there is a fine light silt in this area. It is very well protected from south easterly winds, and these will generally flatten the sea in this area, so it is usually best during or after south easterly winds. The site is usually at its best in summer but there are also occasional opportunities at other times of the year.

This is an area which sometimes has plankton blooms (red tides) which will cause poor visibility.

Facilities
Paved roadside parking area with garbage bin. Security is probably no worse than any other roadside parking area.

Get in
Access is easiest by boat, but is also possible from the shore.

Boat dive: From Gordon's Bay harbour (2.4 km) or Harbour Island (3.0 km). The site is the reef which is visible at most times as an area of turbulence or white water.

Shore dive: Parking is on the seaward side of the road below the five houses. The climb is moderately steep but not difficult. The path is not clear and should be checked out before kitting up. There are three entry points:
 * 1) Down steep rocks to a ledge directly inshore of the reef, 75 m at 019° magnetic from car park. There is a good exit point to the west of a little gully at the east side of the ledge, almost a staircase. At the west side of the ledge is a small shallow ridge parallel to the shore which is a convenient step at low tide. The choice of exit points depends on tide and swell. Don’t rush it, and time the wave sets to choose an opportunity for exit when the waves are smallest.
 * 2) Entry/exit at the north-east facing gully. See also the access section for Vogelsteen for this alternative entry and exit point.
 * 3) Entry and or exit at Stone Dog is also an option, but there is no roadside parking at the entry point. Park at the same place as for Cow and calf and walk along the road about 100 m to where a wide track angles down the verge quite steeply. Climb down to the entry area, which requires a slight scramble down the rocks between the gully and Stone Dog outcrop The climb down is steep enough to require good balance and care, and reasonably strong ankles, and there are places where the hands should be used unless you are particularly agile. Dive along the reef towards Cow and Calf. Exit at Vogelsteen gully or the Cow and Calf ledge, or exit at the same place. The climb up is actually easier and there is less risk of slipping.

Marine life
There are a lot of gorgonian sea fans (Eunicella spp) at the base of the ridges, Higher up are Multicolour sea fans, and the tops are covered with Red bait. A variety of other sessile animals encrust the rocks among these zones, and there are various small seaweeds as well.

Features
The slot and the swim-through to Stone Dog Gully. Only try the swim-through in very calm conditions.

Photography
Good photographic site for invertebrates

Routes

 * 1) Entry off the ledge at the bottom of the cliff directly inshore from Cow and Calf ridges. Surface swim north to the inner reef, descend on the shoreward side, swim west a bit then offshore to the sand at 12 m, then east a bit along pebbles, and south back to the outer ridge. Continue anticlockwise around the ridge until back at the east end, then south to the inner ridge, around to the south side, then south again to the shore.
 * 2) Entry off the ledge directly inshore of Cow and Calf, descend to 3 to 6 m depth and swim about 100 m keeping the shore to your left until you reach the deep narrow gully (The Slot). This connects by a short, shallow, narrow tunnel at the surface to a second gully (Stone Dog gully) which opens to the bay about 150 m from the entry point. Swim back parallel to the shore to the entry point.

Hazards
Shore access requires a scramble down steep rocks and a slightly tricky entry and exit depending on tide and swell. The tunnel at Stone Dog is tight and the surge through it can be very strong.

Skills
This is a suitable site for inexperienced divers as it is close inshore and shallow. Night dives are best done from a boat as the climb up the hillside will be tricky on a dark night. Take the conditions into account and decide for yourself.

A reasonable level of fitness and agility is required for shore entry, particularly down the rock face to the ledge.

Equipment
No special equipment recommended.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Gordon's Bay area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches

 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area


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Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Dale Brook

The dive site Dale Brook is a shoreline rocky reef in the Kalk Bay area on the False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

This is the closest site for road access from most of the city on the east side of the peninsula, and is also accessible by rail (Dale Brook station).

Understand

This site is well known in the scientific literature for a large variety of species, and it has been a sanctuary zone for a long time, but is seldom dived by sport divers. It is ideal as a snorkel site due to the shallow depth and large variety of reef life, and is a very pleasant scuba dive in calm conditions.

Position

 * S34°07.436’ E018°27.154’
 * S34°07.475’ E018°27.188’ — The site is off the rocks just south of the tidal pool.

This site is in the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area since 2004. A permit is required.

Name
The site is named after the locality "Dale Brook", as is a road and the railway station.

Depth
Maximum depth is approximately 6 m. This is over the sand and some way out. The end of the reef can be seen from the shore if conditions are good, as this is where the kelp ends.

Topography
Low and fairly flat sandstone reef. Reef is steep sided and flat bottomed, mostly bedrock with occasional boulders. Fairly free of sand in the inshore areas, but sand bottomed further out. Beyond the reef the sand starts fairly abruptly, with a few outlying outcrops, and is consistently fine and fairly white, with small wave ripples and lots of vent holes. The outer reef may be coated with fine sand, which is easily lifted due to the small grain size.

Geology: Rock is hard light brown Ordovician sandstone, either of the Peninsula formation, or possibly the underlying Graafwater formation. Strike is about parallel to the shoreline (roughly NE-SW), dip of a few degrees to the south east. The layers are not very thick, mostly in the order of 1/2 to 1 m. Jointing is predominantly perpendicular to the shoreline.

Conditions
The site is exposed to south easterly wind and waves. The site is usually at its best during winter but there may also be occasional opportunities at other times of the year.

Keep a lookout for times when it is calm or the wind is north westerly with minimal swell. The site is shallow and any swell will cause a surge, though the kelp will have a moderating influence.

Avoid diving this site if there is a south east wind forecast, as the chop may make it tricky to get out safely.

Facilities
Parking at tarred parking lot just beyond the changing rooms at the side of the Main Road (M4), next to the railway line. There is a subway under the railway line leading to the beach. Public toilets and changing rooms are accessed from the subway. There is a fresh water shower at the beach and a large tidal pool.

Get in
Normally done as a shore dive. Entry and exit is from the flat rock shelf south of the storm-water outfall. Details will depend on the tide, but there is a lone boulder which may be convenient for final preparations.

Access is fairly easy in conditions you would want to dive. If the surf looks too big, there will be strong surge and poor visibility.

Marine life
The reef is very rich in variety, even shallow and close to the shore. It is surprisingly colourful, and well illuminated due to shallow depth and lack of suspended matter. There are quite a lot of kelp fronds surging back and forth, but the stipes make useful handholds to steady yourself in the surge. It is also a site where a lot of marine life can be observed in the rock pools at low tide

Photography
The site is suitable for macro photography.

Routes
Wade out over the rocks to water deep enough to swim and start the dive when deep enough to avoid the worst of the wave action. Work your way slowly out deeper towards the sand, then along reef edge for a while before turning back and returning over the reef, mostly in the gullies.

Hazards
No special hazards other than sea conditions, and the possibility of an encounter with a great white shark.

Skills
No special skills required. This is an excellent site for novice snorkellers, and should be good for night dives if the sea is very flat. It is also an area where a lot of marine life can be observed in the rock pools at low tide

Reasonable fitness is required for shore entries. Some familiarity with surf entries is recommended.

Equipment
No special equipment recommended. A light may be useful for looking under overhangs, but there are not many deep ones.

Nearby

Back to the list of Alphabetical list of sites, or dive sites in the Muizenberg to Kalk Bay area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast

 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area