Diving Protea Banks

Text by Madelein Wolfaardt 

Protea Banks is known for many things. Sure, it is a long boat ride, but if you want to dive with sharks, there is no better place to do so!

During our recent dive there, we saw eight species of sharks: scalloped- and great hammerheads, ragged tooth (sand tiger) sharks, tiger sharks, lots of Zambezi (bull)-, Oceanic Blacktip, Dusky sharks and Giant Guitarfish. All this in only a few dives!

Protea Banks is situated approximately 7.5 kilometres out to sea from Shelly Beach on the East Coast of South Africa. The reef lies at s ranging from 27 to 40 meters, about 6 kilometres in length and only 800 meters wide. Essentially the reef is a fossilised sandbank that comes up from 60 meters.

We booked ten dives over six days for ourselves and a group of Just Africa Life skills preparation year students. Every day was like opening a lucky packet. In one week, underwater visibility varied from five to 25 meters. The primary purpose of the dive trip to African Dive Adventures was to see the schooling hammerhead sharks that usually visit the east coast of South Africa during the summer season. (This is due to the time of year we visited; December is not their high season. We mainly went to see the schooling hammerheads from October to March.) 
African Dive Adventures has been diving on Protea Banks, a world-renowned shark-diving site, since 1994. Their love for the ocean, and especially sharks, is inspiring. Changing people's negative opinions of sharks is vital to their conservation and protection. It starts with passionate people.

SCUBA DIVING ON PROTEA BANKS

Because all the dives on Protea Banks are in the deep diving range, divers should be qualified as advanced and comfortable diving in strong currents. The dives are generally done as drift dives. We booked ten dives over six days for ourselves and a group of Just Africa Life skills preparation year students. Every day was like opening a lucky packet. In one week, underwater visibility varied from five to 25 meters. The primary purpose of the dive trip to African Dive Adventures was to see the schooling hammerhead sharks that usually visit the east coast of South Africa during the summer season. (This is due to the time of year we visited; December is not their high season. We mainly went to see the schooling hammerheads from October to March.) 
African Dive Adventures has been diving on Protea Banks, a world-renowned shark-diving site, since 1994. Their love for the ocean, and especially sharks, is inspiring. Changing people's negative opinions of sharks is vital to their conservation and protection. It starts with passionate people.

SCUBA DIVING ON PROTEA BANKS

Because all the dives on Protea Banks are in the deep diving range, divers should be qualified as advanced and comfortable diving in strong currents. The dives are generally done as drift dives. with sharks. The caves provide shelter from the current and create a peaceful space to observe and enjoy the sharks in their natural habitat.

Schooling Hammerheads | Leaving the last cave, we started to ascend to drift mid-water slowly. There were large schools of scalloped hammerheads passing by. These sharks are painfully shy, and we were not fortunate enough to get them in good visibility. But they were there, intriguing silhouettes moving just out of sight as we tried to get a closer look. It's a good idea to book your stay for a more extended period, giving you a better chance at great sightings in good visibility.
Once back on the boat, we were pleasantly surprised to be accompanied for some distance by a small group of great hammerheads cruising at the surface: what a delightful sighting to see them through the water with the rise and fall of the swell!

SOUTHERN PINNACLE

We dropped to around 30 meters, with the bottom between 35 and 40 meters. Again, just relaxing and drifting with the current, hardly having to kick at all. A school of trevally met us with much interest, schooling around us.

Giant Guitarfish | Diving on a large sand patch called Sand Shark Gully, we saw giant guitarfish in large numbers all over the sandy bottom. This was excellent news for local scientists because giant guitarfish are critically endangered according to the IUCN's red list. Their population is believed to have declined significantly due to unregulated high levels of exploitation for their flesh and fins. These sharks can be seen here from November to March.

On each dive, different sharks appeared and disappeared into the distance. Some allow us a good view, some in fleeting moments, and others as dark shadows at the fringe of visibility. This made each dive a real adventure full of anticipation for what you might encounter next.

Baited Shark Dive | Doing a baited shark dive almost felt unnecessary, as you get to see sharks on most dives anyway. Still, the baited dives give divers an up-close and personal experience. This is where video and photography enthusiasts have their chance at great footage.

Meeting the Zambezi Shark Up Close | At first, it was quiet, with no sharks to be seen, not even a single oceanic blacktip, frequent visitors on baited dives. Then after a while, below us, we could just make out the shape of a Zambezi shark circling, and minutes later, he was joined by another. Ultimately, we had 3 Zambezi sharks playing around us for the entire dive. They were calm and interested in us, swimming right up to the divers to check us out. Unfortunately, the top layer of water was dirty on this dive, making it a low-visibility dive.

WHY DIVE WITH SHARKS?

We take groups on shark dive trips to break down the negative image of sharks through education and exposure. Showing people what wonderful and necessary animals they are. 
We aim to educate people about sharks and give them a firsthand experience of being in the water with them. This is a teaching experience like no other. I started diving with these magnificent animals more than eight years ago. From my first shark dive with our local broadnose sevengill shark, my fear turned into immense respect and admiration.  

Just Africa Scuba
www.justscuba.co.za
travel@justscuba.co.za
+27 (0) 82 598 1884
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