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Diving, Ocean, and Travel articles. Be a conservation-conscious diver.

Dive Travel — Cape Town, South Africa

Diving in False Bay offers a variety of dives, making it a sought-after destination.

Location:

False Bay is an Atlantic Ocean body of water between the Cape Peninsula and Hottentots Holland Mountains in southwest South Africa. The bay’s mouth faces south, demarcated by Cape Point to the west and Cape Hangklip to the east.

Cape Peninsula False Bay Map

Kelp Forest

kelp forest cape town with diver

A diver exploring the kelp forest

The magical Kelp Forests are a major attraction and a scenic dive. Exploring this habitat is a wonderful experience, immersed in a forest with kelp standing like tall trees up to 17m long. Between the kelp are charming reef pieces covering large boulders. A variety of species like octopuses, starfish, cuttlefish, and rock lobsters inhabit this area. The kelp hosts many unique fish found nowhere else in the world and a variety of shark species including Seven-gill Cow Sharks, Pyjama catsharks, and different Shysharks.

Seal Dives

Cape fur seal diving Cape Town

Cape fur seal diving down to inspect me

Cape fur seals are endemic to Southern Africa. The African fur seal lives around the southern and southwestern coast of Africa from Cape Cross in Namibia and around the Cape of Good Hope to Black Rocks near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. Seals are the friendly ‘water dogs’ of the sea, playful and inquisitive. They often accompany divers to see what they’re doing. They are curious creatures and will sometimes mimic your behavior when interacting with them underwater. Seals are fun to watch as they effortlessly glide through the water twirling and blowing bubbles.

Wreck Diving

A scuba diver exploring the underwater world madelein wolf photography 1

My dive buddy posing on the PMB (Pietermaritzburg) wreck

Numerous wrecks lie on the False Bay ocean floor, especially old navy ships in Simon’s Town. The SAS Pietermaritzburg, a minesweeper until 1994, was scuttled to form an artificial reef.

The wrecks of Smitswinkel Bay include five Navy-scuttled wrecks: SAS Transvaal, SAS Good Hope, Rockeater, Princess Elizabeth, and Oratava.

The wrecks are covered with vibrant coral and small creatures like nudibranchs, interesting crabs, Strawberry anemones, starfish, various fish species, and small sharks like the Pyjama Catshark and Shyshark.

Reef Dives

false bay reef underwater

The colorful reef on a dive site called Atlantis or Pillars of Hercules

False Bay’s reefs are vibrant and colorful. Shallow ones are usually surrounded by kelp forests with tiny sea creatures.

The deeper reefs, accessible only by boat, have a wider variety of marine life, including abundant reef fish, large sea fan forests, small sharks, nudibranchs, sponges, cuttlefish, and octopus.

False Bay offers activities for all ocean enthusiasts, from snorkeling, freediving, and shore dives to boat dives. Book your dive holiday today.

We Protect what we Love. Join the movement!

Madelein Wolfaardt Author

by Madelein Wolfaardt

Images by @sealife_madeleinwolf
www.madeleinwolf.co.za

Also, see the following articles:

5 Benefits of Scuba Diving

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