Dive Travel – Cape Town, South Africa
This hidden corner of False Bay is an underwater treasure with unique dive conditions. The sea fan forests here are gorgeous; after 10 years of diving, I still revel in their beauty. Common sea fans include the Flagellar, Sinuous, and Palmate, which can grow very large. Smaller Multicolored sea fans and colorful sponges, anemones, and sea stars create a vibrant underwater landscape.
The water visibility isn’t always good, but I’ll show you why diving here is a must! The best time to dive in Gordon’s Bay is in the summer months from September to March. Please read below to know how we predict good diving days.
Water Visibility in Gordon’s Bay
Along with the amazing biodiversity comes the downside of lower visibility. Winds and the earth’s rotation cause deep water upwellings to bring nutrient-rich water to the surface, supporting seaweed and plankton growth. Upwelling generates some of the world’s most fertile ecosystems.
This area is truly unique since coastal upwelling regions only cover 1% of the total area of the world’s oceans.
Upwelling usually brings deep cold water to the surface, creating clear blue and cold water. We eagerly dive our vibrant reefs in 15-meter visibility. What a feast for the eyes.
The nutrient-rich water also provides the perfect conditions for algae to bloom, creating the low visibility and green water often seen here.
Luckily, visibility isn’t always low. It’s between 5 and 15 meters. On average, we dive in 4 to 8-meter visibility.
Exploring the rocky reefs of Gordon’s Bay and its surroundings is jaw-dropping. This densely populated biodiverse area is supported by nutrient-rich upwellings and, to a lesser extent, runoff from the mountains and river inlets.
Water Temperature
False Bay is influenced by two ocean currents, the cold South Atlantic and warmer Indian Ocean. It is also affected by the deep upwellings that bring cold water to the surface, as mentioned earlier.
Cold water mixes with warmer water from the east, usually warming the bay compared to the icy Atlantic side.
In January, the warmest water temperature is around 20.4°C (68.7°F). September is the coldest month at 15.6°C (60.1°F). The usual wetsuit thickness is 5mm to 7mm, with an added layer to be 8 to 10mm.
Predicting Dive Conditions
Gordon’s Bay reef underwater on a low-visibility dive
Many factors affect dive conditions. Many think sunny weather means good diving, but in False Bay, that’s not the case. We monitor the following to predict good diving days:
Wind
Gordon’s Bay is known to be a very drafty town. We need the South Easterly wind to bring clean water to the Eastern bay side. These strong winds last a few days and then drop, creating good dive conditions. But this isn’t the only factor to consider.
Swell
The second factor to consider is the swell, which refers to long rolling waves caused by distant weather systems. These travel long distances and have a consistent direction. Understanding swell is important because large swell can cause rough surface conditions, strong underwater surge, and decreased visibility.
Tide
It’s best to dive at high tide in Gordon’s Bay because most sites here are shallow dives that are right up against the mountain. At low tide, the loss of depth may cause sand to be pushed up, lowering visibility and increasing the surge.
Weather
Contrary to popular belief, sunshine or rain doesn’t matter. This does not affect underwater conditions, except for light penetration. When it’s sunny, more light reaches into the water, affecting shallow dives.
Red Tide
Red tide is an overgrowth of phytoplankton near the ocean surface. This area is rich in oxygen, and they grow best here. This can cause the water to turn brown, orange, red, or even purple. Dives are cancelled during red tide.
Read more about Red Tide.
What can I expect to see here?
The boat ride to the dive sites can be interesting as we can see African Penguins swimming in small groups, pods of dolphins, whales, and African Clawless Otters splashing around in the shallows. Cape Fur Seals are also seen lazily sunbathing on the rocks and sometimes greet us underwater.
One of my favorite sea animals is the Longsnout pipefish, a seahorse family member. These beautiful ornamental creatures are lovely to photograph, especially when they twist their long bodies into a sea fan.
A Longsnout pipefish in a sea fan
This is a nudibranch hot spot. For those who have a keen interest in these little sea slugs, you’ll find a wide variety dotting the reefs like gems.
Read more about the Nudibranchs of Gordon’s Bay.
Here, numerous colorful klipfish, various blenny species, and schools of Strepies decorate the reefs. Smaller cat shark species are frequently encountered. Octopus, cuttlefish, and spider crabs are also some of the interesting animals found here. There are too many to name.
Macropodia falcifera, the Cape long-legged spider crab
Read more about Diving in Gordon’s Bay.
Conclusion
Gordon’s Bay is rich in marine species. If you’re visiting Cape Town, add this to your diving list. The beautiful reef and amazing diversity make up for the lower visibility. Since this is such a special place, being part of the 1% of coastal upwelling regions in the world’s oceans, it’s not to be missed.
I hope to see you diving with us in Gordon’s Bay soon.
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by Madelein Wolfaardt
All images ©️ by @sealife_madeleinwolf
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