Aliwal Shoal is one of South Africa's
better known dive sites ( click here for more info).
Diving on the Shoal can be pretty horrendous or spectacularly awesome.
Diving on the Shoal can be pretty horrendous or spectacularly awesome.
The last time I dived there was 7 years
ago, so when my Dive School (Fintastic) had a Shark Specialty course
scheduled, with 2 dives on Aliwal, I booked it out in my diary –
safari's or not!!
Aliwal Shoal is just south of Durban on
our East Coast, so it is a long drive from my home in Johannesburg.
But it was also a good time to visit family in Durban, so I
turned the trip into a 12 day break away – not just a weekend of
shark diving.......
In addition, I decided to turn the
conventional 6-7 hour highway drive into a longer, more leisurely
exploration of the back roads and byways of the Free State and rural
Zululand.
Early winter is always a good time to
see our impressive country, fading to ash blonde from the vibrant
green and golds of late summer.
…............and 4 days later I am
still sorting through the 1000+ photos I took of landscapes,
seascapes, cityscapes, flowers, family, sharks, turtles.............
Here are some of my favourite photos so
far.........
Crossing the Free State
also known as the Province of Gold - after it's endless maize fields, wide open grasslands and abyssal gold mines....
The colourful sights of Durban's beach front........
on a mild winter's afternoon, and a busy Sunday morning.....
Winter flowers in the sub tropics.....
Reach for the sky on Umhlanga Rocks beach front!
The diving!!
We saw turtles and sharks (one Bull shark, and many "Raggies") on every dive.
The underwater visibility was good, for Aliwal anyway, and the water a mild 22 deg C.
Surface conditions were quite rough but fortunately I don't suffer from sea sickness, unlike some of my companions.......
 |
| Ragged Tooth Sharks |
and there's nothing like a chilled glass of wine to wrap up a great day out on the Indian Ocean
After eleven days in the balmy sea airs of Kwa-Zulu Natal, it was time to head home for the chilly highveld.
Through the lush green sugar plantations;
dramatic, but barren Zululand valleys;
crossing the Thukela (aka Tugela) River;
climbing back up the Escarpment to the rolling grasslands of home....
Footnote- Sharks are one of our world's most graceful, apex predators and seriously threatened by man and his appetites. For more info on what's happening with them, this is a good web site to start with..... http://stopsharkfinning.org/shark-facts/
12 comments:
Fantastic post and excellent pics Coral - I'd give the shark diving a miss though - I'm guessing that your course focused on safety and how to behave with sharks about?
Thanks for the feedback Graham. Your great landscape & people photos have inspired me to work harder at them myself...
Yeah, the course does focus on safety and behaviour - both human and shark:)
They are such awesome creatures, and such a privilege to see them in their natural environment without having to resort to feeding / baiting for them.
We see far fewer now than when I first started diving "way back when".
Wonderful - but have to admit it would scare the heck out of me. I stayed with a friend in Durban for a week in the 80s, who was secretary to the Director of the Marine World Aquarium, right on the beach. I was given an 'insider' guided tour of the human bits left behind by sharks and the assortment of things found in their stomachs, and I don't think I've ever been the same since! I went swimming in the sea, but stuck very close to the busiest area - I'd have stayed clutched to the lifeguard's leg if I could. Well, I say swimming, more an effort to keep on my feet - I got tossed about by the waves something rotten, and was relieved to get out. I'm a wuss, it has to be said.
Such a shame I wasn't interested in photography back then... Loved your pic of the beach with flowers in the foreground. More please!!!
Caroline
Hee hee Caroline.
The shark "horror show" sounds quite grisly. I'm not surprised it put you off.
Swimming off Durban's beaches I have never found that pleasant - too many side and back currents. I also admit that I am much more nervous of sharks if I can't keep an eye out for them. That's much easier to do when under the water and properly equipped:)
Apologies for not commenting on the underwater pictures - don't know how I forgot. The anemone one (?) is beautiful. Did you have a special underwater camera or did you use waterproof housing? And did you use flash for that one? (I know nothing about underwater photography).
Caroline
Hi Caroline. Yes, I was quite pleased with the coral photograph - not sure what type it is yet:) Took it on my camera's macro setting and using the built in flash.
My underwater photography is very hit & miss as I really don't get to practice it nearly often enough:(
I have a little 5 megapixel point&shoot camera with an underwater housing. I've had it for 6 years now but get very frustrated as it doesn't work well at high ISO settings - which one really needs underwater!!
One of these days I will invest in a new one - the technology has improved tremendously over the last few years.
Techniques are also quite different underwater than on land.
Sue
Spectacular tour. I absolutely enjoyed it through your beautiful photographs.
Your photos are stunning. I am wondering whether those are clouds or smoke in the first photo.
I am way too chicken to do any kind of scuba diving or snorkelling. I do not swim and have spent a lifetime trying to learn. I catch on a little and then I don't do it for a long time and need to start all over again. Some day I may actually learn. I have a real fear due to too many near drownings but would like to see scenes like those in your beautiful underwater photos.
Hi Coral .. loved your holiday with you - what great photos .. I've never been diving and am not sure I want to - though seeing underwater life would be amazing.
The thing that upset me when I first came out to SA there were no lanes to wander along!! I did do the route to Durban via Cathedral peak and the back roads and some of Zululand - I was probably lucky to escape unscathed and unpunctured ..
But it's a beautiful world as your photos show .. great reminders ...
Cheers Hilary
Hello Penny - sorry it's taken me so long to reply to your comments - I've been away working and therefore offline.....
The first photo is of a wild fire in the grasslands - a quite spectacular sight although quite common here during our very dry winters.
If you can't get under the water, some quite time in a good aquarium would be almost as rewarding....without the silence and weightlessness though:)
Thanks for the visit and comment Hilary. Yes - that is one of the many things I miss about the UK - your gorgeous, lush landscapes and those winding, sunken country lanes...
My friends and family do think I am a little crazy to go some of the places I've been, by myself. But how else does one get to explore?
Thanks for getting back to me. I thought it was a controlled fire much like we get here but wasn't quite sure. I think an underwater aquarium would be great or maybe a glass bottom boat but so far I haven't done either of those things. I did go snorkelling once in the Great Barrier Reef but because I don't swim I didn't get out so far. Just saw little fishes. My travel mates saw much more. I'm grateful for what I did see.
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