General Information & Requirements

General Information

 

• Water temperatures range between 20 - 28'C during the summer months and between 15 - 20°C in the winter months.
• 3mm Wetsuits are suitable for the summer months, 5mm is adequate for the winter periods.
• Visibility ranges between 2 - 30m…as a safety precaution, in-water activities are only conducted with conditions offering us visibility of 5m plus.
• Divers will be asked to produce their certification cards as well as logbooks on arrival.
• Divers are encouraged to bring their own equipment (wetsuit, mask and snorkel, fins, BCD and regulators).
• Cylinders; Air fills; weight belts and limited gear rental available.
• Our boat is a 7.2m Feral Rigid Inflatable Boat and can comfortably transport up to 10 divers (excluding the DM ) to any of the dive sites off of Rocky Bay. A second boat can be arranged for larger groups of divers.
• Our boats are seaworthy and well maintained and carry all necessary safety equipment including a first aid kit and Oxygen.
• Our Skippers and Dive masters are competent with extensive charter experience and a good local knowledge of the area and have been operating this stretch of coastline for many years.
• Launching takes place from Rocky Bay, +/- 6 km south of Scottburgh, Natal South Coast and is reputed as one of the safest launch sites on the Natal Coast.
• Accommodation can be arranged and dives are conducted on a daily basis, weather providing.
• Boat snacks and beverages provided on the boat.
• Minimum required passengers per trip are 6 for reef dives / minimum of two divers for Shark Diving.

 

What To Bring

• Hat and suntan lotion.
• Camera with spare memory cards and batteries.
• Light wind breaker jacket.
• Divers are encouraged to bring their own dive equipment.
• Certification Cards / Logbooks.

 

Dive Permits

It’s now a requirement that anyone diving in any MPA (of which Aliwal Shoal is one) needs to have a permit as from the 1st September 2007.

For those of you without permit you can get them from your local post office. The permit is on the same form one would use for a fishing license and they cost R75 per annum. One permit is valid for all Marine Protected Areas.

The permit conditions state that all permits must be accompanied by a valid copy of your ID or driver’s license so make copies, put them together in a plastic sleeve and keep it with your dive kit.