AVALANCHE REEF is for advanced divers only and is undoubtedly
one of the best "temperate water" reefs in the country.
"Old Faithful" Avalanche never ceases to entertain even the
seasoned advanced diver. An interesting fact is that this was the
first spot to be dived on the Wildside. On any day we still rate
it as one of the best as the reef itself covers a vast area and
appears to change on every dive. The main part of the reef known
as Avalanche is a spectacular gorge, 26m at the rocky bottom, up a
shear cliff to 17m which is capped with a carpet of red bait pods, a
safe haven for many pajama sharks which wedge themselves into the
gaps.
The wall itself is awesome and is fully clad with a variety of
purple and beige hard coral, large ferns and brittle stars, all
fighting for space to cling onto the wall.
Keep a sharp lookout for the resident horsefish which can usually
be found right at the bottom of the wall, hiding in a full length
crevice. If the wall is followed it ends in a small cave and
pothole.Turning right over the "saddle" the diver may circle the top
of Avalanche on the land side and may re-enter the gorge for a
second time. If the "right" option is taken, follow the gullies
which finally come to a pinnacle rising to about 17m. Along this
route a resident Guinea Fowl Eel has been spotted on a number of
occasions and if still there, must have grown to quite a good scary
length. The colour contrast on this site makes the dive one to
remember and is a must!
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AVALANCHE REEF
AVALANCHE REEF is for advanced divers only and is undoubtedly
one of the best "temperate water" reefs in the country.
"Old Faithful" Avalanche never ceases to entertain even the
seasoned advanced diver. An interesting fact is that this was the
first spot to be dived on the Wildside. On any day we still rate
it as one of the best as the reef itself covers a vast area and
appears to change on every dive. The main part of the reef known
as Avalanche is a spectacular gorge, 26m at the rocky bottom, up a
shear cliff to 17m which is capped with a carpet of red bait pods, a
safe haven for many pajama sharks which wedge themselves into the
gaps.
The wall itself is awesome and is fully clad with a variety of
purple and beige hard coral, large ferns and brittle stars, all
fighting for space to cling onto the wall.
Keep a sharp lookout for the resident horsefish which can usually
be found right at the bottom of the wall, hiding in a full length
crevice. If the wall is followed it ends in a small cave and
pothole.Turning right over the "saddle" the diver may circle the top
of Avalanche on the land side and may re-enter the gorge for a
second time. If the "right" option is taken, follow the gullies
which finally come to a pinnacle rising to about 17m. Along this
route a resident Guinea Fowl Eel has been spotted on a number of
occasions and if still there, must have grown to quite a good scary
length. The colour contrast on this site makes the dive one to
remember and is a must!
DSC00409
DSC00439
DSC00462
DSC00396
DSC00436
DSC00438
CHELSEA NORTH
Also part of the Chelsea extended underwater area
and very pretty with many gullies and pinnacles and indeed a wall
similar to the Avalanche layout but not quite as pronounced. Once
again an extremely beautiful part of the reef and three spots are
dived on a regular basis, all as beautiful as each other and all
known as Chelsea!
Smaller fish life is normally plentiful but when
the water is cold they seem to disappear "into thin water". Shoals
of bait fish gather in the sand gullies as if waiting for the
predators. This is a favourite trolling
spot for the fishing boats and large numbers of seasonal Bonita,
Geelbek and sometimes Yellowtail are caught. Shark visit this area
frequently and can usually only be briefly spotted well away from
the dive group.
The wall is indented with little gullies which
penetrate through to the outer slope. Truly a great experience to
follow the wall which is thickly covered with purple and brown hard
coral and a kaleidoscope of colourful ferns, seaweed ad soft
coral. Crustaceans are also plentiful, even the odd Crayfish is
spotted.
Also check the sand bottoms in the gullies to see
if there are any Rays buried and waiting for a small fish meal.
This reef is large and can be traveled provided the boat follows the
surface marker buoy.
Chelsea Dive 08
Chelsea Dive 07
Chelsea Dive 02
Chelsea Dive 03
Chelsea Dive 09
Chelsea Dive 10
Chelsea Dive 01
Chelsea Dive 05
Chelsea Dive 11
Chelsea Dive 04
Chelsea Dive 12
Chelsea Dive 06
CROSS ROADS
Crossroads out from Noordhoek, about 1 ½ km South to
South West. The dive spot is part of the Chelsea peninsula which
seems to extend out past Suicide Reef to what is known as the
Chelsea dive area and is one of the best of the deep dives.
Crossroads is in this area and was named due to the
distinctive gouged out gullies which criss crossed the rock bottom,
resulting in many dive-able and interesting gullies, caves and
pinnacles. The fish life is normally very active with many of the
well known Eastern Cape reef fish as well as the ever shy seasonable
Geelbek. Pyjama shark and other small species seem to enjoy this
area and can be found packed in amongst the red bait pods and
crevices. A variety of rays have also been recently sighted and
even a loggerhead turtle? An unusual visitor to this region.
The hard coral, ferms, brittle Starfish and just the general colours are outstanding
and the reef has withstood the ski boat anchors remarkable well. Certainly a great spot, with plenty of surprises.
Unusual fish sightings are of special interest on this site.
CRACKER
Out past Suicide Reefto the West down
the coast to Schoenmakerskop, just before Willows, about 300m
offshore we come across a delightful "shallow" water dive of 12m
down to 16/17m. Cracker centralises around a clump of rises
dropping into holes and crevices. The centre circle is surrounded
by a mixture of white sand and scattered rock, which on a sunny day
and clearwater, looks a little bit like Mauritius.
The entire reef is covered with
ferns and soft coral, alive with Starfish and juvenile fish. Jan
Bruin and brown Parrot fish seem to congregate at Cracker with the
odd Rock Cod which guards the red bait peaks.
The name Cracker was derived from
the first dive when schools of good sized pure white Mussel Cracker
were sited and which can still be seen when about. This is one of
the longer boat rides to get to the dive site but it is certainly
well worth the trip. A short way back towards Chelsea point lies
the wreck of the Queenmoor (very little of the wreck is still
visible) and one wonders if she struck Cracker?
A delightful all round dive with a lot to entertain the diver.
GASMIC GORGE
Gasmic Gorge is Avalanches little brother, lying
closer inshore and is part of the "Avalanche" reef area. It is
also an advanced diver's only reef, with a maximum depth of 27
metres.
The site consists of a huge gorge about 4 metres wide and
30 metres long and is well disguised as it drops off the surrounding
surface which is rocky with "not so high" rock mounds and gullies.
The bottom of the gorge consists of sand and crushed coral shale and
has big ripples about 30cm high caused by the flow of water through
this tunnel-like gorge. The walls on either side of the gorge are
sheer and rise to about 18 metres below surface and are covered with
hard and soft corals.
On the South wall is a medium sized cave
that is usually full of fish and occasionally a horse fish hangs out
there. Large Raggies have been seen in the gorge as well. The
reef surrounding the gorge is very impressive with a number of
gullies and walls covered in good growth. Reef fish are also
abundant on this reef and it seems to be a visiting place for the
occasional inquisitive seal.
MARK 4 SAFEPOINT / MARK 4 WALL
One of the many dive spots on the extensive Mark 4 Reef
A delightful "open water 1" dive site.
Mark 4 Safepoint
is a shallower reef, max depth of 18m with a sandybottom and
rock outcrops. Main features of the reef are the cave, an archway
and a swimthrough with a hole in the roof.
Many fish tend to gather on this reef. Most notably the Red Steenbras and Dageraad,
both of whose numbers have been severely depleted due to over
fishing. Bronze Sharks, Dusky Sharks and an occasional Raggie have
been sighted on and around Mark 4.
There is purple seaweed and good coral growth but not as plentiful as on the deeper reefs. A
torch is recommended on the dive to see into the numerous caves.
MARK 4 TABLES
Mark 4 Table
is one of the shallower reefs, 14-18m, and is in the vicinity
of Mark 4.
It gets its name from a large flattish rock,
approximately 5m in diameter, which is propped up by rock and reef which
are its legs. By diving low the openings into and under the top
can be investigated.
Many reef fish have made this spot their home
and juveniles of many varieties seem to enjoy the security of the
intertwining tunnels and small caves.
A short swim NE will get you to Mark 4 and likewise if you swim SW
you will eventually connect up to the Mark 4 wall.
A torch is recommended.
MOONIE
Moonie, is the Wildsides latest discovery and is certainly a great
dive for all, even advanced divers. Situated between Mark 4 and Suicide Reef,
its central point is a red bait decked mound with deep cracks or crevices and
a wall dropping off to a sandy bottom on the land side of the “mound”.
Truly spectacular with all the purple seaweed which waves back and forth
hiding small and big Rock Cod, bronze Bream, Hottentot and a variety
of reef fish. Colourful Nudi Branchs can also be spotted
by the more attentive diver and extends from Moonie itself further
out to sea with all shapes and sizes of gullies and rock formation.
On a sunny day the white bottom sand reminds one of the
tropical waters (but not quite as warm!)
Of particular interest is the variation of rock gullies and white sandy bottom which coupled
with fish life actually makes it easy and relaxing to dive during most weather conditions.
PINNACLES
Two Pinnacles topping at 15m and dropping down at some places to 22m.
They are covered with an assortment of soft and even some hard corral as well
as plenty of ferns and brittle stars.
The corral is in good condition and seems untouched by fishing-boat anchors and
fishing line that is normally found on shallow reefs.
Clouds of smaller fish hover at the top of the pinnacles with the odd large weary rock-cod
that seems to stay just out of reach of a diver. The reefs an ideal location for
smaller fish and a wide variety can be found. The sand area to the south is an ideal
spot for cob which tend to gather at the base where rock meets sand. There are plenty
of pyjama and shy shark which wedges themselves in the crevasse hoping not to been seen
and disturbed.
Due to the large number of small baitfish we believe that the odd game-fish
such as yellowtail would pass by for a snack. This is a really comfortable and non stressful dive.
SUICIDE REEF
Suicide Reef is one of the shallow reefs and is
perfect for all divers only when the conditions are calm.
The name says it all! It can be very nasty if there are swells and
there is often a breaking surfline on outer Suicide which is the
dive spot.
The wreck of the Strathblane lies inshore and was
the result of Suicide with its pinnacles rising from 15m up to 4m
and running along parallel with the shore for some 200m.
Approach is from the SW and the drop off zone is
into a basin of about 9m deep just off the pillars which rise to
about 4 to 5m from the surface.
Start by taking the inside route which is usually
protected and warmer leading into sand gullies shielded from the sea
by the pillars and walls. Fish life is abundant, safe from shore
and boat fishing and ranges from small bait clusters to Stingrays,
bronze Shark, Rock Cod and the ever present white Mussel Cracker and
shy Poenslop.
A "third of air supply" along, find a crevice to
crossover to the sea side and double back along the outside wall.
The wall is punctured by inlets and has a sandy bottom at 13 to
14m. This part of the reef is a favourite for Yellowtail and
Bonita, usually just below the surface.
Try to fin away from the reef into deeper water before surfacing.
This make it easier for the boat to retrieve divers.
There is very little seaweed or fern growth but exciting and definitely a spot for fish activity.
'EERIE' SPOT
Like a giant finger pointing Southwards, Cape Recife, at the Western most side of Algoa Bay, directs us to 'Eerie' Spot .
Due to the strong currents that often form at points that jut into the open oceans, this is not a dive for beginners.
Many a ship has foundered at Cape Recife and the area is strewn with wrecks dating from the age of sail to as recently as
the 80's.
The pinnacle itself is at 13m and the south side tapers down quickly to 30m and more. The land side, guarded by the Cape Recife
lighthouse, is shallower. In a strong current, the lee of the pinnacle is a handy place to slow down and look out for passing
game fish such as Yellowtail.
LITTLE SODANA
Tucked away just around the corner from the Noordhoek Skiboat Club, in an area known as "The Kom", is a shallow reef made up
of gullies, small caves, tunnels and table tops. The area, well known by spearfishermen, has only recently been "discovered"
by the scuba divers. On a good day, with good viz, one gets an impression of two mile reef at Sodwana and on surfacing on a
bright summers day, the adjacent sand dunes, covered with scrub and low bush, complete the picture!
On this open water dive, expect to see a variety of juvenile fish and being a shallow dive (10m-18m), remember to bring your
camera as the light is good. Sometimes the best divesites are right under our noses!
GUNNERS ROCK
This is the Big Daddy of diving in our area! If you are not at least Advanced and have recent deep diving logged in your book,
don't read any further! Like a giant loaf, Gunners Rock sits in 40m of water, surrounded by sand and is a great brooding rock
formation. Possibly sandstone, it is pierced by tunnels and blind alleys, easily confusing if the viz is less than perfect!
There is a big swim thru that is a must if time and air allows, but you have to find it first!
The top of Gunners is at 25m and the swim thru at 40m so this dive must be taken seriously and equipment checked thoroughly.
Dont hang around on the surface when you enter the water, but descend quickly. As the only structure in the area, expect to
see many species of fish. Keep an eye on you air, depth and time. Don't enter the swim thru unless you have time and air on
your side!
RAGGY SANDS
Adjacent to Thunderbolt Reef lies a semicircle of pinnacles and ridges, and just South of the engine block of the "MVPatti"
(1976), is Raggy Sands. A rugged area, interspersed with sandy patches, this area is known for sightings of
Ragged Tooth sharks. A perfect place for OW divers who want a bit of adventure and advanced divers alike. Look out for
Leopard sharks and Pyjama sharks sharing nooks and crevices and the shy octopus. Dont be tempted to keep going into shallower
waters as your dive draws to an end as the rollers come over the reef and could make it difficult for the boat to approach you
to pick you up.
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