The Hibiscus Coast - Our Rainbow on the Water

The Scuba Diving & Snorkeling Sites of the Hibiscus Coast

Protea Banks situated 8 kms offshore from Shelly Beach, south of Port Shepstone, is a must for the avid scuba diver. This is a deep dive starting at 25 metres where pelagic fish and big sharks can be seen. The lucky diver may spot the potentially dangerous Zambezi, tiger and hammerhead sharks during the summer months, and ragged tooth sharks during winter.

The following are details of the most popular dive sites on the Hibiscus Coast:

Adda Reef
Approximately 1.5m offshore from Shelly Beach.

Average depth is 18m. The reef runs for about 500m in a north-south direction. There are some deep caves with soft corals, anemones and many tropical reef fish.

Arena Reef
Located on Protea Banks, about 8 km off Shelly Beach.

Average depth is 28m. Access is controlled by the Margate Tlc or the shelly beach ski boat club. Ragged-tooth sharks, hammerhead sharks, Zambezi sharks, copper sharks or bronze whalers, threshers and even the great white shark have been identified in this area.

Bo Boyi Reef
Some 5 minute boat ride off Shelly Beach.

Average depth is 15m. This reef can be murky in surgy conditions or if the rivers are in flood. Many caves and overhangs and large colonies of soft coral. Prolific fish life.

zoom Reef - Protea Banks - Ragged Tooth Shark by John Lambert

Deep Salmon
Approximately 1.5 km offshore from Shelly Beach.

Average depth is 24m. This reef can be murky in surgy conditions. It consists of a large ridge with interesting caves, huge coral trees and colourful tropical reef fish.

Potato Reef
A 5 minute boat ride off Shelly Beach.

Average depth is 20m. This reef can be murky in surgy conditions or if the rivers are in flood. Many soft corals and prolific fish life.

Protea Banks
5km offshore between Margate and Shelly Beach. Margate. this is one huge dive site full of caves, pinnacles, ridges and amphitheatres. The chief attraction of this site is the certainty of encountering sharks. A number of ragged tooth sharks can be found here, there is also a wide variety of marine life and reef fishes. Divers must be qualified to dive to 30 m.

zoom Reef - Potatoe Bass by John Lambert

Map of Durban's and the South Coast's diving sites.

For a complete list of Scuba Diving sites in the Kingdom of the Zulu please use the following links or make use of our interactive database.You are also welcome to complete a query form

KZN Wildlife also has an excellent series of web pages on the topic of scuba diving and snorkeling in KwaZulu-Natal.

For more information please contact Hibiscus Coast Tourism or complete a query form

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