Rooi Els, Smitswinkel Bay, Long Beach and A-Frame
We’ve had great diving conditions over the past week with the most fantastic dives in Rooi Els, Smitswinkel Bay, Long Beach and at A-Frame.
On Tuesday, we dive
d Rooi Els. This is a summer dive site but after the South Easterly winds of the previous week, which normally only blow in summer, we were able to do a couple of dives at Balcony! Visibility was between 5 and 8 metres which is quite unexpected for this time of year!On Wednesday, we did a deep dive on SAS Transvaal and were treated to brilliant visibility of around 15 metres.
The SAS Transvaal is one of five wrecks located in Smitswinkel Bay. They are only accessible by boat, leaving from Miller’s Point Slipway approximately 5 km away.
Formerly a navy frigate, she was one of three loch-class frigates transferred to the SA Navy by the Royal Navy whilst under construction. She was sunk using explosive charges on 3 August 1978 and lies on the sandy bottom at a maximum depth of 34 metres, with her main deck at about 29 metres. Although the wreck has retained its shape quite well, rust has started to take its toll.
On this dive we came across about 6 pyjama sharks sheltering inside the wreck, loads of fish including Hottentot, Whit
e Stumpnose, Barred Fingerfin and Red Roman. pink strawberry anemones, mauve sea cucumbers sun-burst soft corals and feather hydroids cover the wreck. We have sometimes also seen scorpion fish on this wreck.At our safety stop we were joined by a couple of playful and inquisitive seals.
We also dived Longbeach during th
e week and visibility was around 8 metres. There was so much to see at this training site and we came across an area teeming with puffadder shyshark.This weekend we had the most amazing dive at A-Frame with visibility of over 15 metres. There were so many fish, pipefish, nudibranchs and with the visibility being so good, the colours were magnificent. On the Northern side of the boulders, we discovered a number of Orange-Clubbed Nudibranchs which we don’t often see, so an exciting dive was had by all!
Check out our video "Indigo Scuba does a winter dive at A-Frame".
