Diving In False Bay
False Bay reefs are dived mainly in winter from March to September with an water temperature of between 12°C and 18°C. The average visibility is about 6m but after some north-westerly wind the visibility can get up to 15m. We recommend diving in dry-suits or good quality 7mm, 2-piece wetsuits and bring a torch for the deeper reefs and wrecks.
Pie Rock Reef
Pie Rock is so named because of a strange rock formation looking very much like a huge pie with a slice missing. This is a new site we have discovered and has become one of our favourites. The topography is very interesting, with small caverns, pinnacles and walls covered with life. The fish life at this site is also unusually good and photographic opportunities abound! A MUST DIVE site!
Roman Rock Lighthouse
Take a tour around the lighthouse - underwater. Marine life is abundant with colourful invertebrates and reef fish typical of False Bay. Playful seals may be encountered. The area to the West and North of the lighthouse has the best reef terrain and there is a large cave about 150m to the north of the rock. Depth is 5m to 20m as long as you stay within 150m of the lighthouse rock.
Caravan Reef
A reef in 3 parts; the central part is a shallow area at around 10m with amazing terrain. The rocks form numerous interleading swim-throughs with the occasional sand patch covered in shells. The Eastern part has walls from 8 to 22m which are covered in invertebrate life. Feather stars, sponges and soft corals grow in abundance. The Northern section is a bit deeper (max 25m) and there are many brass gunnery shells dating back to 1942 lying about. It is safe to removed these as souvenirs as long as you check that they are completely empty. It is close to the launch site at Millers Point and only a 2 or 3-minute boat ride, yet this site is very seldom dived.
Rambler Rock
The Rambler Rock Reef consists of massive granite rock outcrops 600m southeast of Roman Rock lighthouse. It is seldom dived and a great site to explore. There are vertical walls around the pinnacles, which drop from 10m to 22m. These walls are great for photography. All around the pinnacle is a large area of broken reef and sand from 20m to 25m. There are 2 other sections of Rambler Reef, one to the north and one to the south, which are a bit deeper at 30m. Much of this reef remains completely unexplored so one never knows what you might find when diving there.
Photographer's Reef
Considered by many experienced Cape divers and by us to be the best shallow reef in False Bay. It is only 300m off Boulders beach (Penguin Central) and is from 5m to 15m deep. It has stunning deep cracks, caves and holes with lots of corals and ferns. Divers should take care not venture into cracks that are too narrow to swim through without touching the sides. Also, take care not too lose your buddy when exploring the maize of inter-leading cracks. The small caves are quite safe to enter and most have a few entry/exit points.
Castor Rock
A large reef area about 300m to north of Roman Rock. The area is huge and the terrain is very varied. Depth is 8 to 25m. It is seldom dived and one can find bid Lamp Urchin shells which you may collect as long as you are absolutely sure that there is nothing living inside.
Batsata Rock
Sometimes referred to as Smits reef this site is very highly rated and must be in the top 5 Cape reefs. It is a true multilevel dive and divers can start their dive at between 20m and 30m and slowly follow the reef up to 6m. Apart from the colourful reef life and interesting terrain you might also get to see big stingrays and schools of yellowtail here.
Fish Hoek Reef
Fish Hoek has its own reef right in the middle of Fish Hoek Bay. It is a large area of flat reef with plenty of fish-life and there is a good chance of encountering stingrays and some of the resident cuttlefish and shy-sharks. The sea fans here grow to very impressive sizes and make for great photo opportunities. Depth is 8m to 15m.
Atlantic Reefs
Atlantic Reefs are dived mainly in summer from October to February with an average water temperature of about 13°C and average visibility of about 10m. After some south-easterly wind the visibility can be up to 20m but the temperature then drops to around 10°C. We recommend diving in dry-suits or good quality 7mm, 2-piece wetsuits and bring a torch to show up the rich colours.
Find out more about the different dive sites The Atlantic has to offer.