Diving & Snorkelling

We have all seen it on the Discovery and National Geographic channel – The Sardine Run!

Every year in winter, vast shoals of sardines that have spawned in the waters of Antarctica travel the coldwater currents south along the East Coast of South Africa. The combination of wind and current will allow a tongue of cold water to intrude into the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, which then causes then millions upon millions of sardines to gather and attract dolphins, sharks, whales, seals and marine birds. This phenomenon, which occurs nowhere else on earth brings the unequalled opportunity for divers to experience the undoubtedly most exciting dive in the world.

From the air, the shoals look like huge dark clouds in the water. Each shoal has several ‘doughnut’ – rings of clear water where the sardines are taking evasive action from sharks and other predators. On the surface of the sea the presence of shoals is signalled by huge flocks of sea birds that follow the shoals. The surface seethes like boiling water as fish, predators and birds thrash in furious pursuit and escape.