November
28.11. 2013
Unmistakable, i am tired.
We really shouldn’t have, but just despite of it, we ducked under the radar and went to the Drakensberg for a week. What an absolute pleasure to be in this peaceful paradise. The first two days we hiked enthusiastically for hours. Although the weather has taken a turn for the worse, we still enjoy sitting around the fireplace, sip bubbly for breakfast, play with our cameras and sleeeeep.
Next week we dive Protea Banks again….
21.11. 2013
Nothing but wind this week. We can’t go out to sea, the base is closed most days.
This weekend is looking good though, hardly ant wind and lovely sunshine. Let’s hope it comes through.
16.11. 2013
Bad weather – good diving. This is an old Protea Banks rule. Works everytime !!!
We have quite a bit of rain fpr the last two days but therefore our water on Protea Banks is this special deep purple colour. Accordingly 25m vis. Magic. Watertemp is at 24C now, slightly cooler on the bottom. Hammerheads are everywhere, this morning 11 Guitar Sharks, 2 Hammerheads and 2 Duskys. Second dive 4 schools of Hammers amounting to well over 400 animals. Stunning !! For this privilege we take a shaky sea….
12.11. 2013-
We have been waiting for these days, badly so. All through winter the diving was average , the weather often miserable and the sharks not overly keen to play. Since yesterday however things have changed and Protea Banks rocks like hell !!
Over night the water has turned purple = crystal clear and pleasantly tempered at 23-24C. Yesterday we counted 13 schools of Scalloped Hammerheads. We all agreed to estimate the size of each school at no less than 80 animals. Wow, wow in 25m vis.
Today was even better. 30m visibility on Protea Banks, one could almost count the sand corns from the surface. We saw about 1000 hammers, 4 giant guitar sharks, 3 black tip sharks and about 6 dusky sharks . All on the first dive. Second dive equally amazing with a little less hammerheads. We have forgiven Protea Banks and love her like no other place on earth…..
9.11. 2013
Sunshine, warm weather, no wind, flat ocean, good visibility lots of hammerheads, black tips duskys and Raggies. Greetings from Protea Banks, South Africa !!!
4.11. 2013
We have been battling with our dives lately, in fact most of our winter season as one can read further down. This causes us a lot of frustration because we really want all our divers to be absolutely happy. But unfortunately we can’t change the weather or the sea conditions.
Today we started with a Baited Shark Dive at the Northern Pinnacle of Protea Banks. After about 10 mins the buoys started jumping strangely and I thought this could not be caused by the swells. When the divers entered the water they saw a Tiger Shark slowly swimming away. Then there was a bit of a lull and later three Black Tip Sharks arrived. Dive okay but not outstanding…
Second dive was on the Caves of Protea Banks. We dropped down and had 25m + visibility. As we get to Cave 1 we see 2 Raggies. Hey what an absolute bonus to see those two buggers !!! Did not expect them at all !! After we left the first cave a school of Hammerhead Sharks moved right over us. This sight was so amazing that words fail to describe it. We were just awestruck !!! I stopped counting at 70 but they just kept coming. We then went through all my favourite underground channels, through the tunnel and through my beloved hollow rock. Then into the second cave where we spent the rest of our bottom time looking for shark teeth. On the way up we were greeted by another school of Hammerhead Sharks mixed with a number of Black Tip Sharks.
This is Protea Banks and this is why I do this job for 17 years and still loving it !!!
Happy customers, just as we like it…..
2.11. 2013
After the Base in Shelly Beach was closed for a whole week due to strong winds we finally had a good day again yesterday. Cloudless sky, summer temperatures and a full boat of divers. Right.
First dive went to the Northern Pinnacle of Protea Banks, the Caves. I was hoping we would see a few last Raggies before their season finally ends, but sadly the Caves were empty. Therefore we saw quite a number of Black Tip Sharks all the way to the safety stop. Second dive on the Southern Pinnacle of Protea Banks. We were hoping to find some Hammerhead Sharks there….and we did !! A lovely school of 30-50 animals came pretty close to the divers. Happy days !!
And today? …. Wind again…. But according to the Met Office we can look forward to quite a number of good days from tomorrow. …?