Where to meet and when
We normally meet our divers at 7h00 am at our Dive Centre, Shop 1 Clover Bay Marine Drive , Shelly Beach
It is advisable to check the times, when you book your dive with us.
Once everybody has signed in and received all the required kit we proceed together to the harbour at Shelly Beach
Our kit up area is free of sand, and you only have to walk 50m to the sea where the boat will be waiting.
After a worldclass dive briefing we proceed to the beach to launch the boat.
Daily Schedule
We meet at 7h00 and launch around 7h45. It takes about 15 mins to arrive at Protea Banks. After everybody has kitted up the dive master informs on the expected sea conditions like visibility, watertemp and current speed.
Once eveybody is completely dive ready the skipper drops the group at the exact GPS mark.
The dive on Protea Banks usually lasts between 35 and 45 mins due to the depth.
On our famous Baited Tiger Shark Dive the time under water is unlimited. Seldom less than 60 mins, often up to 90 mins.
Once a diver surfaces he will be picked up by the boat immediately.
When everybody is on board the crew does a headcount to make sure nobody has been left behind.
The return journey is quick and once the harbour master has given permission to beach the boat drives onto the beach at full speed.
What you need to know about diving Protea Banks
Protea is an Advanced Dive and it is a specialised Shark Dive.
You need to be at least AOWD qualified and you need to have done no less than 30 dives in the ocean.
We also prefer it if you have dived within the last 12 months.
You must be in posession of either a Log Book or your C Card. (Proof of Diving Qualifications)
Our reef dives are to a maximum depth of 37m on the Northern Pinnacle, 32m on the Southern Pinnacle, the Baited Tiger Dive is done on 12m.
Protea Banks is a drift dive in current which varies from time to time in strength as well as direction.
A drift dive means the divers have to stay close together in the group and never loose sight of the dive master. The DM carries a buoyline on a reel. This buoy is the marker for the boat captain to know where the divers are at any given time.
We usually do two dives a day, on request we are happy to offer a third dive.
Be assured that you are in no danger….if you respect the Sharks and their territory, they will do the same to you. We have never had even the slightest diver/sharks incident since African Dive Adventures opened its doors in 1994.
Relax and enjoy the experience, it is truly amazing.
This will be a memory that you will carry with you for the rest of your life. Even after all these years, we still feel honoured and privileged to be in the presence of these majestic and beautiful creatures every day.
And this is how we come home...
Protea Banks is a Marine Protected Area ( National Park )
Since August 2019 Protea Banks has been declared a Marine Protected Area ( MPA )
For us divers this essentially means that we need a scuba diving permit .
Every single diver needs such a permit , in fact, we are supposed to carry the permits with us on the boats.
You can buy these permits at any post office in South Africa where you can choose between an annual permit or a monthly permit.
For those divers who don’t have time to go to a post office we offer these monthly permits at our dive centre.
Please keep the scuba permit on you for as long as you dive anywhere in South Africa.
One permit is enough to dive the whole country.