Discovering Africa Safaris

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Protea Banks

For the experienced diver, Protea Banks can easily become 'the dive of a lifetime', but it is not for everyone.

Protea is located 7 kms offshore, currents can be several knots, waves are not unusual and the dive is relatively deep plus you often have large numbers of very large sharks. But if you are up to it - this is the dive for you !!

The best time to dive Protea is January to May/June. It is best known for it's Tiger shark, Zambezis and Hammerheads but we also sometimes see Bronze Whalers (Copper sharks), Thresher sharks and Mako.

Minimum requirements for Protea :-

A qualification allowing dives to 40 metres.

At least 30 dives preferably including some 'stress' diving.

All divers must carry a surface marker buoy. Divers who loose contact with the main group can be difficult to locate on the surface without the use of a marker buoy.

Nitrox is available and we recommend the use of EAN 32 and for dives to be limited to 35 metres. Divers who do not yet have Nitrox qualifications are invited to do the course on our first day at Aliwal and do their qualifying dive on Protea- something to impress your mates in your logbook !!

Warning :-

Due to the local dive operator whom we feel does not have procedures in place to dive Protea Banks to our standards of safety, Discovering Africa will only offer dives on Protea Banks by special arrangement. Protea is not a dangerous dive, it is a dive which requires proper planning and execution.