Protea Banks
Diving

Protea Banks is nothing short of legendary for its shark diving – species of shark that may be spotted include; ragged tooth sharks, Zambezi or bull sharks, hammerheads, giant guitar sharks, tiger sharks, black tipped reef sharks and (occasionally) great whites. In addition the area is also ideal for spotting game and reef fish such as kingfish, yellowtail, kaakap, sea pike tunny and potato bass.

Protea Banks is on the Indian Ocean with pleasantly warm waters throughout the year, making diving here even more pleasurable. Protea Banks is made up of the Northern Pinnacles and the Southern Pinnacles, each offering a different array of sealife and splendour. All dives around these two sites are from boats and are only offered to divers with an Advanced Open Water qualification or above due to the depths of the dives.

The Northern Pinnacles, an ideal site for nitrox divers, has a depth of 33 - 40m, and is usually dived in the winter months during the raggie season. Due to the difficulty of finding the Northern Pinnacles the area is virtually untouched by outsiders, and on a good day during the raggie season you may be lucky enough to see up to two hundred sharks! As summer begins large groups of hammerheads can be found in this area, making the best months to dive the reef June to November.

The Southern Pinnacles, made famous by the Zambezi (or bull) sharks which are present in abundance in this area, has a depth of 26 – 40m. October to May are the best months to see these sharks. By Easter they tend to get very inquisitive and can come close to divers, giving an amazing experience.

This area is also good for seeing shoals of both scalloped and great hammerheads. A trip through Sand Shark Gully at 40m usually yields excellent spots of giant guitar sharks. Tiger sharks, which are most prolific during April and May, can be spotted throughout the year.