Shark Diving South Africa Hot

Craig and Shona, aka ScubaAddicts, create a very welcoming atmosphere for all their guests through their warm and inclusive hospitality - although Craig's dry sense of humour may take a day or two to work out!! When organising the two most important elements of your stay, your diving and food, they are the perfect hosts by creating an intimate diving and dining experience be you sole travellers, couples, friends or small groups.

Scubaaddicts Lodge is perfectly situated for your ultimate Shark diving adventure in South Africa. The lodge has been purpose built with you the diver in mind making your stay stress free and enjoyable - wake-up, roll out of bed and go Shark diving...

The lodge is right on the beach, overlooking the launch site and the Aliwal Shoal, where they have access to miles of sandy beaches. Whales, dolphins and even Whalesharks often pass close by.

The dive centre is on-site which means little travelling, you can simply enjoy breakfast then wander down to the dive centre, pop your kit together, drop it into the RIB and hop into the “Landy” and follow the boat down to the Umkomaas river for an exciting launch from the estuary into the open sea.

Scubaaddicts Lodge has 8 bedrooms sleeping a maximum of 16 guests, all bedrooms are sea facing, and all with 100% Indian Ocean views. Rooms can have either large twin or large double beds, with private en-suite shower and toilet facilities, private balconies and are serviced daily.

Guests can gather in the communal lounge comfortably furnished with sofas and reclining chairs, here you can catch up on world events by satellite TV or lose yourself in their wide selection of DVDs. Another favourite gathering point is the large dining table where you can sit and chat whilst enjoying refreshments from the small kitchenette. Here is where you can make tea and coffee, and choose from the well stocked honesty bar (fridge) for beers, wines, sodas and snacks. And last but not least the tap water at ScubaAddicts is safe to drink, so no need to purchase bottled water.

Outside directly facing the sea is a grassed garden area with picnic tables, a small pool and a Braai (BBQ), and at the front of the lodge is another pool with a small waterfall and a really chilled out thatched gazebo with bean bags and tables, a great place to sit and watch the vervet monkeys jumping around in the trees, or even Diesel and Spook, Craig and Shona’s gorgeous Rhodesian Ridgebacks watching the vervets deciding if they’re worth the energy to give chase (usually deciding not).

Wireless internet access for the hooked and laundry facilities for the mundane things of life are also available.

Daily flights are available from the UK with several airlines either direct to Durban or via Johannesburg. When enquiring about the South Africa tour your tour advisor will be very happy to discuss and book the best flights available for the duration and itinerary you wish take.

Transfer time from Durban airport to ScubaAddicts Lodge is approximately 45 minutes.

A continental breakfast is provided as part of your package, evening meals can be organised as a group or individually and paid for locally. ScubaAddicts have pizza nights, Braai (barbeque) nights and as well as dining out at local restaurants if you wish, but we do strongly recommend the good old home cooking. Potji is the local stew cooked all day in the traditional cauldron over a wood fire and we have it on good authority that this must not be missed.

Once your day's diving is over at ScubaAddicts Lodge you may feel like exploring a little more of this Cosmopolitan city, below are just a few examples of what Durban has to offer, there are so many we just didn’t have the space…………..

You could visit uShaka Marine World, watch a rugby match at Kings Park or try your luck gambling at the Suncoast Casino or enjoy a cocktail at Billy the B.U.M.S. (B.U.M’s stands for “Basic Up Market Socialite” and this is the type of crowd that frequents Billy’s).

Why not take a rickshaw ride along the beach front before shopping for spices at the Victoria Street market, a real cultural extravaganza, there are around 180 stalls selling basketwork, brass-ware, wood articles as well as meat, fish, fruit and vegetables.

And for those wishing to see a little more of the natural Durban a visit the Mangrove Swamps on the north bank of the Mgeni River is a must….. and still the list goes on.

ScubaAddicts' “Shark Week” tour is based on a 6 night and 7 day itinerary that includes 8 Shark dives and 1 tiger Shark dive. It is possible to add or subtract nights from this tour. Please speak to us if you require more details.

The day starts fairly early at ScubaAddicts with a 7 am breakfast, and by the time you do rise, pull your curtains and open the patio doors of your room you’ll most likely see Craig in the garden looking east towards the estuary checking on the launch (not lunch!!) conditions.

During breakfast Craig will let you know what time he would like to be leaving the lodge for the days diving. That’s one of the beauties of the lodge's location along with Craig’s extensive experience of launching and diving in the Aliwal Shoals, if it's still a bit choppy you can have an extra “cuppa” while the surf settles down.

On arrival at the launch site the RIB is placed in the estuary and everyone jumps aboard. Life jackets are handed out and a quick briefing is given on how to use the foot straps and position yourself in the RIB as she makes her way through the surf zone into the open ocean. The launches here can sometimes be as exciting as the diving.

Reaching open water is all about timing, Craig and his skippers have plenty of experience in these waters and the boats hulls are specifically designed to cut through the surf. Once in open water the boat will briefly stop so you can remove your life jackets and continue to your dive site.

On arrival at the reefs, two Shark dives are taken with the surface interval being held on board before returning to the Lodge around midday, when conditions allow a third dive may be possible after lunch.

For the baited Tiger dives you can expect to be out for a few hours. On arrival at the chosen site nearby, Sharks are lured to the boat by an aroma curtain of frozen fish entrails. As numbers start to grow one or two drums containing the same bait are lowered into the water to a depth of around 10m. Once the Sharks have left the surface and followed the chum you will be told when to enter the water and at what depth to stop at (it’s a shallow dive). A full briefing of the dive, positioning and safety will be  given prior.

No training is available at ScubaAddicts. Equipment is available and we recommend you pre-arrange hire. Regardless of water temperature full wetsuits must be worn at all times.