Just 8 km offshore, Aliwal Shoal rises from an ancient fossilised sand dune and offers some of the most thrilling scuba diving in the world.

The adventure begins at launch: departing from a river mouth in a 9m inflatable rib, you’ll punch through the surf and head out into the open ocean. Depending on the swell—anything from glass-calm to 5m rollers—the ride itself is an adrenaline rush.

Once you descend beneath the surface, everything changes. With over 2 km of hard coral reef to explore, dives range from gentle drifts to fast-paced current rides that sweep you across ridges, gullies, and overhangs in under an hour.

Aliwal Shoal is famed for its big animal encounters:

• Sharks: ragged-tooth sharks (May–October, in guaranteed numbers), blacktips, tiger sharks, and bull sharks, with occasional thresher and even great white sightings.

• Seasonal giants: humpback whales (June–September), manta rays, eagle rays, and sailfish.

• Macro treasures: nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, paperfish, scorpionfish, and countless shrimps and crabs.

The shoal also features depths from 6m to 30m, two shipwrecks just off the reef, and a wide variety of surrounding dive sites. Whether you’re chasing bucket-list megafauna or hunting for tiny critters, Aliwal Shoal delivers a true adrenaline diving experience.