Aliwal Shoal

Overview

Aliwal Shoal lies about 5 kilometres, or 3.1 miles, off KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, a rocky reef left from an ancient sand dune. Hard and soft corals, marine invertebrates, tropical and subtropical fish, and large predators inhabit its broken ground, with Grey nurse sharks gathering there to mate from July to November. Named for the near-sinking in 1849 of the three-masted Aliwal under Captain James Anderson, the shoal is a favored recreational scuba site, with the nearby wrecks MV Produce, sunk in 1974, and SS Nebo, sunk in 1884.

When to go

Diveable all months.

The voice on the boat

“Current is manageable on the reef, visibility is holding, and we will watch for sharks on the sand line.”