Ever since we’ve started scuba diving, it feels like a whole new world of underwater exploration has been opened up to us. For example, Cape Town has so many beautiful and incredible things to do on land. From hiking table mountain to sunbathing with penguins on Boulder Beach. But just off shore, under the ocean’s surface, there’s a whole host of other amazing experiences.
Close to Cape Town is where the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean meet. The nearby False Bay and other inlets are teaming with endless exploration opportunities. There are tons of whales, sharks, seals, kelp forests, wreck dives and more to see within an hours drive of downtown Cape Town. We partnered with Into the Blue Scuba Dive Centre to do our first kelp forest and wreck dive. From the first time we talked with them to jumping in the water, and everything else in between, Into the Blue made our scuba experience one of our Cape Town highlights. They are one of only a few dive shops located close to downtown Cape Town which made it so easy for transportation. The scuba shop offers scuba courses for first time beginners all the way to divemaster and instructor courses. The options are endless on what dives to experience. In addition to a Cape Town kelp forest scuba dive and wreck dives, Into the Blue also dives with seals, cow sharks, mako and blue sharks, and even cage dives with great whites!
Our scuba instructor told us that one of the coolest dive experiences is seeing the sardine run. This is at the top of almost every scuba diver’s bucket list. Every year millions of sardines migrate along the South African Coast. From dolphins, seals, sharks, and whales, the sardine run It is one of the best places to see large predators feast on the millions of smaller fish. Each year, Into the Blue and their partners run trips to see this incredible wildlife phenomenon. It is a true “ocean safari” where every day you never know what you might see!
The two dives that we did were a kelp forest dive and wreck dive. Floating through the kelp forest felt like we were exploring a neverending underwater forest. A lot of times the kelp was so tall that it was hard to tell where the massive vines began and ended! I was amazed at just how strong each vine was. Just like regular forest there were little clearings that we could group together and had a chance to view the path that we had just traversed. One of our thoughts before diving was “will my tank or find get tangled in these vines?” Although the kelp was everywhere, there was never a time that we felt like we could become entangled. At the ocean floor the kelp swayed freely in the tide and stretched upwards instead of outwardly like some other vines do. It was amazing seeing Em swim through the forest as it swayed around her. Every so often, I would look up and see fish gliding effortlessly through the forest. Sometimes our instructor said there are even human sized sharks maneuvering their way around the vines! (However they are only interested in fish and not humans 👍). Although we didn’t spot any of these sharks, we did get to see two really cute pyjama sharks on our next wreck dive!
After our incredible kelp forest dive, we took our second dive to see the SAS Pietermaritzburg wreck. (Also known as the PMB wreck dive.) This ship was one of the lead ships for D-Day at Normandy. After it was decommissioned by the British Navy it was sold to South Africa and sunk just off the coast in False Bay. When properly performed, sunken ships make an incredible habitat for underwater sealife. The PMB rests about 60 – 70 feet underwater and is covered in ocean wildlife! The hull of the ship was covered in coral, star fish, colorful sponges, and nudibranchs! At 230 feet long, the ship seemed to go on forever. There were several fish swimming in and around the ship as well. My two favorites were the incredibly cute pyjama sharks we saw. These bottom feeder sharks were less than two feet long, but were extremely friendly and didn’t budge as we swam past them. Their stripes do actually make them look like they are wearing some sort of pajamas! Because of harsh storms over the years, the ship is not the safest to swim into, but there was plenty to see from the outside. Just after we finished our dive, we saw two humpback whales breach near the boat. Another group who was still diving told us that the whales came a couple of yards away from them! It was just another example of how you never know what you might see while scuba diving in Cape Town!
We had an incredible experience diving with Into the Blue Scuba Dive Centre. Our dive instructors were extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife and environment we were diving in. Each of our dives were unique and an incredible experience. I feel like we could spend a year diving here and see something new every time! We loved our incredible first dive in South Africa!
