Dive In Adventure Tours is a small dive centre specialising in shark and adventure diving in Shelly Beach on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast in South Africa. The focus is on dive trips to the Protea Banks, one of South Africa’s best-known shark diving sites. The area is especially interesting for experienced divers seeking offshore dives, currents, blue water and encounters with large sharks.
General information
The dive centre organises guided dives, dive packages, PADI courses as well as combinations of diving, the Sardine Run, safari and nature experiences. Diving departs from Shelly Beach, usually by inflatable boat to the offshore dive sites at the Protea Banks. The dives often take place in open offshore conditions and can be demanding.
Typical for the area are depths of around 30 to 36 metres, currents, drift dives and blue-water ascents. For this reason, diving at the Protea Banks is primarily aimed at experienced divers. An Advanced Open Water certification or an equivalent level of training and sufficient diving experience are recommended.
Shark diving
Dive In Adventure Tours offers both reef dives and baited shark dives at the Protea Banks. On the reef dives, divers drift along deep reef structures, caves and pinnacles. On the baited shark dives, sharks are attracted using scent cues without being directly fed. This allows encounters in open water while the animals continue to behave freely and naturally.
Depending on the season, various shark species can be observed at the Protea Banks, including bull sharks (often called Zambezi sharks in South Africa), tiger sharks, hammerhead sharks, blacktip sharks and sand tiger sharks. The summer from November to March is particularly exciting, when pelagic species such as hammerhead sharks, blacktip sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks are more commonly encountered.
From June to October, the reef dives are particularly known for the sand tiger shark season. During this time many animals often gather in the caves and overhangs of the Protea Banks, where they rest during the day. For divers it is one of the best times to observe these impressive sharks in their natural environment.
Overall, Dive In Adventure Tours is a good choice for divers who specifically want to dive with sharks and who are looking for a challenging, natural dive site with a high chance of encountering large pelagic fish.
