Campus Explorer
From the 2nd till the 8thof December 2009, the Rhodes University Underwater Club embarked on a trip dedicated to SCUBA diving on Aliwal Shoal, a marine protected area (MPA) about 70km below Durban and 5km offshore from the Umkomaas River mouth. MPA’s are some of the last remaining areas where divers can experience a glimpse at a modicum of how bountiful our oceans used to be, and our diving team, consisting of 11 Underwater Club members, was lucky enough to clock six dives on the shore.
By: Alex Lenferna
(Rhodes Underwater Club Chairperson)
In December 2009, the Rhodes University Underwater Club embarked on a trip dedicated to SCUBA diving on Aliwal Shoal, a marine protected area (MPA) about 70km below Durban and 5km offshore from the Umkomaas River mouth. MPA’s are some of the last remaining areas where divers can experience a glimpse at a modicum of how bountiful our oceans used to be, and our diving team, consisting of 11 Underwater Club members, was lucky enough to clock six dives on the shoal.
Each of our dives took place on a different spot along the shoal, which provided for a diverse experience of what Aliwal had to offer. Just some of the marvellous creatures that we were able to experience in their natural habitat of the coral reef were: scorpion fish, honeycomb eels, parrot fish, ragged-tooth sharks, large schools of Moorish Idols, crayfish, lion fish, nudibranchs and loggerhead turtles to name just a few.
Apart from diving with down with marine creatures we also were lucky enough to see a pod of common dolphins, and a humpback whale and her calf, which began breaching right next to our boat. For many however the real highlight was, what was for many of our divers, their first real shark dive. On our last day of diving we set out for a dive dedicated to diving with sharks, and we were not disappointed. For just over an hour we were able to free and SCUBA dive with what must have been at times over 25 sharks, ranging from Black Tip, Dusky, Tiger, and Bull (Zambezi) sharks.
Contrary to what Jaws would have many believe the sharks were only fleetingly curious about us, and were more concentrated mostly on other sources of food, which allowed for most of our divers to have the phenomenal experience of watching these highly revered apex predators in their natural habitat and at times even getting to stroke them. It was an experience that gave many not only a new perspective on sharks, but also of their own vulnerability.
Our trip was also educational as we got to experience the Oceanographic Research Institute, Ushaka Museum andwe also learnt -thanks to Blue Wilderness (our dive centre)- about the evils of the often highly lauded Natal Sharks Board.
For more information about the Underwater Club please visit the website at the following address and feel free to contact the committee: http://www.ru.ac.za/underwater.
For more information about the Natal (Anti) Sharks Board see: www.sharkangels.org
