How much better does Protea still get ?????

We had a bit of a quiet week and managed to do things one never gets a chance to do, ever. Like fixing the kitchen cupboard...eish !!!
So come friday, i am now seriously suffering withdrawal symptoms. Especially as the weather has been absolutely perfect all week.
So i phone old Kylie-Boy and JP and get ole Meeaalville to top for us.
Off we go to meet at Shelly Beach.
We pump a 31% Nitrox all the way to 250bar so we can do a proper decodive of note !!!
As we get to the Playground we slowly descend through slightly murky water into ever cleaner and colder water at depth.
On the bottom we did't see any sharks at first. Until we looked up !!! Oh my god, what a magnificent sight.
There must have been about 50 Raggies in midwater mingling with Zambezies and Black Tips and schools and schools of Tunas and other fish.
It carried on like that throughout the dive. Probably hundreds of sharks mixed with maybe thousands of tunas and more.
The reef self was full of shark life, vis at least 25m - 30m.
We did a cool bottom time of 30 mins and slowly outgassed on our long way up.
During all tis time we had sharks swimming around us and even a Marlin came to show his magnificent beauty....
This was one of those dives one cannot describe in words.
It felt as if we had found paradise.....
Or as if we were watching National Geographic from the best loungechair in the world...........

ADA Helps charity

ADA will be helping Matla A Bana - A voice against child abuse, to raise funds by donating a baited shark dive and accommodation to the Bid or Buy Charity Auction.

This charity was founded by ex-hostages, Callie and Monique Strydom - who are keen ADA/Protea Bank supporters!

Why don't you help by bidding on this auction (btw it includes lunch with Mr SA as well!)?

http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/seller/1662429/Matla_A_Bana

No limit when it comes to the Raggies @ Protea!

Just before the weather turned nasty on us we managed to get a dive in. Went to the Northern Pinnacles. This time of the year there are garanteed Raggies in and around the caves. Lovely sight. Last week we only found 4 so i wasn't sure what we will find today.

Well, we got down and were greeted by a sight of Raggies everywhere we looked. With a visibility of 20m + we saw hundreds !!!! In fact, i counted close to 250 Raggies between the two caves and inside.

These are truely those dives who keep me going on Protea Banks forever.....

After we returned from Coffee Bay and not diving on Aliwal for a while a few sharks got scared when they saw us on Protea again!

And Protea did not dissappoint - there were more than enough sharks! The sea was literally infested with them. During the two baited dives we saw Tigersharks, countless Bullsharks and many Black Tips, as well as Duskys. The vis and the water were good to us and allowed for great viewing and filming. (Check out our videos!).

Today was sad Good Bye to our lovely group. We got to know each other and everybody started feeling really comfortable and opened up. Magic.

Tomorrow it is returning time for most and we are getting ready to welcome Alois Sima and his Czechs.

Sardine Update - 4 July

Our trip has come to an end. After driving around all day we came across countless whales, swam with the dolphins, watched turtles on the surface and even saw hammerhead sharks. As we were ready to go home - the day had one more surprise. Right in front of Hole in the Wall we found the only sardine activity of the day. The divers went in and saw gannets diving in an arm's length away, whilst the dolphins sounded the sardines into a ball. What a fantastic end to a great trip!

Sardine Update - 3 July

We saw it! Today was the day. We travelled north of Coffee Bay and nothing happened. Nothing at all... Just as we didn't know where else to go we saw the boiling water. We had sardines for hours and got right in the middle of the bait ball. Sharks, dolphins and gannets finally gave us the show we were looking for so desperately. A great day with everyone very happy!

Sardine update - 2 July

Looking for sardines!

Enjoying the winter sun after a long day on the boat!

Today was the day with the most action so far. From 9 until 2 we chased sardines all over the ocean. Literally hundreds of birds diving right next to us. The sky was white at some stages with all the gannets. Common dolphins were going wild. Lots of southern rights and minky whales. Ocean action of note! But we still have ot find the great bait ball...

Sardine Update - 1 July

We got out early at 9 and zig zag'ed around a lot. Saw lots of whale activity - mainly humpbacks and two minky whales. After about 2 hours we reached a nice bay where the birds were diving. The divers went in and got so close to the dolphins that they could nearly touch them. Still no sardines! On the way back we found some more action - common dolphins clearly made a bait ball and gannets dived a lot. Not a bad day, but we need more. We have 3 days left and hope for the best! The good thing is that the sun is out again and dipping this expedition in a lovely warm light.