Located in Umkomaas, Blue Ocean Dive Resort is a colonial style property offering guests easy access to Aliwal Shoal for world-class shark diving encounters.
The colonial style property is an iconic building in the small town of Umkomaas, south of Durban. Set amongst tropical gardens guests enjoy panoramic view of the golf course and magnificent Indian Ocean. It is perfectly located for dive adventures to Aliwal Shoal, famed for its shark diving encounters.
The resort features 20 comfortable and spacious rooms with air-conditioning and en-suite bathroom. In total the property can accommodate a maximum of 54 guests (single, twin, double and family rooms). Facilities include an on-site restaurant and bar, woodfire pizza oven, sun deck and a small swimming pool. Complimentary WiFi internet access is available in hotspot areas.
A one stop shop, the resort has an on-site dive centre catering for guests staying to discover the sites around Aliwal Shoal. A diver dedicated resort, the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, plus there are no single supplements making this a great option for all shark diving enthusiasts.
Transfer is a 45 minute drive south from Durban.
The on-site PADI 5-star IDC centre offers daily morning boat diving to the local sites around Aliwal Shoal, a marine protected area renowned for its year-round shark activity. The three zodiacs launch from the river mouth through the surf and can comfortably accommodate up to 24 divers with a maximum of eight on each boat.
The biodiversity of marine life and variety of dive sites in this small area is incredible. During the week expect to observe colourful nudibranchs and reef fish, numerous critters, moray eels, crayfish, bat fish, stingrays, eagle rays, dolphin, and sharks. Oceanic black-tip sharks can be seen throughout the year whilst ragged tooth (raggies) arrive in June to breed and are observed in large numbers at Cathedral dive site. Other seasonal visitors include tiger, bull, hammerhead, and guitar sharks. Humpback whales migrate along the coast in July and August. In addition, there are two wrecks to discover if conditions allow. The SS Nebo & MV Produce are suited to advanced divers, home to large grouper, lionfish, kingfish and more. Keep an eye out for passing sharks.
Equipment rental is available as well as a full range of courses including technical diving. Students and qualified divers dive from different boats. Water temperature ranges from 18C to 27C seasonally. A 5mm wetsuit is recommended. Nitrox is complimentary for qualified divers and shark encounters are as good as guaranteed.
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