The Northern Pinnacles
Depth: 33-40m
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This is an ideal area for nitrox diving and has a magnificant topography. This part of the reef is only dived in winter during our Raggie season, and only very few divemasters know how to dive the Northern Pinnacles properly. Because most people don't even find this location, the reef is virtually untouched and undamaged. It has two large cave systems which are used by the Ragged Tooth Sharks as resting zones on their annual migration and congregation route. On a good day, the diver can encounter up to 200 sharks in an area smaller than half a rugby field.

We start our dive at the large cave, looking in from the top and observing Raggies interacting peacefully with each other. Often we find the caves so full of sharks that we can hardly see the bottom. We respect their resting zone by merely observing and not disturbing them. We then pass the tunnel which we can swim through if it is not occupied by sharks, swim past the coral garden and get to the second cave. This cave is also open on top and features several chambers, each one with a wide opening at the top ceiling. If there are no Raggies in the caves, it is much fun to explore around in the chambers, looking for sharks' teeth which are generally plentiful. This is the only souvenir we allow the diver to remove from the reef. As spring goes into summer, large shoals of Hammerhead Sharks frequent this part of the reef. The best months to dive the Northern Pinnacles are June to November. It truly is the best dive on earth.

The Southern Pinnacles
Depth: 26-40m
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This area is home to the Zambezi Shark (Bull Shark) which is what Protea Banks has initially become famous for. From Oct to May, some very large specimen can be encountered here. In the beginning of the Zambezi season, they tend to keep a safe distance from the divers which gets reduced as time goes by. Towards Easter, Zambies often get so inquisitive and used to encounter divers underwater, that they can come really close up, ideal to take this awardwinning photo. Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks are also seen shoaling at this time. They can come past in as many as several hundreds on a good dive. Hunting packs of Great Hammerheads check out who makes all that funny noise and Blacktips dart in and out of the diver's vision like a bunch of playful puppies.

We start the dive at the Southern Cave which is a buzz of all sorts of game and reef fish, often so thick that it is hard to see one's buddy. Thereafter we reach Kingfish Gully, an overhanging rock which is home to large shoals of Kingfish, Yellowtail, Kaakap, Sea Pike Tunny, Potato Bass and many more species. The current then takes us to a large sandy patch we call Sand Shark Gully. It lies at exactly 40m depth and is home of the Giant Guitar Shark. At times we see them lined up like planes at an airport, 50 to 60 of these magnificent crea- tures is not uncommon.

The best months to see Tiger Sharks are April and May, although we see Tiger Sharks right through the year. Click here to find out more about our Tiger Shark Diving, Snorkelling and Boat Trips.

The really lucky diver may even encounter the odd Great White which is an absolute privilege. Roland Mauz: "It took me over 500 dives to get that lucky and despite everybody's totally unfounded fear, the Great White behaves just like any other shark, swimms past, looks what's going on and carries on his mission. The feeling is indescribable!!"

Protea Banks has been rated by many divers from around the world as the best shark dive. Many divers are scared of sharks due to horror stories and myths created by the movie world, but their fears are totally unfounded. Sharks are intelligent animals, do not recognise us as a food source and generally tend to be shy and respectful towards the divers. Roland: "I have done over 1250 dives at Protea Banks and never have once felt threatened by any shark or groups of sharks."