North West

Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality

South Africa

God must indeed have been in a good mood when He created Marico Oog. Visibility is often in excess of 20 meters and averages at about 10 meters.  

Although the water is relatively cold, it seldom drops below 18 degrees, even in winter. In summer it can go up to 24 degrees. 

Lush plant life covers most of the pool. Various species of fish can be found, including various types of bass and kurper. If you are lucky you may even see one of the six fresh water eels. 

The water is crystal clear but can turn to zero viz if the bottom 1 meter is disturbed. Buoyancy control is a must to enjoy the dive. Because of the small circumference of Die Oog, it is advised that no more than 8 divers are allowed in the pool at any time!

Oog is a small but beautiful natural pool situated in the Zeerust/Lichtenburg area. Entry is via a narrow passage cut between the reeds and water entry is via a ladder to ensure minimum contact with the bottom.

Bokkraal

Marico Oog

Wondergat is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in South Africa, North-West which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.

Wondergat

Miracle Waters is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in South Africa, Gauteng which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.

Miracle Waters

this dive site is mainly for new divers but offers a wide variety of activities other than the diving such as: 4x4 trails, quad bicking and many more. there is an option of over nighting. there is a small tuck shop aswell. there are a number of diffrent things to see under water such as an old bus, a car an aero-plane and a few more interisting things. 

bass lake is sittuated forty minutes from Johannesburg towards Verrinaging. it is an altitude dive in water filled quarry.

Bass lake

Boesmansgat, also known in English as "Bushman's Hole", is believed to be the third-deepest submerged freshwater cave (or sinkhole) in the world, approximately 270 metres deep. It is located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.

On January 8, 2005, famed deep cave diver Dave Shaw died while recovering the body of an amateur diver, Deon Dreyer, who had drowned in the cave while helping a team assembled by Nuno Gomes prepare for a dive ten years earlier. Dreyer's remains were located at a depth of over 800 feet (about 245 meters), and Shaw died while expending considerable effort as he attempted to place the body in a body bag. Shaw managed to fix his line at Deon's body before he was entangled within the same line and blacked out. Later on January 12, during the efforts of the crew to raise remaining diving cylinders, both bodies floated to the surface, much to the surprise of the recovery team. [1]

Boesmansgat was believed to be first explored by amateur diver Mike Rathbourne in 1977.

Description source: Wikipedia.org



Boesmansgat is also known as Bushmans Hole.

Boesmansgat

Komati Springs was once a mine, closed in 1972. The mining process left a large hole and a joining cave system, which has subsequently flooded, giving excellent conditions for all forms of diving. In the open water it reaches 53 meters and the caves have been explored to 186 meters.  

The surface area of the open hole is approximately 110 meters long and 50meters wide. Please see map. Most of the sides are sheer drops so your buoyancy should be good if you want to dive here. Maximum depth is 55m, depending on rainfall and the water table. The open hole is good for recreational diving, while the adjoining caves are great for exploring or cave training. Diving is good all year round.  

In summer (Oct - Mar) Komati Springs is about 25°C on the surface, and 20°C at about 30 meters. On the bottom it is 17°C. Visibility is about 10 to 15 meters. In winter (Apr - Aug) the temperature is a constant 17 to 18°C from top to bottom.  The visibility can be up to 40 meters.

The cave system is much larger, and with 8 interconnecting levels, starting from 9 meters to 186 meters. This is unique to Komati Springs, and an explorers dream! It must be emphasized that under no circumstance should divers enter the caverns or caves unless trained to do so. No site map will be provided until you are not cave qualified. This in order to prevent non-cave divers entering the system.

There are Bass and Barbel in the hole. Beware that some of the Barbel like to sleep in the cave, and are quite motionless. Should you prod it to see if it is alive, you will both get the fright of your life as the fish will suddenly shoot off. So we suggest you assume it is in fact alive for both your sakes. 

Gas Fills can be done locally thru dive shop nearby. Nitrox, Trimix and Argon available. Rebreather friendly, so Sodasorb and pure Oxygen also available. 

Accommodation is in the form of shady campsites, with electrical outlets available in the ablution block. For students on course there are rooms in the Dive Centre, with full kitchen facilities available.

Other activities are possible in the area: Swimming, freediving and bird watching (300+ different species of birds) and an abundance of beautiful flora and fauna.

Nestling at the foot of the mountains in beautiful Mpumalanga you will find one of South Africa's little gems – Komati Springs! It is situated 915m above sea level, between Badplaas and Barberton in the beautiful countryside of Mpumalanga. 

Located about 3 hours from Johannesburg, Komati Springs offers a peaceful weekend or day visit away from the hubbub of modern day life. Its close proximity to the Kruger National Park and various other tourist locations makes it an ideal base for those wishing to explore the area.

Entrance to the hole is in the form of steps and a ladder at the bottom. There are platforms at 5 and 10 meters with shotlines for your use. Divers should be aware that there are cave entrances, and the best way to avoid entering one, is toy dive with a buoy line. There are no currents or tides.  

Komati Springs

Vetch's Pier is an artificial reef that was created some 80 years ago. Today it is teaming with corals and fish, espacially plenty of eels & scorpionfish. 
Take a buoy along since a lot of boat traffic is around. 

The dive site is best accessed from shore just south of the uShaka Waterfront. 

Vetch's Pier is also known as Vetchies Pier.

Vetch's Pier

Birthday Ledges is so named due to the
high number of surprises hidden in every
nook and cranny. The site is the southern
most tip of the large Blood reef and
therefore should be dived in either no
current or in the less common south north
current. Sitting further off shore than our
other sites, Birthday ledges often has
better visibility. As you drop down to the
deepest part of the site you'll be at 18m
and will find an awesome cave roughly
2m in height. While in front of the cave
you'll look up to see a colourful array of
pink and orange thistle coral. This cave
is an area to explore as one can enter the cave through the side wall and exit at
three different points. The cave system has three main areas… The 2m deep
passage leading out towards the right is the best of the swim throughs as it is
slightly wider than the rest and therefore lessens the chance of you damaging
the reef or yourself and your gear. The center passage, directly in front of the
cave entrance is approximately 3m deep but has no exit point at the end of it
how ever there is a roof exit that is in the center of all these passages. The
passage leading north, or to the left, is the narrowest of the lot, as it has more
overhead rock handing down. It's great to have a torch along, especially in this
area as there are always interesting things hiding in the dark recesses of the
cave. The northern passage if followed leads towards the channel like rock
structure that you'll follow from here. The channel walls are in between 3-4m
high, not always being solid to the ground. You'll come across many cave like
gaps along the bottom edge of the wall that often house Blue stingrays. The
channel walls camouflage many paperfish and the more commonly overlooked
Painted anglerfish. Painted angler fish are known as Frogfish and are on most
avid divers' 'to-see list'. The skin patterns blend in well with there surroundings
and that can easily be mistaken as a small sponge or coral.



Birthday Ledges

Situated within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Sodwana Bay is the only tropical scuba diving site in South Africa. The reefs at Sodwana are the southern-most coral reefs in Africa and offer a wide diversity of attractions.

Sodwana Bay



The reef is about 1.7 km long and up to 900 m wide. It is one of the most popular reefs to dive at, since it is only a few minutes away from the launch area. Many different corals, reef and mid-water fish can be found here, with eels and other creatures hiding in the many caves and holes. Two Mile Reef is where most new divers in South Africa do their qualifying dive. 


2 Mile Reef

Great dive site(s). All kind of tropical fish, and loads of female sand tiger sharks in caves, more then 2m tall!

Have to go with the local dive center via boat.

Shark Point is also known as Rocktail bay.

Marico Oog

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Marico Oog