Western Cape

City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality

South Africa

The Maori (British cargo ship) wrecked on 05th August 1909 in fog after colliding with a rock.  Kelp and crayfish are in abundance and the wreck is in fairly good condition.  Railway lines still lie in her aft.  China and porcelain have been found on the wreck.



The wreck is accessed from Hout Bay. Hout Bay is reached along the Penninsula Drive, departing Cape Town towards Sea Point, Stand and passing Llandudno. 

Cape Town

The Maori Wreck

This is a deep dive and is the longest and tallest wall dive in the area. The wall starts at a maximum depth of 32m and comes up to about 8m. The wall is covered in a variety of sponges, corals, ascidians and invertebrates. Nudibranchs, crabs and small fish makes for good macro photography.

During summer months visibility can be quite good, up to 20m, but the water temperature will as cold as 10 C.

Access to this site is by boat only, launching from Hout Bay harbour.
Most charter companies will dive this site during summer when conditions are best.

Star walls

The dive site Klein Tafelberg Reef is an offshore rocky reef in the outer Hout Bay area on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa

Maximum about is about 35m, and the top of the pinnacle about 14m 

The site is a huge granite outcrop with big boulders and a sand bottom in the deeper areas. The relief is very rugged and fairly spectacular in good visibility. There are the remains of a small yacht on a ledge part way doewn the north side of the pinnacle, and below that there are other outcrops to the north.

It is cold and relatively deep, and a dry suit is recommended. This is a dive site where the use of Nitrox can be worthwhile to extend no-stop time

The site is only accessible by boat. It is about 4.5km from Hout Bay Harbour and basically in the the mouth of the bay. A sonar is required to locate the exact spot.

The site is exposed to south westerly swells, which can cause a strong surge.





Klein Tafelberg Reef is also known as Salad Bowl, Yacht Reef.

Klein Tafelberg Reef

Flat sand bottom at about 27m. The ship stands almost level imbedded in the bottom as if floating in sand. The bow points towards approximately 330° magnetic (northwest). Deep scouring at bow and stern, usually to about 28m maximum, depending on the tide. The vessel is is essentially intact and still looks much like when it was afloat. The hull is intact with a few holes cut in it, and the superstructure except for the wheelhouse, and tripod mast are also intact. There is a fairly large rectangular hatch just forward of the superstructure. The gunwale is at about 24m depth, and the boat is about 36m long. Top of the mast is at about 9m depth The Aster is marked on the charts at the same position as the Katsu Maru, but is about 30m to the northeast of the other wreck, and both can be visited on the same dive.

Access is possible by boat only. The site is about a 2.2km ride from the harbour jetty. The wreck is in the harbour approaches, and there may be significant boat traffic

Use sonar &side scanner for locating wreck

The Aster

The Antipolis and Romelia was under tow by the tug, Kiyo Maru 2,when the tow cable snagged on the sea bed resulting in the cables breaking. The Antipolis was blown towards shore by strong winds and rough seas where it ran aground near Oudekraal. This is a tough dive with regards to the entry and the fact that there are steel plating with ragged and sharp edges. The water is also very cold.

This site is situated very close to Sandy Cove, Oudekraal and Justins Cave. Park alongside the road opposite the Twelve Apostles Hotel on the yellow line as there is no other parking and you will note everyone parks there. After gearing up it is short walk along a narrow path followed by a tricky climb over large rocks and boulders.

Antipolis Wreck

Justin's caves is a circular collection of giant boulders which lie on top of one another creating overhangs,tunnels and some small caves.The largest roughly the size of a double garage.The centre of the dive site is relatively shallow about 5 meters but around the back of the rocks it drops down to 17metwrs.The prize of the dive is a little coral filled cavern which have a beautiful display of pink and purple Noble corrals.On a calm day this is a relatively easy dive but with a change of tide and wind the caves can get very surgy.water collects in the centre of the Bowl and flushes out through the caves gullies and tunnels.A thrilling ride for experienced divers but a frightening one for novices.
The Atlantic can get a little chilly and on good vis days over 20 meters expect the temperature to be below 10 degrees Celsius.
There are quite a few species of Nudibranchs here and large schools of fish.Breeding ground for rock lobster they can be from a couple of centimetres to some enormous grand daddies.

Travelling from the city centre  along the coast through Camps Bay Towards Hout bay,this Dive site sits slightly to the right in front of the beautiful white Apostles Hotel.This is the only building there.

Justins Caves is also known as Justins.

Justins Caves



On the north side of the point at north Oudekraal.

Sandy Cove

This is an interesting dive site and should only taken on by divers who are up to a lengthy surface swim. It is best to dive here when the south easter blows and always keep this in mind as if a south wester blows it could make the surface swim back a difficult task.As with the other dive sites here you will experience very cold water so be prepared. The beauty here is still the kelp forests and I am sure it will be enjoyed by all and you are also more than likely to encounter a seal or more as they love basking in the sun and can often be seen on the large rock.

Park in the exact same area as when diving at Justins or sandy Cove. Entry points are also the same although the swim there is a bit further.

Strawberry Rocks

Great experiance... a lot of useful informations.
Aquarium with just one non dangerous shark
More from the aquarium website: http://www.aquarium.co.za

Cape Town Aquarium

Two Oceans Aquarium

The RMS Athens was mercilessly thrown against the rocks near Mouille Point in the famous Cape Town Great Gale on the 17th May 1865.  All  30 crew members tragically lost their lives in the gale storm.  Along with this wreck, 14 other ships either ran aground or suffered damage, although no other lives were lost.

The wreck can be accessed from Green Point which is half way between the Cape Town CBD and Sea Point. 

RMS Athens Wreck

The Clan Stuart was a Brittish Terret steamer that ran aground on the 21st of November 1914 and although attempts were made to re-float her over a period of 4 months it was unsuccessful. Today you can still see the engine block breaking the surface which makes it very easy to spot from the road. Depth here is between 7 and 9 meters and you can see many large rays and puffadder shy sharks, not to mention various fish species. This is also a beautiful night dive but do ensure to have enough lighting as you need to cross the train tracks to get to the point of entry.Furthermore it is also well protected against the south westerly swell and in my opinion i have enjoyed the best dives here during autumn and winter. Visibility varies between 2 to 8 meters depending on weather conditions, but some have had the privilege of enjoying even better visibility, but this is rare.The risk factor is minimal, but larger sharks have been spotted here. Some boats also venture quite close at times so ensure a buoy be visible to indicate divers in the water. A permit is required to dive here which can be obtained from any post office.

This site is situated on the way to Long Beach and is an easy accessible shore dive with enough parking. A short walk across the train tracks and you are at the point of entry. Sometimes swell can be tricky so take care when entering. Once in the water the wreck is about 50 meters from shore.

The Maori Wreck

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at The Maori Wreck