Protea Banks
The pelagic shark dive off the South Coast — Zambezi, tiger, and hammerhead sharks on an offshore pinnacles.
Trip Role
Ideal stay
Best for
Our take
The pelagic shark dive off the South Coast — Zambezi, tiger, and hammerhead on an offshore pinnacles, for advanced divers only.
The pelagic shark dive off the South Coast — Zambezi, tiger, and hammerhead on an offshore pinnacles, for advanced divers only.
- Trip Role
- Worth a Detour
- Ideal Stay
- 2–3 dive days
- Best For
- Advanced divers, shark specialists, underwater photographers.
- Skip If
- Beginner divers, non-divers.
- Go If
- You're an advanced diver and want the pelagic shark encounter Aliwal doesn't give.
- Worth Extra Drive
- 15 min
Why it's worth your time
An offshore reef pinnacles 7km off the KZN South Coast, and a pelagic shark dive of a different character to Aliwal — open-ocean, deeper, and aggregating Zambezi (bull), tiger, and hammerhead sharks. Protea Banks is the advanced shark diver's alternative to Aliwal: more pelagic, less protected, and the place to encounter the bigger oceanic sharks in blue water. For divers it's the specialist shark dive; for non-divers there's nothing — it's an offshore reef with no shore presence.
What we love
The pelagic Zambezi, tiger, and hammerhead encounters; the blue-water setting; the specialist, less-crowded alternative to Aliwal.
What to know
Advanced dive — depth to 30m+, blue-water, current. Best in summer (Nov–May) for the Zambezi and tiger sharks. Launch from Shelly Beach. Book with a licensed operator.
Last reviewed