"The Aliwal Shoal" a Scottburgh Travel Page by MikeAtSea

The small beach town of Scottburgh is the gateway point to one of the finest diving areas of Southern Africa - the Aliwal Shoal.

The Shoal is situated some 5 kilometers off the coast of a between Umkomaas and Scottburgh.

The Shoal runs in a north to south direction and is a little less than 5 kilometers long. It is home to a large variety of fish, coral, and mammalian life forms. The reefs location is on the inner edge of the warm Mozambique current which allows for often excellent visibility as well as pelagic visitors who thrill divers by making an appearance every so often.

The annual migration of the pilchard Sardinops sagax into the Kwa-Zulu/Natal coastal waters from late May to early July offers the most amazing natural history spectacle you are ever likely to witness.

Associated with this migration of the sardines are large numbers of Bronze Whaler sharks, Dusky sharks, Common dolphin, Bottlenose dolphin, and gannets. Also to be seen are Humpback. Many other seabirds follow the run, among them: Wilson’s storm petrel, Sooty petrel, White chinned petrel, Black browed albatross, Yellow beaked albatross and Sub-Antarctic skua. This indeed the single biggest faunal phenomenon on our coast and brings the ocean to life from May to July. It is an unforgettable experience.