Agulhas House and Diving
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Booking by Tour Leader Club
1 room type · The 3 km Aliwal Shoal reef and two wrecks dive sites
Agulhas House is a guest house and dive centre in the town of Umkomaas on the KwaZulu-Natal coast, half an hour’s drive from Durban. Directly offshore, a couple of kilometres out, lies Aliwal Shoal — a three-kilometre reef that regularly makes the lists of the world’s best dive sites.
The house was built in the early 1900s by an Italian architect as a home and surgery for a doctor. The present owners bought it in 2002, becoming the first owners who are not doctors, and have been turning it into a guest house and dive lodge ever since. Six more rooms and extra outdoor space were added recently.
A garden with a pool, every room en-suite, and space for up to forty-three guests. Accommodation is full board — drinks and alcohol are extra, while tea, coffee and hot chocolate are free all day.
The dive centre sits on the same property, towards the front: over forty years of local experience, more than seventy cylinders, DIN and A-clamp valves, 3 to 15 litres in steel and aluminium, a compressor to 300 bar and free nitrox from a membrane system. The boats are equipped for open circuit, rebreathers and twinsets alike.
The morning goes like this: a short walk through the garden to the dive centre, a drive to the beach, a briefing and a surf launch straight through the break. After the dive it is back to the house for a shower and a hearty breakfast, while the crew washes your gear.
Then there are the baited shark dives, which run all year. From December to March, when the water is warmest, the chances of meeting a tiger shark are highest. Every divemaster at the centre is a registered shark dive guide.
No markup
You pay exactly the rate the resort publishes. On top of that, only the actual bank costs of currency conversion and the international transfer — no commission of ours.
We run the deal
Correspondence with the resort, holding the room, the contract, booking confirmation and all paperwork are on our side. There is nothing for you to arrange yourself.
Card payment
We accept payment by card through Stripe and issue an invoice. The transfer to the resort is our job — you do not have to find a way to pay abroad.
Support all the way
We help you choose the room and dates, work out the dive package, answer questions about flights and gear, and stay in touch until you are home.
The exact amount is confirmed when we hold your booking: it includes the resort's rate at the day's exchange rate plus the actual transfer costs. No hidden fees.
About the resort
- Country
- South Africa
- Location
- Umkomaas, Aliwal Shoal, KwaZulu-Natal
- Nearest airport
- Durban (DUR) — about an hour; Durban city centre 30 minutes away
- Transfer
- On request
- Dive sites
- The 3 km Aliwal Shoal reef and two wrecks
- Dive centre
- In-house, on the property; RAID courses, over 40 years of experience
- Rooms
- Up to 43 guests — double, twin and family rooms
- Languages
- English
At the resort
Diving
Dives are usually in the morning, to make the most of the sea conditions. The boat launches straight through the surf, so trips depend on the weather. Sites on the reef: **Raggie Cave** to 17 m — overhanging caves where ragged-tooth sharks rest; **Cathedral** to 27 m — a large rock amphitheatre with a front archway and a swim-through, with paper fish, frogfish and pineapple fish around it; **Northern Pinnacles** to 18 m — a spine of rock forming gullies, caves and potholes, and the top spot for mantas in season; **South Sands** to 17 m — a sand patch with rays, sandsharks and pods of dolphins. The wrecks: the Norwegian bulk carrier **Produce**, which struck the shoal on 11 August 1974, down to 32 m and now breaking up, so penetration is not advised; and the **Nebo**, which turned over in heavy seas on 20 May 1884 with a cargo of railway materials, down to 27 m, a national monument, with a swim-through at the propeller.
Dining
Accommodation is sold full board; drinks and alcohol are not included. Breakfast is served once you are back from the morning dive — which is also when the dive gets talked through with the divemaster.
Beyond diving
The **Sardine Run** is an eight-day expedition based at the Wavecrest lodge in the Eastern Cape, away from the main cluster of boats at Port St Johns. The boat is at sea from about half past eight until three, hunting for bait balls by the splashing of dolphins and the diving of birds; most of the time in the water is spent on snorkel, because it is quicker to get in and out, and scuba comes out only when the action justifies it. The boats are eight-metre RIBs with storage for camera gear. The run usually falls in June and July, but it is a natural phenomenon and exact dates cannot be predicted. Non-divers can join as long as they are comfortable snorkelling. The **safari** is three days in the Nambiti big-five reserve, with game drives at dawn and in the late afternoon and meals at the lodge.
Rooms
En-suite room
View: Garden
Beds: Double bed, two singles or a family room
The lodge takes up to forty-three guests in three kinds of room — double, twin and family. The resort does not publish separate descriptions or rates by type. All the rooms are finished in neutral tones, and each has its own bathroom.
When to go
- Best time
- All year; ragged-tooth sharks June to November, tigers December to March
The resort's marine calendar for the shoal: **ragged-tooth sharks (raggies)** from June to November, when they come to Aliwal Shoal to mate; **tiger sharks** from December to June, with the best odds from December to March when the water is warmest; **blacktip reef sharks**, **bottlenose dolphins** and **turtles** all year round; **manta rays** on a shifting season, typically when the sea is at its warmest; and **humpback whales** from June to October or November. The Sardine Run usually falls in June and July.
Getting there
The nearest major airport is Durban (King Shaka, DUR), about an hour from Umkomaas; Durban city centre is thirty minutes from the lodge. The lodge is on Barrow Street, with restaurants, shops and banks within walking distance.
The Sardine Run works differently: it is based at the Wavecrest lodge in the Eastern Cape. The nearest airport is East London, a two-hour drive away; the lodge has its own airstrip, so a flight from East London takes twenty-five minutes. From Umkomaas the drive to Wavecrest is about eight hours.
Included in the price
Not included
Optional extras
Extras are per person and paid on site.
Price on request
Agulhas House and Diving
Availability for your dates will be confirmed before any payment. Estimated wait time — 24 hours
En-suite room
The lodge takes up to forty-three guests in three kinds of room — double, twin and family. The resort does not publish separate descriptions or rates by type. All the rooms are finished in neutral tones, and each has its own bathroom.
- View
- Garden
- Beds
- Double bed, two singles or a family room
- Maximum guests
- 4
Agulhas House and Diving
Dive resort
