Gordon's Bay & Rooi-Els · South Africa · Reef · Kelp forest · Pinnacle
Coral Gardens (Rooi-els)
Three sponge-covered pinnacles off the Rooi-els shore
Photo: Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0
Coral Gardens is an inshore rocky reef along the rugged shoreline of Rooi-els village, named for its sea fans and soft corals. Ridges, gullies and three pinnacles carry dense sponges and colonial ascidians, and the kelp-fringed shore draws seals, short-tail stingrays and the occasional sevengill cow shark.
Also known as Coral Gardens.
Where it is and how deep
34.3024° S, 18.8133° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
From the shore, divers jump in off the end of a rock ridge beside the main gully and swim west through the kelp and over the ridges at the gully mouth. Beyond it the reef breaks into rocky ridges and big outcrops running roughly north to south. A typical dive reaches about 18 m, 20 m is easily reached, and 30 m can be found over the sand only after a very long swim. Boat dives from Gordon's Bay run deeper, to 27 m.
The usual route is a tour of three pinnacles that rise from the deeper reef, with an arch in a narrow cleft and a swim-through cave under a big boulder. Rugged outcrops, overhangs and small caves cover the reef in sponges, colonial ascidians, sea fans, soft corals and noble coral. Purple ladies, white-edged and candy nudibranchs live among them, with klipfish, red roman and shysharks in the kelp.
Visibility is seldom good, though rare days of over 15 m have been reported, and a fine silt settles in the deeper gullies that careless finning stirs up quickly. Seals often zoom around divers, and sevengill cow sharks and short-tail stingrays are worth watching for in the kelp. Shore exits mean watching the sets and scrambling up a steep, barnacle-covered ridge.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Seals & sea lions
- Stingrays
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime |
Season follows Gordon's Bay & Rooi-Els: Diving runs mostly in summer, when the weather permits, with some good days in other seasons and an occasional winter dive.
Know before you go
- Shore exits are steep and barnacle-encrusted; watch the sets, avoid the side gullies and wear gloves and kneepads.
- Fine silt in the deep gullies ruins visibility when disturbed; keep good trim and buoyancy.
- Only diveable when the south westerly swell is low.
Photos from Coral Gardens (Rooi-els)
Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0
Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0
Dive videos
Indigo Scuba Dives Coral Gardens, Rooi Els (Cape Town, South Africa) · IndigoScuba on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Coral Gardens at Rooi-els?+
A typical dive reaches about 18 m, boat dives go to 27 m, and 30 m is possible over the sand after a very long swim.
Sources
- Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Coral Gardens (Rooi-els) — Wikivoyage
- Gordon's Bay Dive Sites — Indigo Scuba
Photo credits
- A bright orange branching fan sponge on a rocky reef with a pale fish swimming past by Peter Southwood, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Clusters of beige finger-like sponge projections on a reef surrounded by red algae by Peter Southwood, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A bulky pale yellow cushion-shaped sponge on a reef patched with green and red growth by Peter Southwood, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Gordon's Bay & Rooi-Els
Twin reefs shaped like a whale and calf, close to Gordon's Bay
Noble coral on every pinnacle, above sheer walls to the sand
Steep shoreline walls and a boulder swim-through close to the gully
Reef
Shallow sandstone ridges named for a Gordon's Bay instructor
A surface-breaking rock pinnacle above reef with unusually varied invertebrates
Ridges and gullies below the Rocky Bay resort cliffs
Kelp forest and broken sandstone ridges off the Rooi-els point
Sheltered cove entry below a shoreline cave
Similar dives elsewhere
Air-trap overhangs and swim-throughs on a granite boulder reef
Manta cleaning stations on an amphitheatre of rock at 21-26 m
Two pinnacles on a narrow ledge where surge bubbles between the rocks
Granite ridges and gullies in about 18 m