Gordon's Bay & Rooi-Els · South Africa · Reef

Cow and Calf

Twin reefs shaped like a whale and calf, close to Gordon's Bay

Cow and Calf is a shoreline rocky reef close to Gordon's Bay, named for twin reefs offshore that look like a whale cow and her calf from the road. A relaxed, shallow dive among rugged sandstone ridges and boulders, it has sea fans, cuttlefish, octopus, seals and many nudibranchs.

Also known as Cow & Calf.

Where it is and how deep

Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

34.1718° S, 18.8377° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

Boats stop at the reef, which shows as turbulence or white water at most times, and shore divers enter from a ledge directly inshore of it. The inner reef ridge breaks the surface at low tide, and the outer reef is very sheer on its seaward side, rising from the bottom almost to the surface. Beyond it the bottom slopes down over a narrow band of pebbles and small boulders to sand at about 12 m, and boat dives reach a maximum of 15 m.

Gorgonian sea fans grow at the base of the ridges, multicolour sea fans higher up, and red bait covers the tops. Nudibranchs are everywhere, including gasflame, chocolate chip, Cape dorid and inkspot, and cuttlefish, octopus, kolstert, red roman and hottentot share the reef with visiting seals. To the south west a deep, narrow gully called the Slot connects by a short shallow tunnel to Stone Dog gully, a swim-through only for very calm conditions.

Marine life and season

Nudibranchs
Octopus & cuttlefish
Seals & sea lions
Macro critters

Month-by-month season rating for Cow and Calf
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

Surge in this shallow site stirs up fine silt and cuts visibility; dive it during or after south easterly winds.
Shore exits need timing; wait for the smallest waves of a set before climbing out onto the ledge.