Mossel Bay · South Africa · Reef
Mitch's Reef
Orange sponges up to 3 m long beside banks of sea grass
Photo: Bernard Picton · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mitch's Reef is an 8 m reef in Mossel Bay, dived from a boat after a short ride out to its deeper side. Orange sponges up to 3 m long, banks of sea grass and large red romans are found on the reef, and the shallow depth keeps the whole dive within Open Water limits.
Also known as Mitch’s Reef.
Where it is and how deep
34.1700° S, 22.1320° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive starts from a boat rather than from the beach. A short ride puts divers over the deeper side of the reef, so the dive is spent on the reef itself instead of on a long swim out, and there is no need to run low on air before reaching it. The reef lies at 8 m, which keeps the whole profile shallow.
Orange sponges are the feature of the reef, some of them up to 3 m in length. Banks of sea grass are also found here, along with large red romans. With the reef at 8 m the dive stays shallow from start to finish, and because the boat drops divers over the reef rather than leaving a swim out, more of each tank goes on the reef itself.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Mossel Bay: Diving peaks in the mid-summer months, when game fish arrive and soft corals bloom; whales pass from June to mid-November.
Sources
- Scuba Diving in Mossel Bay — Avenues Guesthouse (Go Dive text)
- Electrodive Scuba Diving Mossel Bay — ShowMeSA
- Diving the south coast of South Africa — Wikivoyage
Photo credits
- Orange nudibranch with white lines and yellow-tipped gills on a black background by Bernard Picton, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Mossel Bay
Reef
Long nose pipefish and shovel nose crayfish in 4 to 8 m
Reef
Featherworm and sea-fan garden beside the main swimming beach
Reef
Large sponges and red romans at 22 to 25 m off Cape St. Blaize
Reef
Caves, gullies and drop-offs to 33 m, with sharks and seals
Similar dives elsewhere
Ridges of medium height running out to a seaward pinnacle
Big smooth boulders scattered over sand patches
Marbled electric rays on a 10 to 14 m reef
Coral bommies off the resort's own water entrance