Reefwander
Reefwander
Full calendar

Destinations at their peak each month

  1. Jan167
  2. Feb183
  3. Mar192
  4. Apr216
  5. May186
  6. Jun272
  7. Jul307
  8. Aug313
  9. Sep296
  10. Oct180
  11. Nov119
  12. Dec145

Americas

Europe, Africa & Middle East

Indo-Pacific

White Cape St Blaize lighthouse with red-roofed keepers' buildings on a rocky headland — Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay · South Africa · Reef

Sponge Reef

Large sponges and red romans at 22 to 25 m off Cape St. Blaize

Area photo: Bob Adams from Amanzimtoti, South Africa · CC BY-SA 2.0

Sponge Reef is a scattered reef lying in 22 to 25 m of water at Cape St. Blaize, and it can only be reached by boat. Large sponges grow across it and red romans visit them regularly. It is a dive for advanced divers who appreciate the macroscopic life on reefs.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Sponge Reef: typical dive 22–25 m (72–82 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit22 m25 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

34.1930° S, 22.1564° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

Sponge Reef sits at Cape St. Blaize, and the only way to reach it is by boat. The reef is scattered rather than continuous, with patches of reef spread across the bottom in 22 to 25 m of water. At that depth the site is rated for advanced divers, and the whole dive is spent in the deeper water rather than on a shallow slope.

Large sponges are the main feature of the site, and red romans visit them regularly. The dive is pitched at advanced divers who appreciate the macroscopic life on reefs, so time on Sponge Reef goes on looking closely at the sponges and the life around them as divers move from one scattered patch of reef to the next.

Marine life and season

  • Macro critters
Month-by-month season rating for Sponge Reef
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimeGoodFairFairFairFairFairFairFairGoodPrime

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

  1. Scuba Diving in Mossel Bay — Avenues Guesthouse (Go Dive text)
  2. Electrodive Scuba Diving Mossel Bay — ShowMeSA

More dive sites in Mossel Bay

Reef

Butterfly Wall

Long nose pipefish and shovel nose crayfish in 4 to 8 m

4–8 mbeginner

Reef

Mitch's Reef

Orange sponges up to 3 m long beside banks of sea grass

to 8 mbeginner

Reef

Santos Reef

Featherworm and sea-fan garden beside the main swimming beach

2–7 mbeginner

Reef

Windvogel Reef

Caves, gullies and drop-offs to 33 m, with sharks and seals

3–33 madvanced

Similar dives elsewhere

Reef

Coral Gardens (Rooi-els)

Gordon's Bay & Rooi-Els · South Africa

Three sponge-covered pinnacles off the Rooi-els shore

to 27 m · max 30 mintermediate

Reef

Drummers Reef

Watamu & Malindi · Kenya

A flower-like anemone full of shrimps and pipefish

12–25 mintermediate

Reef

Mwanyaza

Diani Beach · Kenya

Turtles and blue-spotted rays on a long sloping reef

10–25 mintermediate

Reef

Noble Reef

Gordon's Bay & Rooi-Els · South Africa

Noble coral on every pinnacle, above sheer walls to the sand

to 26 mintermediate