The Island is a reef off the island at Robberg Nature Reserve, reached on a scenic boat ride across the bay and around Robberg's point. It stays within Open Water limits, and divers go for its caves and invertebrate colour, but the site can only be dived on a windless day or in a moderate easterly.
Also known as Robberg Island.
Where it is and how deep
34.1045° S, 23.3963° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site is a field of large round boulders between 6 and 18 m, with big caves among them worth exploring. A variety of colourful invertebrates covers the rock.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair |
Season follows Robberg & Plettenberg Bay: September and October are the best months; onshore south-easterlies churn the sea up in summer, while winter westerlies clear the water.
Know before you go
- Dived only on a windless day or with a moderate easterly wind; other winds rule the site out.
Questions divers ask
When can The Island at Robberg be dived?+
Only on a windless day or with a moderate easterly wind; in other winds the site off the island at Robberg Nature Reserve is not dived.
Sources
- Top Dive Sites along the Garden Route – Plettenberg Bay — ProDive Plettenberg Bay
- OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap contributors
Photo credits
- A rocky, scrub-topped island joined to the shore by a sand spit, with surf on both sides and a few walkers on the sand by flowcomm, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Robberg & Plettenberg Bay
Wreck
A Greek trawler's hull lying a short swim off Robberg
Reef
A maze of caves and swim-throughs with ragged-tooth sharks
Wall
Sea fans draped in basket stars on a soft-coral wall
Reef
Huge reef terraces with the odd big mako shark passing
Reef
Juvenile reef fish and cuttlefish among anemones in the shallows
Sand slope
Cape fur seals blowing bubbles at divers on the sand
Pinnacle
Three pinnacles reached on a short swim from the beach
Pinnacle
Ragged-tooth sharks around a pinnacle that breaks off Robberg Point
Similar dives elsewhere
Sandstone ledges and caves where raggies rest on migration.
A 600 m reef cut by caves, gullies and drop-offs
Linked bowls joined by caves, overhangs and gullies
Two kilometres of ledges, pinnacles and gullies, diveable in most weather