Ant has a respect and love for Mother Nature that has become his life and he shares his knowledge in angling, hunting, animals and the ocean. He has a passion for photography and has started professionally guided ocean experience trips for photographers and nature enthusiasts alike. Spending most of his time between Mozambique, Botswana, South Africa and Kenya, he does private trips that are personalized and simple. He speaks six languages of which four are black languages and has a vast knowledge of the Southern African continent. He is passionate about his friends and having a good time and works equally as hard with enthusiasm when at sea or on land. He loves to learn more about Africa and its animals every day and is a competent off road driving instructor. He takes safety seriously and has a wicked sense of humor. He can be very serious at times and equally humorous. Ant is easy going and charismatic with a hunger to show people the experiences that he had first hand. Personal and private trips are what he specializes in and there are no frills and complications, just keeping things simple.
Please feel free to contact him for advice on boating, hunting, off road driving or fishing issues. In any day in Ants life he is using his gear in a harsh environment. He, like all outdoorsmen, has his preferred brands of gear that is either rugged or efficient. That’s why he chooses to insure with Cross Country Insurance.
Antony also provides editorials for the following magazines: Inwater Magazine, Voyages De-peche Magazine, Flyfishing Magazine, Ski-boat Magazine.
Please Note: All dives off Aliwal shoal covered by DAN Marine Diving insurance. Clients must ensure that they have personal insurance to participate.
I wish I had words to describe the looks on people’s faces when they get back to the surface after a dive with sharks at the Aliwal shoal. One would expect them to want to get back onto the dive boat with all haste and be kicking wildly to exit the water. Instead, the mood is totally the opposite. Tranquil happiness oozes from their faces along with well directed expletives and hyena like giggles of ecstatic disbelief in what their eyes have conveyed to their brains for process. This is diving on the Aliwal Shoal in the winter months!
The Shoal area is visited in the winter months by the ferocious looking Ragged toothed sharks. This is one of the many off-shore areas they aggregate at for mating when the water temperatures drop in winter. Along with the Raggies there are many more mind blowing sites to see on the Shoal. Slightly south of the shoal, the area known as Eel skin and Castle is where the Tiger shark diving takes place almost all year round. Tiger sharks are apex predators and diving with these creatures is not taken lightly. All dive operators do the recreational dives on the shoal where the Raggies can be viewed at Cathedral or at Raggies cave. The more specialized diving with the Tigers and Black Tips is offered too by some operators and more specifically by Blue Wilderness and African Water Sports Adventures. Briefings are strict and safety is taken seriously along with etiquette. The extremely experienced dive teams will brief and dive with you. You can also have a video made of your dive with the sharks. You can scuba, free dive or simply snorkel on the surface. It is truly a life changing experience.
A typical day diving from one of the many operators in the area consists of dives starting from 6am in summer and 7am in winter. Every two hours boats are launched through the surf. A 6 for 7 launch means that you should be at the dive center at 6 and gear up, briefings take place and then the short trip to the river or beach for an African surf launch at 7am. Be sure to pay attention to the instruction giver by the dive leaders and skippers. Surf launching can at times be hectic here and I would like to call the total experience an extreme one. However I am not allowed to as I would probably chase away the fair weather divers. This is not the Caribbean! The area has dive sites that offer plenty for the underwater photographer and diver that wants to see big things as well as small. There are dolphins on the reef most of the time and plenty of whales to be seen from June to October. All the dive operators offer Ocean experience trips for the non divers and snorkeling trips on good weather days. The reef itself is 15 minutes by boat from the launch site at Mommas. The reef is just a few kilometers off-shore.
The small town of Mommas has the highest density of dive operators in the
area. For bookings to dive or to learn to dive have a look in the dive magazines
(Dive style, Submerge) for a directory or simply contact me. The dive industry
certainly has its characters, from dive center owners to the skippers and
instructors. It is a fun place to be. Remember though, these characters are
generally shy ocean stewards until it gets dark. Then things change, the dry
characters and Sergeant Major like behavior dissolves into laughter over much
verbal sparring and a few drinks to take the edge off. Fun is almost always
had by all and friendships are forged with salt water by day and cold beverages
by night! There are also good restaurants. Rocky Bay, south of Scottburgh,
has the “Bell and Anchor,” Scottburgh has a few more such as ENZO’S,
Spur, Wimpy, The Dodo to mention a few. Umkomaas has Sebastian’s, Taste,
Waves and Lala Manzi. Be aware that this is Kwa-Zulu Natal, which means that
most of the folk here are infected by the salt air and things are a little
slower, so please be patient and get into the laid back mood of the area.
Make friends with the locals and enjoy!
This area of the Kwa-Zulu coast is home to some of the best in the business.
From the highly experienced boat skippers to the dive masters and instructors,
it is a pleasure to be there and learn with them. I spend all my time in the
industry as a skipper and take business groups and friends alike on trips
to the Shoal.
If you visit the area which is situated just 30 minutes drive South of Durban, be sure to use one of the many self catering facilities on offer. B&B’s are abundant and close to all the dive centers. Some offer their own accommodation. If you don’t know how to dive this is a great place to learn. Spend a weekend here and your life will change. If you dive already be sure to introduce this awesome sport to others. The operators all have resident diving instructors and they are either PADI or NAUI qualified. All operators are linked to DAN (Divers Alert Network) as insurance. You should have your own insurance as well. The operators can supply dive gear for hire or bring your own. Most, if not all, supply air fills and nitrox fills. The operators are accommodating. If you try to book a dive and the boats are full you will possibly be referred to another operator for an inter-charter. Feel free to do a few dives with other operations until you find people you are comfortable with.
Fishing/Diving Expeditions & Bowhunting