Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Vogelsteen

The dive site Vogelsteen is a shoreline rocky reef in the Gordon's Bay area on the east side of False Bay, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand


Notable for the beds of pebbles, silt, and shells between the rocky inshore zone and the flat sand bottom further offshore, where large numbers of the False Bay burrowing anemone (Cerianthid) can be found.

Position
S34°10.302’ E018°50.355’ In front of the last group of five houses just beyond the built-up area of Gordon's Bay.

This site is not in a Marine Protected Area. A permit is not required.

Name
The site name "Vogelsteen" is from the early Afrikaans/Dutch meaning "Bird Rock". Named for the large rock favoured by seabirds as a perch and lightly coated in guano.

Depth
Maximum depth is about 12 m quite far out on the sand. Most diving is 9 m and shallower.

Topography
Moderate relief close to shore, but fairly flat with only small boulders and outcrops followed by a band of black mussel shells packed with silt and pebbles, then flat sand at about 11 m. The bed of silted mussel shells is at a depth of generally about 8 to 10 m along the coast about 20 to 50 m from the water’s edge. The width of this zone varies considerably from place to place. There may be a lot of fine silt deposit on the bottom, concentrated at times in patches up to a few centimetres thick, and easily disturbed to reduce visibility. The coastline runs almost exactly magnetic east-west.

Geology: Ordovician sandstone of the Table Mountain group, probably ‘’Peninsula’’ formation. Strike is parallel to the shoreline and dip is steep, about 60° to the southwest

Conditions
The site is exposed to the north west wind. It is slightly protected from south west swell but is shallow and there will be surge, which will reduce visibility as there is a fine light silt in this area. It is very well protected from south easterly winds, and these will generally flatten the sea in this area, so it is usually best during or after south easterly winds. The site is usually at it's best in summer but there are also occasional opportunities at other times of the year.

This is an area which sometimes has plankton blooms (red tides) which will cause poor visibility.

Facilities
Paved roadside parking area with garbage bin. Security is probably no worse than any other roadside parking area.

Get in
Often dived from a boat, but shore access is an option.

Boat dive: From Gordon's Bay harbour (2.3 km) or Harbour Island (2,9 km). The site is off the large rock with guano stains (Vogelsteen) which is just North-East of the small gully behind the ridge of rock in the middle of the photo, and the path leads up behind the crag to the parking bay.

Shore dive: Access includes a bit of a climb. Park at Five Houses on the Faure Marine Drive (R44) from Gordon’s Bay to Rooi-Els. The parking bay is at S34°10.357’ E018°50.278’ on the seaward side of the road directly opposite three palm trees in front of a group of five houses that stand alone above the road outside Gordon’s Bay. The path leads north-east through the bush to the top of a gully, and down the gully to the water. There is a ledge on the seaward side of the gully which gives access to the water beyond the shallow area with boulders, and is convenient if there is a bit of a swell running.

Marine life
This is a very good site for Cerianthids (burrowing anemones). Cerianthids are common here where black mussel shell beds exist. less common in stony rubble/gravel, and even less common in sand. Depth range from about 6 to 11 m, as that is where the shell beds are. (There seem to be far fewer cerianthids as of April 2012. This may be a seasonal variation.) Colour variation from most common with very pale tentacles, to pale with dark inner tentacles, purple or blue outer tentacles, red-brown outer tentacles or base of outer tentacles. They are distributed along the coastline from Cow and Calf to at least a couple of hundred meters north east, and probably further. Generally if the substrate is black mussel shell beds with silt, they are common, and may be as many as about 5 in a square meter, sometimes quite close (within 150 mm). Largest tentacle spread is about 100 mm, largest tube diameter about 25 mm. The amount of tube that extends above the surface varies from about 75 mm to about 30 mm. The tube is made of threads produced by nematocysts on the surface of the animal which form a felt-like material which entraps particles of sand and silt to form a soft, tough leathery tube which extends about 400 mm into the substrate. The species has been described from specimens collected here which were sent to a specialist in Russia for description. This is the type locality for the species Ceriantheopsis austroafricanus Molodtsova, Griffiths and Acuña, 2011. The shallows close inshore and behind the Vogelsteen are worth a visit in very calm conditions as the biodiversity is considerable.

Photography
Macro and close up equipment is recommended as the visibility is often poor.

Routes
Swim out to the shell beds to see the burrowing anemones. If the conditions are suitable the entry gully and area around the Vogelsteen are quite interesting.

Hazards
No site specific hazards have been reported. Shore access is over a boulder slope.

Skills
No special skills required. This area is good for snorkelling.

Moderate fitness and agility is required for shore entry.

Equipment
No special equipment recommended. The cerianthid beds may be a bit dark due to low visibility, so a light is often helpful to see the true colours.

Nearby


Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Gordon's Bay area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches


 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area