Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Whale Rock

The dive site Whale Rock is an offshore rocky reef in the Robben Island area on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Position

 * S33°50.112’ E018°22.858’ &mdash; A shoal area of reef south of Robben Island.

This site is in the Robben Island Marine Protected Area since 2019. A permit is required.

Name
The name "Whale Rock" is the name for the area on SA Navy charts.

Depth
Fairly shallow. Mostly less than 10 m.

Topography
Large area of shallow reef.

Geology: Pre-Cambrian sedimentary rocks, probably of the Tygerberg formation.

Conditions
This reef is exposed to the south west swell. There is often a break in the area and the surge can be very powerful. The water is usually cold. The site should be dived when the sea is fairly flat.

The site is usually at it's best in summer but there are also occasional opportunities in other seasons.

Get in
Only accessible by boat. The site is about 8 km from Oceana Power Boat Club slipway.

Marine life
Large red bait pods abound in this area.

Routes
No particular route recommended.

Hazards
Surge can be very strong.

Skills
No special skills required.

Equipment
No special equipment recommended

Nearby


Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Robben Island area

Other regional dive sites:
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west coast
 * Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula east coast
 * Dive sites of False Bay offshore and approaches
 * Dive sites of False Bay east coast
 * Fresh water dive sites of the Cape Town Metropolitan Area