Unique marine experiences a tourism drawcard for Bay

Tapping into the oceans economy means producing quality leisure offerings that cater to a wide audience who will have authentic marine experiences and in turn want to return to Nelson Mandela Bay.

Bay economic development executive director Anele Qaba said by beefing up marine tourism offerings and producing authentic experiences, tourists would most likely come back to the city and also recommend the city as a touristfriendly destination.

On economic boosters of the city, Qaba said the oceans economy had been identified as a key sector for economic growth and that tourism was a big part of it.

“Through government’s Operation Phakisa, the focus is now on unlocking the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans and identifying areas for growth,” Qaba said.

“With the recent announcement of the new marine protected area within our Bay, there is now an exciting opportunity for more products to develop.”

One of those experiences includes scuba diving.

Algoa Bay has more than 15 different and unique sites to choose from across two main diving sites that include the Bay itself and one area known as the Wildside, which is west of Cape Recife.

Diving conditions in Port Elizabeth are greatly influenced by seasonal changes.

The Bay is a transition zone between the warm current that runs down the east coast and the cold current that runs from the west coast.

This creates two distinctive dive environments on each side of the coastline.

Winter is traditionally the best time to dive in Port Elizabeth, with an average visibility of 5m to 8m in the Bay and between 10m and 15m on the Wildside.

There are also a large variety of fish and soft coral species that make for a great diving experience.

Qaba said winter was traditionally the best time to dive in Port Elizabeth as the visibility was greater and water temperature ranged between 18°C and 21°C.

The Wildside is known for its thermoclines of 11°C on deeper dives.

“The diving sites in Nelson Mandela Bay are of world-class quality with beautiful reefs, shipwrecks, a variety of fish and colourful soft coral species.

“The protected warm water of Algoa Bay provides scuba divers with the most exciting and diverse range of dive sites in the country,” he said.

The Bay’s rocky reefs are covered in soft corals, sponges and sea fans.

The ragged tooth sharks make their appearance in the Bay between November and May.

Due to the nutrient-rich water that feeds the reefs of the Wildside, the growth of false and hard corals is prolific.

The noble coral that grows here in abundance is in fact the only hard coral in Southern Africa that grows in cold water.

Dive operators in the metro include Pro Dive, which offers shark and reef diving.

Pro Dive operator Louis van Aardt said Algoa Bay was on the migration route of many large mammals and dives offered sightings of the humpback whale and Southern Right whales, dolphins, seals and jackass penguins which were common.

Pro Dive also offers diving lessons.

Van Aardt described the experience as exhilarating.

“The accessibility of shore diving and the ease of boat diving, the close proximity of reefs to the launch site and the professional and personal care ensures that diving is a pleasure, an adventure and thrilling every time,” Van Aardt said.

Husband-and-wife scuba diving instructors Juan Snyman and Evania Lombard run Scuba Elite PE, as well as the Eastern Cape Diving Website.

Scuba Elite PE specialises in training small groups of aspiring scuba divers as well as rescue personnel.

Lombard described their lessons as “boutique training” with a lot of one-on-one time spent with the divers.

“This is to ensure safety standards are maintained and we get to spend one-on-one time with clients.

“We’re mostly a training school and we offer packages where students spend time diving in the pool, then we move to the ocean at all levels,” Lombard said.

Peter Deyzel, of Marine Training Consulting, said it did not only offer diving lessons but skipper training as well.

The company, only three years old, also offers a variety 0of marine training as well as first aid training. For a diver, the experience is kind of like going to space but on a cheaper budget.

“It is colourful with lots of different fish.

“The Bay is so diverse and this time of the year is the best time to go diving," he said.

Users carrying the Bay pass receive a free scuba discover and scuba diving course from Marine Training and Consulting in the pool and pass holders can also choose to do one ocean dive for R350.

To book your dive experience in the Bay using the tourism pass, contact Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism or MTC.

•  This article is in partnership with Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism. For more information to go: www.nmbt.co.za