5km out to sea straight off the greenpoint lighthouse, you have the Aliwal Shoal. The shoal is part of a reef system running along much of the Kwazulu Natal coast. It`s origins lie in the coastal dunes that were formed many thousands of years ago when the sea level was much lower. As the sea level rose these dunes were submerged and provided the base for the development of the reefs.
Landers 9km south off Park Rynie is a continuation of the same reef system. Aliwal has the northeast pinnacle as it`s northern tip, which comes to within a few meters of the surface. This can be a dangerous spot for the unwary boat skipper, as even on flat days the odd swell comes through that breaks. Many boats have capsized here under these conditions.
3km south you have eelskins which marks the southern end of the reef. Most of the central flat reef lies between 10m and 18m deep and is roughly 300m wide. The outer edges drop to 30m. There are numerous caves and gulleys the most well known being Raggie cave where scuba divers regularly view 40 to 50 raggedtooth sharks at a time.
For the spearfisherman, Aliwal is a must. When conditions are right and the warm mozambique current pushes in over the shoal, gamefish abound. Huge kingfish, sailfish, cuda, wahoo, seapike, tuna and a variety of other gamefish and reef fish are present and make for an exceptional spearfishing experience. The shoal operates best in a north-south current and one normally starts the dive by doing drifts up current from the northeast pinnacle in deep water looking for gamefish. There is normally a huge shoal of fish just north of the pinnacles and dropping down into this is a great experience. The big kingfish are normally patrolling this area and dropping to the bottom and lying motionless will normally bring one in to have a look if they are in the vicinity.
