Raggie Cave

Raggie Cave is not a true cave but a deep, overhung bowl in Aliwal's sandstone, and in winter it fills with exactly what the name says. Ragged-tooth sharks gather here during their mating season, hanging almost motionless in the gully, mouths ajar with that permanent snaggle-toothed menace that belies a placid nature. Divers settle at the rim, keep low, and let the sharks drift past at arm's-length range; ten or more animals share the bowl on good days. Around the edges the shoal's usual cast (morays, rays on the sand, clouds of goldies) carries the dive when the raggies wander.

اللحظة التي جئت من أجلها: Winter aggregations of ragged-tooth sharks at close, calm range

التضاريس: Sandstone amphitheater and overhung gully in the shoal's fossil-dune reef

التيار: Surge and along-shoal current vary with swell; entries are negative drops from RIBs after a surf launch.

المخاطر: Surge in the bowl, current over the shoal, and surf launches to reach it.

التصاريح والقواعد: Aliwal Shoal MPA permit required, arranged via operators.

الحفاظ على البيئة البحرية: Do not block the gully mouths or crowd the sharks: they abandon the site when hemmed in. The species is regionally threatened and these aggregations matter.

نيتروكس: يستحق الأمر هنا: الملفات الشخصية تقع في النطاق الذي يُمدّد فيه الهواء المدعّم (نيتروكس) وقت الغوص دون توقف تمديدًا ملموسًا، مع التدريب اللازم لاستخدامه.