Diving at Miller's Point

The dive sites Miller's Point and Rumbly Bay are shoreline rocky reef areas in the Miller's Point area on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand

See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Understand

Position

• 1 Miller's Point slipway: S34°13.829’ E018°28.434’
• 2 Rumbly Bay slipway: S34°14.059’ E018°28.495’
• 3 Miller's Point tidal pool: S34°13.879’ E018°28.559’

This site is in a Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required.

Name

The name "Miller's Point" is shown on maps of the area and refers to the point as a whole. "Rumbly Bay" is the little cove to the south of the point, where the original slipways were built. The name may refer to the noise made by the rounded boulders in the surf zone.

Depth

Shallow in the vicinity of the point. Maximum depth is probably between 6 and 8 m along the shoreline reefs to the north and south of the point. The eastern reefs off the tip of the point extend a long way out, and get down to at least 15 m a couple of hundred metres out.

Miller’s Point seen from the municipal parking area. Boat Rock can be seen in the background to the right of the photo.

Topography

Fairly shallow rocky reef with granite corestone outcrops and boulders, some smallish swim-throughs and quite a few overhangs and holes under boulders.

About 150 to 200 m to the south west of the point in the direction of Boat Rock is a group large boulders rising from about 15 m bottom to about 10 m. This group of rocks has rugged profile and some small caves and overhangs, and a relatively large variety of fish have been seen there. Exact position is not known.

Geology: Late Pre-Cambrian granite of the Peninsula pluton. There are examples of contact between coarse porphyritic granite and medium to fine grained aplogranite. Also wave-rounded boulders of the overlying Table Mountain sandstones in the shallows.

Conditions

The slipway is well protected and usable in any conditions where diving would be possible.

Diving round the point is best on an offshore wind or calm. Avoid south easterly winds.

Facilities

The slipway at Miller's point

Large paved off-road parking areas open to the public. S34°13.920’ E018°28.441’. Parking fees may be charged on an apparently random schedule. Ensure that you get a receipt from the gate attendant. Public toilets are at the turning bay above the slipway behind a fence, but can be accessed via a gap at the end of the fence nearest the sea.

Miller’s Point from the air: (Photo CDS&M)

The public slipway is to the north, at the top left of the photo, and has a small breakwater and jetty. Boat and trailer parking to the west, cars to the east. The tidal pool and lagoon can be seen in the centre of the photo. Rumbly Bay is to the lower left of the photograph.

Get in

Usually a shore dive.

The cove at the tip of Miller's point

There is a small beach and a small protected inlet at the tip of the point at S34°13.934’ E018°28.577’. Access to open water is through gaps between the big boulders around it, which may be a strenuous swim in rough conditions. There are extensive kelp beds beyond the enclosure.

South side entry area

This small beach is on the South side of Miller’s Point, facing Rumbly Bay, and with Castle Rocks in the background. This can be used as access to the kelp beds shown here and to the rocks off the point.

Turn towards the sea into a tarred road just south of the point. The ski-boat club will be directly in front and the road splits and goes to the left. About a hundred metres along the two roads meet again at the gates to three parking areas.

To the south, through a steel sliding gate is the tarred parking area of the Ski-boat club.

To the north, at a slightly higher level, is the boat and trailer parking area, which is accessed through a boomed gate, which may be manned. This area is exclusively for vehicles with boat trailers, and parking for general motor vehicles is not permitted.

The third parking area is for ordinary members of the public, and is on the seaward side of the boat and trailer parking area. The gate to this area may be attended. If so, a fee will be required. It is not expensive, and you should be issued a receipt, or the attendant will pocket the money.

This parking area is usually adequate in size. If you are there for a boat dive, park as close to the steps that connect the upper and lower parking areas as possible, as the boats are loaded at the top of the steps. If you plan a shore dive, park closer to your planned entry area. This usually means as far east as possible, just opposite the gate.

Foot access to the slipway is by a path through a gate at the north end of the parking area, or by the road to the slipway, which is longer.

Access to the Rumbly Bay entry area is obvious, as it is just to the south of the east side of the parking area.

The path to the sheltered area at the point is also from the east side of the parking lot, as shown in the photo.

See

Marine life

See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#The marine ecology

Dense kelp forests surround the point wherever there is a rocky substrate. There is a reasonable variety of invertebrates, but mostly those which flourish in relatively shallow water.

Routes

You can dive almost anywhere around the point, but be aware that there is a lot of boat traffic and keep clear of the affected areas.

1. Entry at little sandy inlet at end of Miller's point south of the tidal pool. Swim out through the kelp forest in a gap between boulders to the east. Dive and swim out along the bottom to south of the big rocks beyond the end of the point, then come back on the reciprocal route.
2. Entry in the sandy inlet, swim out through the gaps to the North, and dive around the edge of rocks and sand
3. Entry at the Rumbly Bay slipway, Dive among the inshore rocks to the right of the slip and in front of the clubhouse. This area has a lot of seaweeds. This is also an entry and exit area for Shark Alley and the Pyramid Rock reefs.

Stay safe

See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Stay safe

Hazards

Boat traffic to the north and east of the point may be heavy. Great White sharks have been seen in this area and there is a recorded case of an attack on a spear-fisherman.

Skills

No special skills required. The protected cove at the end of the point is suitable for training entry level divers, but is seldom used for this purpose because of the long walk to get there from the parking lot. The area is suitable for night dives and for snorkelling.

Equipment

See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Equipment

No special equipment recommended.

Nearby

• 1 Caravan Reef - Caravan Central, east pinnacle
• 2 Caravan Reef - Inner Caravan
• 3 Caravan Reef - South Caravan
• 4 Murphy's
• 5 Boat Rock
• 6 Festival Pinnacle
• 7 Fan Reef
• 8 Shark Alley
• 9 Pyramid Rock
• 10 Phone reef

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Miller's Point area

Other regional dive sites:

• Dive sites of Table Bay and approaches,
• Dive sites of the Cape Peninsula west 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