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Africa > Southern Africa > South Africa > Diving in South Africa > Diving the west coast of South Africa > Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay > Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/Zigzag Reef

The dive site Zigzag Reef is an offshore rocky reef in the Castle Rocks restricted zone within the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area on the False Bay coast of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand

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Detail map of the dive site at Zigzag Reef
Dive site map of the Pie Rock, Outer Castle Giant's Castle and Zigzag reefs
See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Understand

This is one of the deeper reef sites within a short distance from the popular False Bay launching areas. It is compact with some high relief, but there are no shallow areas.

Position

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1 Zigzag Reef: S34°14.362' E018°29.275'. (20 m pinnacle) This site is almost entirely inside the Castle Rocks Restricted Zone of the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required.

Name

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The name "Zigzag" was given by Pisces Divers. The site was first surveyed in detail in August 2020, but was already shown as a patch of reef on the Council for Geoscience side-scan sonar survey made some years previously (dotted red outlines on the maps).

Depth

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Maximum depth is about 32 m, and the top of the pinnacle is about 20 m. Average depth of a dive is likely to be about 25 m.

Visibility

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Visibility is likely to be similar to the other reefs in the Miller's Point area, but may be better due to less surge at depth, but darker, due to greater average depth.

Topography

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The reef is quite compact, being roughly 70 m from east to west, and 50 m from north to south, with an irregular perimeter and surrounded by fairly flat sand and shelly detritus. The group of tall pinnacles is to the south-west of the reef, and is made up of a tight group of massive tall outcrops surrounded to the north and east by lower boulders and outcrops.

Geology: Pre-Cambrian Granite of the Peninsula pluton, surrounded by mostly fine quartzitic sand and mounds of shell fragments.

Conditions

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The site is exposed to swell from the south and south-east, and to wind chop from the north-west, so should be dived in westerly swells, and preferably in moderate winds.

The site will generally be at its best in winter but there are also occasional opportunities at other times of the year.

Get in

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See also: Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay#Boat dives

Access is by boat. The site is about 1.9 km from Miller's Point slipway, or 9.2 km from Simon's Town jetty.

Marine life

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

There will be more diversity in areas of high profile or overhangs. The site has a limited depth range, so there are no shallow depth zones.

Photography

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The site is relatively deep, and often dived on overcast days in winter, so natural light will generally be poor even if the water is fairly clear, so for best results an artificial light source is recommended. The site is not notable for topographic splendour, so wide angle close-ups and macro photography is likely to be the best option on most dives.

Suggested routes

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It is a small site and can be explored fairly comprehensively on one dive. Start deep and spiral upwards on the pinnacle towards the end of the dive.

Stay safe

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

Hazards

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The site is in a fairly high traffic zone for fishing boats at times.

Skills

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The site is too deep for entry level divers. The ability to deploy a DSMB is recommended in case you cannot get back to the shotline to surface, as there van be fairly heavy boat traffic when the fishing is good.

Equipment

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

It will usually be quite dark so a light is recommended. The depth range makes nitrox worth considering to extend no-stop time or reduce decompression time.

Nearby

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Map
Giant's Castle and nearby dive sites

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Castle Rocks area

Other regional dive sites:

This dive guide to Zigzag Reef has guide status. It has a variety of good, quality information including location, conditions and equipment, and info on marine life and other sights. Please contribute and help us make it a star!
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