The Dive Site
Series
Hidden below the waters surrounding the Cape Peninsula lie one
of the unknown jewels of the area, known to only those who brave
the sea to get a first-hand account. Viewed from above it gives the
impression of being a bleak brown landscape as has been mentioned
to me on many an occasion. Enter the water and suddenly a whole new
world unfolds right before your eyes.
Cape Town is not well known as a diving destination of any note,
particularly to “outsiders” – ie. to those who do
not dive and also tourists to the area. It is certainly not well
marketed world wide, as have dive venues such as Sodwana Bay and
Aliwal Shoal. The aim of this series is to illustrate the many
great diving opportunities available and to draw attention to the
vast marine biodiversity that surrounds us.
Dive Site
Description
Pie Rock reef lies around 750m offshore, practically straight
out behind Castle Rocks, so named because one of the rocks that
forms part of the reef is said to resemble a wedge of pie. The reef
consists of numerous granite outcrops with large sand patches in
between.
The reef runs to around 22 m deep and covers a large area.The
shallower parts of the reef, those at 15m or less have a
predominant covering of kelp, while the deeper parts have huge
fields of orange sea fans. Soft corals, sea cucumbers, feather and
brittle stars, nudibranchs, anemones and fish abound here. It is
one of those dive sites that you could visit many times without
covering the same area.
This site is only really accessible by boat and is a popular
venue with the charter operators.
Follow this link
for more information and a dive site map.
Featured Critter –
Spider crabs
There are two species of spider crabs found here – the
Hotlips spider crab and the Cape long-legged spider crab.
The Hotlips spider crab (Archaeopsis spinulosis) can
grow up to 70mm across and is found from False Bay to Durban and is
endemic to the area. It can be found at depths up to 100m but also
frequents the intertidal zone. The body is small and compact, the
legs long but sturdy. It decorates its body with small sponges and
is rarely seen without some sort of body camouflage. A
distinguishing feature are the red striped pincers and red
mouthparts. It lives between striped anemones or on sea fans.
The Cape long-legged spider crab (Macropodia falcifera)
has a body of around 20mm and legs that extend to 60mm. It is found
from False Bay to East London and is endemic to the area. It lives
at a depth range of 15m to at least 35m. It has a small arrow
shaped head and long thin legs, tipped with a sturdier set of
pincers. It may decorate itself with hydroids or algae to avoid
detection. They are normally found on sea fans.
 |
 |
| Hotlips spider crab with camoflage. Note the red striped
pincers |
Cape long-legged spider crab on its usual perch, a sea
fan. |
About the
cache
The cache is not hidden underwater - it is within easy reach of
the parking coords. The actual dive site is more or less straight
out to sea from where you are standing - see the additional
waypoint.