Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/A-Frame

The dive site A-Frame, or Oatlands Point is an inshore rocky reef in the Oatlands Point area of Simon's Town on the False Bay shore of the Cape Peninsula, near Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Understand

The site is reasonably easily accessible and is one of the most popular shore dives. It has areas which are suitable for open water training of novice divers as well as reefs with a wide range of interesting invertebrates.

Position

A-Frame 📍: S34°12.484’ E018°27.662’

Oatlands Point is the first point south of the Froggy Pond area. There is a small group of houses on the seaward side of the main road, and more houses up the mountainside. It is easily recognised by the large flattish topped granite boulder just offshore.

This site is in a Marine Protected Area (2004). A permit is required. The site is partly inside the Boulders Restricted Zone. Those parts east of the big rock are outside the Restricted zone.

Name

The site was named for a wooden tripod navigation beacon which has now been replaced by a simple post.

Depth

The bottom is generally from 5 to 10 m deep on the sand.

Topography

Sand bottom with bedrock reef and big boulders, some breaking the surface. There are a few swim-throughs among the boulder groups north of the big rock. The big rock is pretty sheer on the south face, with a few deep crevices and overhangs. There are several medium sized boulders a little further to the south. The seaward end of the big rock is also quite sheer, with a small cave, and is on a low flattish outcrop. A ridge of medium height extends beyond this outcrop, with another parallel a few metres to the north west of it. These ridges end about 25 m east of the big rock, and a large sheer sided boulder rising from the sand bottom at 10 m, to 3 m below sea level stands a bit beyond. Beyond this is a group of lower steep sided outcrops, about 8m away to the east. There is a relatively high and small one to the south of the group and a much larger but lower one to the north. The gap between them is about 2 m wide with a sand bottom. North of these rocks is an area of sand bottom at 10 m depth with extensive patches of black mussel. The reef that extends beyond the big rock has a sand patch to the south with some medium and fairly high outcrops. The sand is loose and fairly coarse in this area. To the south of the big rocks there are some large and medium outcrops and boulders, a few of which nearly reach the surface, and an extensive area of scattered small boulders and outcrops with sand bottom between, getting rockier towards the shore.

Geology: Pre-Cambrian granite corestone reefs of the Cape Peninsula pluton.

Conditions

Fairly sheltered from south westerly swell, Avoid strong south easterly winds and long period large amplitude south westerly swells. The site may be dived during or after westerly winds, and is generally a good winter dive site. It is also good for night dives, but either arrange for a shore party with a beacon or familiarise yourself with the background light before leaving the entry point. The north entry is most suitable for night dives as the return involves fewer obstacles than the other exits.

The site is usually at its best in winter with offshore winds, but there are also occasional opportunities in summer when there has been a period without strong south easters.

Keep a lookout for times when the swell is from the west and/or is of short period (less than 10 seconds)or is very low, for high probability of good conditions.

If a strong south easterly wind comes up during the dive it can make exit tricky due to wind chop. Check the forecast.

Facilities

None. Security is no better or worse than most dive sites in the area. Lock your equipment in the luggage compartment.

Get in

There is parking on both sides of the main road. Do not park on the short private access road. Go down the steps at the north end of the access road, along the road to the turning bay and the path (muddy and slippery when wet) between the houses which leads down to the shoreline.

There are three basic entry and exit areas: A large fairly flat, rather slippery rock to the north, a region of small boulders to the south, and long rock, just south of the high rocks to the south of slippery rock.

The north entry is also the usual entry for D-Frame which is straight out about 600 m from this point.

Do not be tempted to use the small beach to the north of slippery rock except in emergency, as the exit is bumpier than it looks from the sea and the path to the road is very steep and slippery. The swim back to slippery rock is much less effort than the climb.

Make your own choice depending on conditions.

The slippery rock is usually quite good for both entry and exit. There is a boulder on top which is useful for steadying oneself while fitting fins, and a fine example of a False Bay Dolerite dyke intrusion in the Peninsula Granite of the slippery rock itself. This is a site where the typical “Kelp Jump” entry may be used, as there is adequate depth near the rock, and the edge is rather slippery. Alternatively crawl down the depression on the north side of the steadying rock and wait for a wave. The "Butt Slide" entry is sometimes performed, occasionally intentionally, but can be hard on the suit. To get out, make use of the surge. Go with the flow and get up at the top of the surge, so you are not swept back. Some crawling may be required.

The south entry area is more sheltered in some conditions, but the north entry is often more convenient as there is less kelp to swim through. In the right background is the Big Rock. In the centre foreground is one of the south entry points to the right of the boulders. You can get out of this entry area through the gaps to left and right of the middle rock group. The large grey rocks are granite corestones, and the smaller rounded boulders are mostly sandstones from the overlying strata of the Peninsula Formation. South entry is very convenient as there is a nice flattish rock to rest a camera while putting on fins. This entry might be a bit rough in heavier swell. There is quite a long swim through dense kelp to get out of shallows, which is a bit awkward with camera or SMB, but should be OK without.

The long rock entry is slightly south of the slippery rock. It is at the end of an alleyway between high rocks on both sides, then slightly to the north over a low domed rock with rather slippery weed on top. It is well sheltered from chop by heavy kelp, which can be an advantage when you are carrying a camera. The disadvantage is that you have to swim out and in through the heavy kelp.

View of A-frame from the road, showing the path (past the No Parking sign).

See

Marine life

The sessile fauna in the swim-throughs and overhangs is very colourful. There are a lot of anemones, sponges and crinoids. Black mussels patches on the sand bottom further out may support large groups of Spiny starfish. The outer reefs have large numbers of Common feather stars and smaller numbers of Elegant feather stars. Perlemoen (abalone) seem to be making a recovery, with numbers of small specimens scattered around the reefs. There is a wide variety of habitats with a wide range of inhabitants. <gallery mode=packed> Image:Cuttlefish and possible egg mass on sea fan at A-Frame DSC04120.JPG|Cutlefish and possibly eggs on a sea fan Image:Helmet shell at A-Frame DSC04172.JPG|Helmet shell Image:Kelp forest at A-Frame DSC06023.JPG|Looking out from the swimthrough Image:Leopard catshark at A-frame DSC04076.JPG|Leopard catshark Image:Sole at A-Frame DSC04159.JPG|Sole Image:Red Fanworm at A-FrameDSC06078.JPG|Red fanworm Image:Juvenile abalone and Urchins at A-Frame DSC04114.JPG|juvenile abalone and sea urchins </gallery>

Photography

This is a good photographic site, with a good variety of seaweed, invertebrates and fish. Macro and wide angle equipment will usually give good results.

Routes

The selection below are just a suggestion for divers unfamiliar with the site. This is a site where there are a large number of distinctive landmarks, and after a while you can get to know your way around quite well.

Entry at slippery rock, out to North boulders, descend and dive among the boulders and swim-throughs, back by compass, extended dive among big rocks near exit.
Entry at slippery rock, out to big boulders, Descend at gap between big rock and north boulders. Dive around big rock clockwise, back by compass.
Entry at South entry, out on snorkel through barrier rocks to South side of big rock. Down and along big rock, then further following gully to big pinnacle on sand bottom at 10m, past on South side, across to next rocks across sandy gap, round South side, North along outer face, North over sand to Black mussel beds, then back toward shore, passing between big rock and north groups, back to South entry area and exit at North side between big boulders on sloping rock.
Route shown on the map: Start at slippery rock entry point and swim out on the surface to the northern exposed rock. Descend and dive through the big swim-through, exiting on the west side. then skirt the reef with the rocks on your left for a short distance, swim through the gap to the east and skirt the reef with the rocks to your right until you reach the north side of the big rock. Follow the north side of the reef beyond the end of the big rock, and along the outer reefs. Stay between the big outcrops as you continue south-east until you reach the high pinnacle, then return on the west side of the ridge until you get to the outer end of the big rock. Stay to the south of the big rock to the west end, then follow the north edge of the reef and kelp back to the exit point at slippery rock. This will take from 30 minutes to an hour depending on your speed.
For those who don’t mind a long swim and for some reason want a 30 m shore dive, this is the shortest distance to the 30 m contour on the West side of False Bay. Swim straight out about 500 m, then dive. The bottom is gently shelving sand. Swim back on a compass course along the bottom, or shallower to avoid decompression. The sand bottom ecology is not as diverse as the reefs, but is interesting to see occasionally. Look for Pipefish, Sea Pens, Black mussel beds, Shy sharks and Sand stars. See also dive site D-Frame and Wave Rock

Stay safe

Hazards

Slippery rocks and barnacles at entry/exit. Parts of the path from the road ere slippery when wet.

Skills

No special skills required. This is a popular site for training and a permanent buoy has been moored just off Slippery rock at the edge of the sand for this purpose. Much of the site is suitable for snorkelling, depending on conditions, and it is also popular as a night dive site.

A reasonable level of fitness helps when carrying equipment around on shore, and the dive requires several hundred metres of swimming, but if you plan well, most of this can be under water.

Equipment

A light is useful as there are many deep crevices and overhangs to inspect. A compass can be convenient for keeping track of where you are, particularly at night, and for finding your way back at the end of the dive. Knee pads will protect your suit if you have to crawl out.

Nearby

Back to the Alphabetical list of sites, or list of dive sites in the Oatlands Point area

Other regional dive sites:

Diving the Cape Peninsula and False Bay/A-Frame - shoreline dive site at Oatlands Point on the Cape Peninsula east coast