For this Sunday a dive at Playa Canoa (Northern side of the island) was planned by Trunkdivers, but unfortunately there was far too much wind to continue that plan. As an alternative we went diving at Bachelor's bay. This dive site is the last one before you reach the oil terminal at Bullenbaai. It was my third time at this dive site this year and I have to say that it gets easier each time. With easier I don't mean the dive itself. The dive is easy; the challenge is the steep cliff that you have to climb down before the dive and up again after the dive. It is an almost 7 meter (23 feet) high rock wall with a rudimentary path down. At three places it is difficult either because the step is a bit too high or because it is not easy to get a firm grip on the wall itself or a combination of both. What probably also helps is that I took a smaller tank than the first time so the weight on my back is reduced. And what certainly helps is a group that is cooperating to get everyone safely down and up.

Under water this is a very nice site. The coral reef is wandering back and forth as if you are diving along the fingers of a very large hand. The drop-off is very steep and deep. All three dives I have seen a lot of fish, large schools swimming along the reef or in the shallow area. The coral is mostly healthy and there is a lot of soft coral in the shallow area and sponges a bit deeper. For some reason there are a lot of old glass bottles in the shallow area to the left (East). This time we dove towards the Western side. That side is even more impressive than the other side. At one spot there are even large formations of Mountainous Star Coral, well known from Alice in Wonderland (Playa Kalki). All in all a dive site that is very much worth the extra effort to get there. An alternative is of course to dive here by boat. Probably more comfortable but probably also more expensive. I like the challenge of the shore dive but not everyone is the same.