River Diving In Africa and the UK

Africa

At Lake Malawi, the freshwater lake of Nkharta Bay is said to be like diving inside an aquarium. The lake is the 9th largest freshwater lake in the world with as much as 70% (1500 varieties) of the worlds Cichlids.

Most of the diving doesn't venture below 20m though the lake itself goes as far down as an eerie 700m. Water temperatures vary between 22 and 31 degrees. There are 11 main dive sites around the Bay with swim throughs and the promise of sighting Dolphinfish and Catsharks.

10 million year old Lake Tanganyika lies situated in the Great Rift Valley in east Africa. It's the longest freshwater lake in the world and the deepest lake in Africa (1470 meters). Tanganyika remains unspoilt due to tough road accessibility and the unexplored nature of the lake results in the regular discovery of new fish species on a regular basis.

Its age is said to date back to the Jurassic period making it a hotspot for the evolutionary biologists who captured the jelly fish and other species assisting in tracking its age.

Shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda is Lake Victoria, the continents largest lake (68,800 square kilometers). During a dive you can see the giant Cichlid Boulengerochromis microlepis as well as the breathtaking tricolor Cichlid Cyprichromis with its metallic blue body and yellow head and tail. Daffodil fish ( N. pulcher) and red rainbow Tropheus are also in abundance. You may even be lucky enough to spot a Nile Perch fish as the lake is considered to be the source of the Nile River.

UK

Somerset's popular younger addition to the inland diving scene is an inland quarry at Vobster Quay way down in the South of England which dips down approximately 37m.

The visibility ranges from 5 - 10 meters where you can explore rock features and tree roots that dip down into the depths. Slightly further north is the 22 meter deep Gildenburgh Water quarry with a visibility range of 15 - 20 meters.

Wall diving along Scotland’s clear Atlantic coastline can be mysterious due to the vast amount if unexplored territory. A few locations stand out however such as Furnace Cliff, deep and sheltered Loch Fyne(30m) and Furnace Quarry. The quarry reaches 36 m then to a further cliff drop of 52m. Large stone crabs, nudibranchs, Squat lobsters and scallops as well as Congers and Pollack play here and the visibility range is 4 - 5 m.

Loch Fyne's Seil Island is known for a bit of a tide at the overhang. Its 42 m depth houses a few caves and undercuts where divers can spot Peacock worms, Starfish and crabs as well as cod - and of course, seals.

Loch Sunart Wall's overhang falls straight from the surface down 50 meters. It is the territory of the male Cuckoo wrasse where Yarrell's blennies and Big dahlia anemones can also be seen. The only downside is a lack of tides leaves poor vis at 4m.

The Isle Martin Wall in the North West sports Anglerfish, Cuckoo wrasse and Pollack. Scorpionfish and edible crabs lurk in the vertical cracks and at 6m there's a kelp wall with painted topshells, plumose anemones and nudibranchs. Visibility is good at 10m.

Lochaline Pier on the other hand, runs 80 m deep with a 15 m viz - an interesting experience to brave the currents for, however aside a lesser spotted dogfish, the marine life is rather scarce. The 44m wall at Calve Island sports a 15m viz as well as schools of wrasse and big dogfish. Bass Rock NE Face is a volcanic plug that drops down to 46m offering the best of the coastlines marine life as well as a large Gannet colony, octopus, Wolf-fish, grey seals and Anglerfish.