I put my head under water and a whole new world unfolds. There’s a unified flash as a school of fish changes direction and dashes the other way, and here’s something bright blue… No, it’s not someone’s old toothbrush, it’s another fish!
This is why Aquarium Reef is a famous snorkelling site. Just a couple of hundred metres from where you park your car at Kosi Bay Mouth, you can access this underwater wonder world with nothing but a decent mask strapped to your head.
Before I set off on this trip, I went full Takealot. I didn’t go as far as fins, but I also bought a snorkel along with my mask. For someone who grew up in the Karoo, a snorkel is as alien as a surfboard, and despite my best efforts I’m still drinking a lot of seawater.
Never mind, I just hold my breath and look under the surface again. What’s that thing? A moray eel reverses into its hole like a genie disappearing back into its bottle. You can see so many fish here, like zigzag sand wrasse, queen coris, bluebarred parrotfish and Moorish idols.
A few other people are snorkelling and swimming around me. We’re a group of 12, mostly from Gauteng but also from the Cape, who have come to Kosi Bay on a five-day tour put together by Jannie and Ansu Rykaart from Protea 4x4.
After about an hour in the water, Jannie calls us from the nearby sandbank. Our snorkelling session and the kayaking to follow have both been carefully scheduled so that the incoming
