ABOUT OFFSHORE AFRICA

Offshore Africa is owner run and managed by Rob Nettleton & Debbie Smith, a highly experienced team whose experience in the industry spans in excess of 30 years.

We specialise in the famous Sardine Run ocean safari, which is an absolute passion of ours.

Whether you are after memorable photos or specialized itineraries & packages, the team of Offshore Africa Port St. Johns will ensure that you enjoy safe and exciting opportunities to get that special shot that you are after, above or under the water. Specializing in up close and personal encounters with some of the east coast of Africa’s larger marine creatures i.e. various Shark species, Whales, Dolphins, Mantas and a large variety of oceanic bird species, amongst other fascinating big marine game.

We offer a variety of ocean related trips to suit your needs and we offer scuba diving when conditions allow.

Why you should choose us?

We are different to any other operator in the country. We invite you to come and see why for yourself – but if we have to sum it all up we’d have to say that:

We offer full and exclusive to Offshore Africa aerial support (spotting) with our fixed wing aircraft & pilot.

It is NOT shared aerial support with any other operator.

Our pilot Brad is an integral part of our team, with an incredible eye for action from his vantage point in the sky.  Brad is also a qualified diver and knows what we are looking for.

In the time that Brad has worked with Offshore Africa as our spotter pilot he has gained valuable insight into animal behaviour that few pilots have to offer on the sardine run.

The fixed wing Sling aircraft is capable of flying in most weather conditions, is able to check north and south for us faster than we can get there and faster than any microlight or gyrocopter can.  It is the perfect aircraft for the sardine run and for our spotting requirements. In a nutshell it is the perfect tool for the job.

Our communication between pilot and skippers is private ie. we do not rely on a radio channel that others can tap into for information.

 

We are highly flexible. Our dates and tours are not fixed, you choose when you want to join us and for how long.

We are highly experienced & qualified professionals.

We are a local business. By supporting us, you are supporting the community of Port St. Johns.

We are the only sardine run specialist operator permanently based in Port St. Johns, having operated our sardine run trips from here since before 2008.

We have an incredible passion for what we do. It is not just a business to us, we love what we do. With our combined experience spanning in excess of 30 years in the industry, we prefer to be out at sea with our clients, sharing our vast experience & knowledge.

We pride ourselves on our personal service and the flexibility in our business to suit our clients.

We are official permit holders of the Pondoland M.P.A. (marine protected area) dive operator permit, which allows our boats and divers access to scuba dive during the Sardine Run and on our reef systems.

In 2022 and going forward, we are introducing a limit of 6 clients per vessel for sardine run trips.  We have found that by working the smaller groups the experience is greatly enhanced and gives more maneuverability on the boat and on any given action.

We do a river type launch and not a beach push-in launch each day, which allows our clients to get comfortable with safety & boat procedures prior to entering the surf zone.

We are happy to organize any tailor made package & dates for you ranging from 12-nights 10-days Sardine Run to 4-nights 3-days Sardine Run.

We offer a daily boat rate if you prefer to organise your own accommodation.

Meet the owners

Offshore Africa is owned, run and managed by Rob Nettleton & Debbie Smith, a highly qualified team whose experience spans in excess of 30 years in the industry.

Rob Nettleton

Rob is an experienced PADI Divemaster and commercial skipper, having operated consistently in the field for more than 30 years.

Rob is an avid spear fisherman, originally from the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, where he started his diving career along the Kwa-Zulu Natal and Transkei coastline and has been enthusiastically diving and fishing the famous sardine run since the age of 16. He passionately loves to share his wealth of knowledge, experiences and fascination for this amazing phenomenon with all.

He has a deep passion for the Wild Coast and has spent many years exploring, diving and fishing this dramatically spectacular stretch of coastline. Of all the places he has spent time this is the place closest to his heart.

Rob has worked up and down the South African coastline both in the dive industry as well as the deep sea fishing industry and spent 8 years of his life pioneering potential scuba locations in Mozambique, after which he helped establish a fully functional recreational dive operation & deep sea game fishing charter facility in Pomene Bay, Inhambane district.

In the early 90’s, Rob spent 4 years on Chizumulu Island , Lake Malawi, setting up a combined backpacker lodge and professional scuba charter facility which to date still offers an amazing island experience for those looking for great fresh water diving opportunities in a true African setting.

During all the years Rob always found a way to partake in the spectacular annual Sardine Run, in one capacity or another, and today focuses his passion on marine mammals and sharks and loves to share his knowledge and experience in what he does.

Debbie Smith

Debbie is an experienced PADI MSDT instructor, Shark Instructor, SRI (shark research institute) international field agent and in 2007, became the first woman in Africa to be nominated, selected and inducted into the international Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF) for her contributions and achievements as a woman in diving.

Born and bred on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, Debbie started her diving career in 1986. Since then, her adventurous spirit, love of nature, the outdoors and the ocean have led to, amongst other exciting things, her pioneering and setting up various dive centre’s during this time, one of these being North Island, Seychelles, which was voted and awarded the “Best of the Best” in 2006 by international Conde Naste travelers. She has spent many years pioneering and working in Mozambique, Maputaland (northern KwaZulu-Natal), Seychelles and the greater Aliwal Shoal area and has a great love for sharks in particular, having been involved in the setting up of numerous research projects involving sharks. Debbie teaches a variety of shark course distinctive specialties. Over the many years of being a Sardine Run specialist guide and spending time in the Transkei area, she developed an enormous love for this area, it’s people, it’s dramatic scenery and above all, in being close to nature in true African style. Debbie is a passionate ambassador for the ocean and all of its’ inhabitants. She is highly enthusiastic in sharing her knowledge of the ocean and her love of sharks with anyone that cares to listen and make a difference, no matter how small.

Aside from the marine aspect, she is passionate about animals and is an avid horse enthusiast, having ridden for many years. It is Africa in all its’ glory, its’ wild places and extraordinary ocean life that have led to her choice of career, which is one that she is deeply passionate about.

Debbie is also the owner of an eco-tourism company “Diving with Sharks”.

ABOUT PORT ST. JOHNS

For many years the Pondoland Wild Coast has shrouded its secrets from the masses and to this day is a little known and forgotten part of South Africa’s East coast.
This stretch of coastline is regarded as the most dramatic stretch of coastline on the continent of Africa and truly lives up to its name…the “Wild Coast”. Port St. Johns lies exactly in the middle of this amazing stretch of coast. Port St. Johns is located on the eastern seaboard of South Africa approximately 380 km south of Durban. (4 hour drive) and is within the province of the Eastern Cape. The WILD COAST lies between the southern border of Natal, Port Edward and the port town of East London approximately 300 km further south and happens to be the most rugged and naturally unspoiled piece of coastline to be found on the African continent.

This small coastal town is within what was once known as the Transkei, independent Bantu state, which existed and was neglected in the time period 1963 – 1994. The advent of the new South Africa in 1994 has opened a new chapter in the history of Port St. Johns. Doors have been opened to new investment and new residents and all enjoy a new era of mellow inter – racial harmony and prosperity, creating a unique atmosphere to be experienced and enjoyed.

Port St. Johns boasts a variety of Accommodation facilities, Restaurants and Bars to suit everyone’s tastes and needs as well as a post office, banks, petrol stations, internet cafes and a large variety of shops. There is also a heritage museum in the centre of town which is well worth a visit. From Deep gorges, waterfalls, cliffs and untouched coastal forest containing a myriad variety of plants, wild flowers, butterflies, insects and small game (incl: Leopard if lucky) to spectacular panoramic views and traditional cultural aspects of the friendly Amapondo people who have resided in this area for over 1000 years. Port St. Johns and surrounding area has a lot to offer, especially for the avid nature photographer, whether professionally orientated or just looking for memorable photos. Another amazing aspect of this coastline is the fact that out of 7 waterfalls worldwide that fall directly into the sea the Wild Coast boasts of having two of them. This area is so environmentally rich in so many aspects that specialists in a variety of fields frequent Port St. Johns and surrounding area for research purposes. The coastal rivers and estuaries of the Wild Coast are among the most unspoiled and scenically attractive systems in South Africa and are slowly being discovered by an increasing number of tourists each year.

Three great features of the Wild Coast are its beautiful indigenous forests, excellent estuaries and its scenic landscapes. Nowhere in South Africa are these features so well conserved as along this spectacular stretch of rugged coastline. The area has become famous for film crews that make use of its dramatic and breathtaking scenery for movies and some very well known movies have been shot in this area or include scenes in this area.

For the offshore photographer, divers will find that the Wild Coast, when conditions allow, offers some of the most diverse and exhilarating diving available in South Africa. The fish diversity as well as the smaller reef creatures such as nudibranches and marine tropicals are in abundance, topography is stunning and sharks incl: Zambezi’s, bronze whalers, tigers and ragged tooth are encountered on most dives. This coastline is also home to some of the most romantic stories of lost treasures aboard some of the oldest wrecks in the country dating as far back as 1552.

The annual Sardine run is a must for any avid offshore / underwater photographers list of places to go, things to see and amazing events to capture on film…it is a truly amazing phenomenon and can be experienced in its full glory based from Port St. Johns. Here one comes for a lifetime experience to escape the frantic chaos of day-to-day living.

HISTORY OF PORT ST. JOHNS

A town or place is considered special when it does not matter how long you have lived there or how many times you have visited, you will never get to see it all, do it all or learn about it all…it keeps you coming back for more and more. Port St. Johns is one such place. If you are looking for a commercial town, high rise buildings, smart shopping malls, this is not to be found here. But if you are looking for peace and quiet, for nature, to surround yourself in scenic beauty coupled with amazing culture and friendly folk, to escape the rat race and all things commercial, then Port St. Johns is your town.

Approximately 500 to 1200 years ago Bantu speaking people began to settle along the East Coast of Southern Africa. The area was home to nomadic San and Khoi people who eventually became integrated into the Xhosa tribes and brought with them the three characteristic clicks that are found in the language today. In the late 1700’s the Xhosa speaking tribes were beginning to feel the squeeze on their territories. Refugees were fleeing, Shaka Zulu and his Zulu Impis (warriors) in the North and there were sporadic wars with the Boers in the East and British to the South. The ‘cattle killing’ of 1856 and the resulting famine devastated the Xhosa and their resistance to the colonial forces fell. On the advice of the prophetess Nongqawuse, people consumed or destroyed all of their cattle and crops. She foretold that all who did not, together with all the whites, were to be swept into the sea by a strong wind on the 18th of February 1857.

After the Ninth Frontier War the area was incorporated into the Cape Provincial Administration. It was never really populated by European settlers because of its war-like reputation and was left largely to the indigenous people. The region was given nominal autonomy in 1963, under the ‘separate development’ policies of Apartheid South Africa. ‘Self government’ and ‘Full independence’ followed in 1976 and the area became known as the Transkei (meaning: the land beyond the Kei River). The newly-formed Transkei state was not recognized internationally and it remained a diplomatically isolated, politically unstable, one-party state until after South Africa’s first free and fair elections in 1994, when it became part of the Eastern Cape Province.

This stretch of coastline is not called “The Wild Coast” for nothing.

For sailors, it has a bad reputation, sudden storms, wild winds, heavy seas with the occasional “freak wave” have claimed many ships and it has earned its title over and over again. Most shipwrecks are quickly forgotten, but a few live on in the collective memory. They are remembered because of loss of life; others on account of the horror; a few due to the adventures of the survivors; but the most famous always involve either mysterious disappearances, or treasure! This particular part of the Eastern Cape coast has been the graveyard of many a ship through the ages, and ship’s skeleton, artifacts and structures bear mute testimony to the loss of lives and vessels.

Most of these wrecks vanished beneath the waves and have been forgotten, yielding up nothing but an occasional small treasure for the beachcomber.