Of the many villages and towns dotted along the scenic Hibiscus coastline, Shelly Beach is the one worthy of the most mention. At Shelly Beach dive operators launch through thrilling and challenging surf conditions for a 8 kilometre boat ride to the deep reef Protea Banks.
Protea Banks is a submerged shoal approximately 6 km long and 800 metres wide with an average depth of 30 metres. Every year thousands of experienced and thrill seeking divers travel from all over the world to visit Protea Banks. The main reason for this is that Protea Banks is a Marine Protected Area and a shark sanctuary.
The area is home to seven shark species, the main attractions are the huge schools of hammerhead and Ragged Tooth Sharks. Large Tiger Sharks are also very common at certain times of the year. Other predators common to Protea Banks are Zambezi Sharks (Bull Sharks) and Great Hammerhead Sharks. The large tuna population is one of the reasons leading to prosperous fishing and hunting grounds.
Protea Banks is home to many species unknown to science, including fish, corals and comb jellies. It is also the only place in the world where aggregations of Giant Guitar Sharks have been seen.
The annual mass migration of Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks is probably the biggest attraction at Protea Banks. Scuba divers drifting at speed in the fast currents above Protea Banks have the opportunity to witness the most incredible school of up to 2500 migrating hammerhead sharks, one of the most rare phenomenon in the world.
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