Duikers' Rock at low tide.

The profile of Duikers' Rock defines the western skyline from almost anywhere in Clifton Bay.  It is a sentinel, Clifton's best known landmark, and from the sea a towering entry pillar to Clifton Bay.

Known simply as 'Duikers' to many, this outcrop of six gigantic granite boulders and associated reefs form the southwest cup of Clifton Bay.

For much of the year, Southwesterley ocean swells roll in from the southern ocean, and Duikers' Rock is the refraction point around which which they curl. That's also why Fourth Beach has the least ocean swell - and smallest waves - in summer. Duikers' takes the lashing, and waters are always calmer in its shadow. The white foam lines provide a clear visual cue as to the wind direction.

The undisputed colonizers of this rock are the cape cormorants ("Duikers"), whose white guano (birdshit) cakes the top of the highest rocks. Even from Fourth Beach, the human eye can make out the birds: black on white in summer sun, silhouetted at sunset, birds circling, landings and take offs.

Duikers rule, but other airborne visitors include seagulls, musselcrackers and migratory terns, while the occasional penguin or  seal scrambles onto the lower rocks. The adjacent reefs are home to hottentot fish, mussels and crayfish.

Duikers' Rock is a Clifton icon, whatever the light.