Durban Holidays Durban Beach Safari Holidays Drakensberg South Africa

Scuba Diving: Sodwana Bay + Hluhluwe Safari
HURZ7R

7 NIGHTS
FROM $1,427
International flights quoted separately
Combine a Big-5 safari in Hluhluwe National Park - which saved the rhino from extinction - with a wonderful diving holiday in Sodwana Bay on the far northern KwaZulu Natal coast, close to the border with Mozambique.  With over 20 different dive sites, the hard and soft corals are teeming with marine life, including turtles, moray eels, mantas and migrating whales.
HIGHLIGHTS
Diving Safari Holidays South Africa Diving Safari Sodwana Hluhluwe Diving Safari Holiday Vacation South Africa
• Sodwana Bay • Mozambique Reef • PADI courses • Scuba Diving
• Turtle Marine Walks • Hluhuwe Game Reserve • Big-5 Safari • Rhino
• Lions • Elephants
Day 1
You will be met at Richards Bay Airport and transferred 2.5-hours to Sodwana Bay Marine Park, recognised for its importance in marine conservation as a World Heritage site.
 
Sodwana Bay is South Africa’s premier scuba diving location, with easy access to the warm Mozambique Reef which can be dived all year round, although the best conditions are during the warm summer months (November to May). Check in to your dive lodge, comprising simple but comfortable log cabins situated in indigenous coastal forest near the beach, where monkeys and antelope roam free.
Days 2 To 5
Rise early each morning, to be on the beach at Sodwana Bay by 06h30 when underwater viewing conditions are at their best. From the wide beach, expect an exhilarating surf entry into the clear warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Water temperatures average 20-25°C and visibility is excellent at 30-50 ft, as no major rivers flow into the sea at this point.
  
Depending upon prevailing weather conditions, you have a choice of over 20 different dive sites, with the reefs named after their distance from the beach. The hard and soft corals, canyons and caves are teeming with a huge variety of sea life, including over 1,200 species of fish, turtles, bottle-nosed dolphins, moray eels, ribbon tail rays, mantas, butterfly fish, angelfish, sharks, migrating whales (April to July), whale sharks (January to February) and much more. After breakfast there is time for a second dive, but as the North-Easter tends to blow after 10h00, all dives should be completed by midday.
 
Spend the afternoon relaxing by the swimming pool or on the pristine beach, surrounded by the highest naturally vegetated sand dunes in the world. Alternatively enjoy one of the optional local activities such as a bird watching, a walking trail, horse riding, quad biking or deep sea fishing. From November to January there is also the option of an evening walking Marine Trail along the beach, to see the remarkable spectacle of the egg laying and hatching of loggerhead and leatherback turtles.
 
Dive gear hire included
Day 6
Today there is time for an early morning dive, before your 2-hour transfer to your game lodge at Hluhluwe in Zululand, famous for its outstanding wildlife.
 
Enjoy an open top game drive after checking into your lodge, where game viewing opportunities should present themselves almost immediately. Hopefully you will see several species of antelope, zebra, wildebeest and maybe even giraffe - as well as several of the Big Five - before dining under the stars in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide!
Day 7
Today is devoted to game viewing in Hluhluwe National Park. Note: game drives are optional extras, if not included in your lodge package (see hotel details below).
 
Rise at dawn to take advantage of the best game viewing conditions of the day, and enjoy a thrilling open-top game viewing safari into the famous Hluhluwe National Park, which saved the rhino from extinction. One of South Africa’s most beautiful game parks, Hluhluwe is home to all the Big 5 - lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino - as well as the subcontinent’s largest population of endangered rhino. Hope to see many interesting species before returning to your lodge.
   
The rest of the day is free to relax by the lodge swimming pool or enjoy bird watching, before setting out again in the late afternoon for another game drive. Hope to see giraffe, hippo, kudu, crocodiles, waterbuck, warthogs, baboons and many other interesting animals. With over 300 different bird species, outstanding bird watching is also guaranteed!
  
After a beautiful African sunset, enjoy the balmy evening and pristine stars of the Milky Way as you have never seen them before – as well as the spectacular Southern Cross.
  
Children < 6 are not allowed on open top game drives
Day 8
After some final game viewing, transfer 1.5-hours to Richards Bay Airport for your flight home.