Scuba Diving: Sodwana Bay + Safari + Aliwal Shoal
HRUR10R

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.

 

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.

 

Non Divers: Relaxing by the swimming pool or on the beach, surrounded by the highest naturally vegetated sand dunes in the world. Alternatively enjoy one of the optional lodge activities such as an Ocean Safari to search for dolphins, bird watching, guided walking trail, horse riding, quad biking or deep sea fishing. From November to January there is also the option of an evening Marine Trail along the beach to see the remarkable spectacle of egg laying and hatching of loggerhead and leatherback turtles.

Today there is time for a final 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!

Today is devoted to game viewing in Hluhluwe National Park.

 

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.

  

After some final early morning game viewing, transfer 30-minute to the Lake St Lucia estuary to enjoy a boat ride to view hippos and crocodiles. With over 600 different bird species in the region, outstanding bird watching is also on offer.

 

Continue 4-hours overland to your hotel on the Durban South Coast near Aliwal Shoal and relax in warm sub-tropical surroundings within sound of the Indian Ocean.

Today divers have the wonderful opportunity of diving the Aliwal Shoal, one of the top shark dive sites of the world suitable only for experienced divers. Situated on the inner edge of the warm Mozambique current, Aliwal Shoal offers diverse reef life, including the annual migration of ragged tooth sharks from June to November.

 

No cages are used and this is a unique opportunity to view these ferocious looking but docile mammals in their natural environment. You will also see schools of pelagic and game fish, manta rays, eels, huge brindle bass, hermit crabs, sponges, starfish, corals, cowries, colourful tropical marine fish and much more. Dolphins and whales can also be spotted in season (July to November) on the boat ride out to the reef, which is situated 3-miles out to sea. There are also two wrecks to dive – the “Produce” and the “Nebo”.

 

Each day starts early (around 7 am) with a beach safety briefing, followed by the boat launch from the beach and first dive, an awe-inspiring and surprisingly safe experience! Return to the beach for breakfast, followed by a second dive around 11am - with all dives done in the morning, when underwater conditions are their best. Water temperatures average +24°C in summer and rarely drops below 20 °C in winter. Visibility varies from 15 to 120 ft and depths vary from 20 to 60 ft, with some 100 ft dives for suitable qualified divers.

 

Dive gear hire included

Today divers have the opportunity of shark diving at Protea Banks, an advanced 4-knot mid-water drift dive at depths varying from 100 to 130 ft - suitable only for very experienced divers who have done at least 20 dives.

 

Protea Banks is situated 1-mile offshore and is one of the best shark dive sites in the world. It is home to hammerhead sharks, tiger sharks, zambesi sharks, ragged tooth sharks, threshers, bronze whalers, white tips, coppers, duskies, sand sharks and the occasional great white shark. Also spotted eagle rays, manta rays and large schools of pelagic fish. Water temperatures and visibility are similar to Aliwal Shoal.

 

Dive gear hire included

Day at leisure to relax and enjoy the splendid beaches of the warm Durban South Coast.

Transfer 2-hours to Durban Airport for your flight home.

 

Remember that it is essential that you do not fly within 24 hours of your last dive