URF12R: Sodwana Bay + Safari + Aliwal Shoal + Drakensberg

Day 1

You will be met at Durban Airport and transferred to your luxury beachfront hotel. Situated on Durban’s Golden Mile, your hotel overlooks the warm Indian Ocean and has its own swimming pool. Relax and unwind in your warm sub-tropical surroundings.

[Alternatively fly directly to Richards Bay by light aircraft, with 2-hour transfer to Sodwana]

Day 2

Today you will be collected and transferred to Sodwana Bay Marine National Park in the Greater St Lucia Wetlands, a scenic 5-hour drive through rural Zululand.

Sodwana Bay is South Africa’s premier scuba diving location and recognised for its importance in marine conservation as a World Heritage site. This southern-most coral reef in the world, which stretches down from Mozambique, may be dived all year round although the best conditions are during the warm summer months (November to May).

Choose between a local dive resort, comprising simple but comfortable log cabins situated in the indigenous coastal forest, or upgrade to a luxury dive lodge situated right on the beach.

Check in, settle in and relax in your remote surroundings, where monkeys and antelope roam free. Once you are settled in bid farewell to your host, who will leave you to enjoy the facilities of your dive resort.

Days 3 to 5

Rise early each morning, to be on the beach 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 launch site. Their 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 an optional 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 lodge swimming pool or on the pristine beach, surrounded by the highest naturally vegetated sand dunes in the world. Alternatively enjoy one of the optional activities that can be arranged for you or your non-diving partner, including a late evening marine trail to see the remarkable spectacle of the egg laying and hatching of loggerhead and leatherback turtles (November to January).

Day 6

Today you will be collected and transferred to the famous Hluhluwe iMfolozi National Park, a scenic drive of just over 4-hours through rural Zululand.

On the way we stop at an authentically reconstructed Zulu Village to experience Zulu life and culture, and stop at a self-help project to give you the opportunity of supporting the local community by purchasing one of their handmade products.

Check in to your luxury game lodge situated just outside the park, relax and settle in to your African bushveld surroundings. Then enjoy your first game drive in an open-top game-viewing vehicle into the vast Hluhluwe iMfolozi National Park, hosted by a lodge ranger.

We hope to see one or more of the Big 5, before relaxing with drinks around the campfire in the Boma and enjoying dinner, which is likely to include several interesting game dishes.

Day 7

Up early today for a 05h30 game drive in an open-top vehicle into the great Hluhluwe iMfolozi National Park, hosted by your lodge ranger. This is one of South Africa’s most beautiful game parks and home to all the Big Five and the subcontinent’s largest population of endangered white and black rhino. We expect to see lion, buffalo, rhino, elephant, giraffe and many other interesting species.

Return to the lodge for a full breakfast at approx 09h30. The remainder of the morning is free to relax at the lodge or enjoy a guided walk on the lodge property with a ranger to view the smaller trees, insects and flora of the region.

In the afternoon return to Hluhluwe iMfolozi for a full afternoon of game viewing with your host in his vehicle. Whilst the sun sets over the park, enjoy sundowners in the scenic hills and in the evening dine in the atmosphere that only the African bushveld can provide!

Day 8

Today enjoy a boat ride on the Lake St Lucia estuary to see hippos and crocodiles. Part of the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park, this area has been declared a World Heritage Site because of its importance to marine conservation. With over 600 different bird species in the region, including flamingos and pelicans, it also offers one of the greatest bird watching experiences in the world.

Continue to your guesthouse at Umkomaas south of Durban, a scenic coastal drive of just over 3-hours. Check in, settle in and relax in your warm sub-tropical surroundings within sound of the warm Indian Ocean.

Day 9

Aliwal Shoal: Umkomaas

Experienced divers have the option of diving the Aliwal Shoal, one of the top shark dive sites of the world. Situated on the inner edge of the warm Mozambique current, Aliwal Shoal offers wonderfully diverse reef life, including the annual migration of ragged tooth sharks from June to December. 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 2 wrecks to dive – the “Produce” and the “Nebo”.

Each day starts early (around 7 am) with a beach safety briefing, followed by boat launch and first dive, an awe-inspiring and surprisingly safe experience! Return to the beach for breakfast, followed by optional second dive around 11am when dive conditions are best.

Water temperatures average +24°C in summer and rarely drops below 20 °C in winter.

Visibility varies from 15 to 120 ft. Depths vary from 20 to 60 ft, with some 100 ft dives for suitable qualified divers.

Protea Banks: Shelly Beach

Very experience divers also have the option of shark diving at Protea Banks, which combines well with Aliwal Shoal as these two sites are situated only 1-hr apart by road.

This is an advanced 4-knot mid-water drift dive, suitable only for experienced divers who have done at least 20 dives, with depths varying from 100 to 130 ft. 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, Zambezi 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.

Beach Resort Option: Ballito or Umhlanga

Alternatively choose to spend time relaxing on the beach near Durban.

KwaZulu Natal is South Africa’s favourite beach holiday destination, with its warm sweeping beaches and reliably good holiday weather all year round. Ballito and Umhlanga are both popular beach resorts situated on the warm Indian Ocean, with everything you need to relax and unwind under sunny blue skies. The long golden beaches are magnificent and restaurants are of an extremely high standard. Wine and beer are also excellent and relatively inexpensive.

Your hotel is splendidly situated right on the beach, with its own swimming pool.

Water sports are nearby, as well as championship golf, horse riding and deep-sea fishing.

The casinos and nightlife of Durban are within easy reach, as well as several outstanding shopping malls. All you need for a wonderful beach holiday!

On one day, enjoy an included excursion to uShaka – South Africa’s newest and most exciting aquarium and entertainment complex situated in the old harbour area, which is being extensively re-developed. Here you have the opportunity of viewing the large indigenous sharks of the Indian Ocean and a wide variety of other sea creatures in a world-class aquarium setting. You also have the opportunity of interacting with dolphins, seals and penguins and the Water World offers fun for all ages. Interesting shops, numerous restaurants and a magnificent private beach with spectacular sweeping views will add more pleasure to your day.

Day 10

This morning we drive 4-hours to the spectacular uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains, recognised as a World Heritage site for their unspoilt natural beauty and vast collection of San Bushmen rock art paintings.

We pass through Pietermaritzburg, with its charming colonial architecture and famous public schools. We also make a short stop at Howick Falls, which at 365 feet are the tallest in the country and visit the historic spot where Nelson Mandela was captured prior to his imprisonment on Robben Island.

Known locally as the Barrier of Spears, the dramatic Drakensberg Mountain range runs right down Southern Africa from the Great Rift Valley. Visit the Didima Bushman Rock Art Centre before checking in to your luxury mountain resort.

Once you are settled in bid farewell to your host, who will leave you to enjoy the many facilities of your resort.

Days 11 and 12

The Drakensberg Mountains offer superlative scenery and fresh mountain air, making it ideal for walking holidays at any level of fitness. Your hotel will organise guided walks each day – typically one short walk and one long walk, plus a walk to a San Bushmen painting.

The mountains also offer an outstanding location for bird watching holidays – particularly raptors, but also sunbirds, waxbills and the numerous other species found in the grasslands, riverine scrub and natural forests.

Resorts in the Central Drakensberg have access to a 9-hole golf course, with an 18-hole championship course nearby.

You resort also has a swimming pool and caters for the following activities:

• Fly Fishing
• Horse Riding
• Tennis on floodlit courts
• Lawn Bowls
• Badminton
• Mountain Biking
• Table Tennis
• Darts and Pool

Each evening enjoy socialising with other guests over dinner.

Day 13

Return transfer to Durban Airport.

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