|
SOUTH AFRICA: Sodwana Bay Tour
Prices from:
£647 excluding flights, based on 2 people sharing accommodation
Day 1:
You will be met at Durban International
Airport and transferred to Mseni Lodge in Sodwana Bay for 7 nights. Mseni
is set within the Sodwana Bay National Park and has a board-walk passing
through the coastal forest accessing directly onto the beach. The coastline
is stunning with huge sand dunes rolling down to the sea. The restaurant and
bar are set high up to offer views of the Indian Ocean.
Days 2-7:
Dive Sodwana Bay,
2 dives per day: the reefs are unimaginatively named after the distance from
the lighthouse at Jesser point (i.e. 2-Mile, 5-Mile, etc), but don’t let
that put you off; they are literally bursting with life! Whether you’re
looking for macro-life or big-stuff you will find it all here.
Day 8:
Spend the morning relaxing before your transfer to the airport.
Includes:
all transfers; 7 nights
Mseni Lodge (dinner, breakfast); 10 dives to 2-Mile reef including tanks and
weights (surcharge for further reefs payable locally)
Sodwana Bay is situated
within the Greater St. Lucia Wetlands Park a World Heritage Site in
northern KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The warm water temperatures allow
tropical reefs to flourish along with a variety of marine life, making
this a divers’ paradise. There are a variety of dive depths from around 10
metres down to 50 metres. Pregnant Ragged-tooth sharks move into these
warmer waters to gestate in November. Whale sharks and mantas can be
spotted in the area from November to April. From June to November,
Humpback whales migrate north to calve and pass Sodwana on their way to
the warmer waters of the Mozambique Channel.
Notes:
From November to
February, Leatherback and Loggerhead turtles come to the beach at night to
lay their eggs. KwaZulu Nature Conservation runs supervised tours and,
depending on the tide, you can see these amazing creatures battle over the
sand to dig holes and lay their eggs with great effort.
Further north from Sodwana
lies Rocktail Bay, situated in the northern reaches of the Greater St
Lucia Wetland Park. Situated offshore from Rocktail Bay is the Maputaland
Marine Reserve which offers an additional sanctuary with extraordinary
diving and snorkelling encounters with huge shoals of fish, dolphins and
whales. Rocktail Bay Lodge is situated meters inland from the warm
Indian Ocean and one of the most incredible beaches in all of South Africa.
The lodge is built out of the wind, just inland from the beach within the
forest canopy of vegetated dunes that occur along Maputaland's coastline.
Rocktail offers perhaps the most private beach experience in South Africa,
with nearly 40 kilometres of unspoilt, pristine coastline where it is
possible to walk for hours without meeting another soul.
During the summer months
Rocktail Bay Lodge is integrally involved in ongoing turtle research. Guests
are able to accompany the resident turtle expert on research drives at low
tide at night helping to monitor the turtle's nesting numbers and behaviour.
Please ask for details/prices. |
