Included: 4 nights of accommodations, hotel taxes, resort fees, breakfast, dinner, transportation, 3 days of 2 tank diving and group tours listed in itinerary
Excluded: lunch, gratuities, equipment rental, classes, any extras not mentioned above
Overview
Continue your adventure to Sodwana Bay Lodge, a diver's paradise nestled within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Heritage Site.
Staying at Sodwana Bay Lodge offers a relaxed coastal escape in one of South Africa’s most beautiful seaside destinations. The lodge provides comfortable, well-appointed accommodation with spacious rooms, en-suite bathrooms, and a laid-back atmosphere that reflects the natural surroundings. Shaded outdoor areas and inviting communal spaces create an easygoing environment where guests can relax, enjoy the fresh air, and settle into the slower pace of life near the ocean.
Ideally located close to the beach and local attractions, Sodwana Bay Lodge is a convenient base for exploring the area or simply unwinding in a peaceful setting. Whether you’re spending your days enjoying the coastline, socializing with other guests, or resting between activities, the lodge combines comfort, simplicity, and a warm, welcoming feel that makes every stay enjoyable and memorable.
The Diving!
What makes Sodwana Bay special?
Sodwana has undoubtedly the best coral reefs in South Africa, These reefs are of the most southerly coral reefs in the world and are fed by warm water sweeping South by the mighty Algulhas Current.
There are no rivers entering the sea for 100km on either side of the bay, no silt, sediment, nutrients or pollution.
Sodwana Bay is part of a World heritage Site There’s no other place in the world with a comparable ecological footprint. Within the park which covers 332 000 hectares you can find no less than eight interlinking ecosytems, 25000-year-old coastal dunes, more than 2000 plant species, 100 types of butterfly, five turtle species, the top frog count in the country and 526 bird species. Wild dog, buffalo, oribi, cheetah, black and white rhino, lions and some of the largest Tusker elephants in South Africa can all be found in South Africa’s first World Heritage Site.
When elephants were reintroduced to the park in 2001, Nelson Mandela made a speech and aptly said:
‘The Wetland Park must be the only place on the globe where the world’s oldest mammal (the rhinoceros) and the world’s biggest mammal (the elephant) share an eco-system with the world’s oldest fish (the coelacanth) and the world’s biggest marine mammal (the whale).’
Did I mention the divine sub-tropical climate ensuring good diving conditions all year round? Average water temperature is 26 degrees with the lowest 21 degrees and highest 29 degrees!
And now about the diving...
Sodwana Bay has many reef systems with recreational dive sites ranging from 12 to 40 metres and amazing canyon dives for the tech divers among us. Each dive site is different; there are around 20 spots on 2-mile reef from sandy macro dives to big coral caves and overhangs. Certain dive sites have insane schools of fish, some are juvenile reefs, and some are fields and fields of amazing soft and hard corals. We have quarter mile reef a sandy, spongey reef full up with game fish and turtles. Four mile with its plate coral stacked like a teddy bears picnic, Five Mile, Six Mile with the densest fish population like being in an aquarium, Seven Mile with its dramatic cliffs, swim throughs, colourful thistle corals and big schools of snappers, Eight Mile Ramseys Ledge has both macro and stunning topography and by no means last Nine Mile reef with a big green coral tree, caves and swim throughs. Did I mention the canyon dives? Diep Gat Canyon drop off starts around 45 metres and then drops down in levels, with a monstrous green tree stacked on top of what look like massive fallen dominoes, it’s like another world. If you have the qualifications to go below 40m we will take you there as specialists in technical diver training.
Because of all of these contributing factors, not to mention Sodwana being an active Marine Protected Area with strict rules on fishing and conservation plus huge marine sanctuary areas both North and South of the Bay which are literally no go zone we are fortunate to have a huge diversity of marine life to be seen on one of our many dive sites. Apart from pristine coral reefs you can see anything from tiny shrimps and decorator crabs to paper fish, pipe fish, many species of scorpion fish, over 400 documented species of nudibranchs and sea horses. Across two mile reef on average, every 50 m, a diver will see 201 fish within a 5 m radius and on the shallower parts of the reef that number goes up to 281. Our larger species include brindle bass, potato bass, marbled leopard groupers, many different species of Rays including the majestic Manta Rays, whitetips, black tips, duskys, zebra shark, sand shark, spotted sand tigers, bull, tiger and even occasional great white sharks can be spotted. There are 5 turtle species and the leatherbacks and loggerheads nest on this impressive coastline up to Mozambique. During the winter months the humpback whales migrate past the Bay and in the summer months the pregnant Ragged Tooth Sharks gestate on quarter mile reef.
Itinerary
Day 6: Sodwana Bay - Fri. 6 Aug 2027
Visit dive shop to set up gear for next day's diving
Day 7: Sodwana Bay - Sat. 7 Aug 2027
2 dives
Day 8: Sodwana Bay - Sun. 8 Aug 2027
2 dives
Day 9: Sodwana Bay - Mon. 9 Aug 2027
2 dives
Day 10: KwaZulu Natal Game Reserves - Tue. 10 Aug 2027
Possible early morning dive (at own expense)
Breakfast and depart mid-morning for Hluhluwe area, 1.5-hour road trip to Bayala Game private game reserve - continued in next section
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