KwaZulu-Natal South Coast – April 2005
by Jason

In April of this year I had the opportunity to visit Mozambique. As I had to travel via South Africa I decided to fit in a few days diving in Kwazulu-Natal.

My first day in the water was at Aliwal Shoal, an hour south of Durban. This rock reef system is the place where I first learnt to dive and I know that on a good day it can really deliver, unfortunately I had arrived on a bad day. A strong current and surge and three metres of murky, brown vis produced a rather testing dive. Shore-launched RIB dives are the norm in this area and are exciting at the best of times. Compounded by rain and a nasty shore break they become quite hair-raising and I was relieved to finally get in the water. We managed a respectable dive time despite the conditions and our divemaster spotted a juvenile rockmover wrasse which caused much excitement in our group. It wasn’t enough to tempt us back into the water for a second dive however and we headed back to brave the landing rather than sit out a decent surface interval in increasingly unpleasant weather.

The following day I went further south to Shelly Beach, the launch site for the Protea Banks. This mile long reef lies 8 kilometres from the shore and is closer to the edge of the continental shelf than it is to land. It is 27 metres at its shallowest and drops away quickly to 60 metres on either side. The currents sweeping the length of east Africa snag on this ridge and are curled toward the surface providing one of the richest feeding grounds in this area of ocean. I had two great dives in clear, dark-blue water full of shimmering thermoclines and big schools of barracuda. Above one raised slab of reef hundreds of trevally rode the current in the company of a half dozen large potato bass. We also had two marbled ribbontail rays over a metre across come in to investigate us. On our ascent we were lucky enough to see some of the sharks that make this dive site famous. First two bull sharks passed us, they were a little wary but their silhouettes, just at the limits of the vis, were unmistakeable. The rest of the group also saw a large tiger shark as it cruised above us; I was too busy watching the barracuda though and had to wait till we were back in the RIB to find out what had caused their excitement.

Sodwana Bay – March 2010
by Martin J

In March 2010 I was visiting relatives in South Africa and took the opportunity to do some diving in Sodwana Bay.

I was travelling on my own and had pre booked my entire trip. From Durban International Airport it was arranged that I would collect a pre-booked hire car. I arrived in Durban International Airport around 1000, collected the hire car and proceeded up the N2 motorway northbound to Hluhluwe. This is about  a 300km journey on a tar motorway.  Whilst it is a well maintained road, parts of it are a toll road –  but not entirely dual carriageway all the way. The road was not busy and it was an easy drive through beautiful rolling green hills along the coast. As it was midsummer I was very glad that I had opted for a car with aircon. The journey was uneventful and took just over three hours to Hluhluwe where I had to come off the motorway on to a single carriage road towards the small town of Mbanzwa. This road not as well maintained had large potholes with cattle and goats wandering randomly on the road. This slowed me down somewhat. From the off ramp it is a further 85 kilometres to Sodwana Bay. Watch out for the road signs and just follow to signs to Sodwana Bay.

As you approach Sodwana you realise how remote it is and that you are in Africa! I entered the nature reserve at the Natal Parks Board gate and had to pay a small entry fee. Non South African citizens pay an additional conservation fee. I then followed the direction to “F Camp” where Coral Divers are situated.

I arrived around 2pm the afternoon so reception was still open and could check in. As I was travelling on my own I had opted for the tented accommodation instead of the more luxurious chalets. This suited my purpose fine. The weather was fine and sunny to very hot and humid. The tents were already erected in rows under corrugated iron roofing. You have to provide your bedding so I had a sleeping bag.

The communal ablution blocks were clean and well maintained. There was sufficient hot water – not that I needed a hot shower as it was too humid.

I had travelled with my own dive kit so had no need to rent dive kit, but from what I saw the dive kit for rent appeared to be of a good quality and well maintained. On the whole I was impressed by the high standard of the operation so far – and had not even seen the beach or diving yet!

The “clubhouse” contained a restaurant/bar and swimming pool area with a public BBQ area and fridges for those opting for the self catering option. I had opted for the half board option. Dinner is served from 1900. This was a buffet with salad, meat, cooked vegetables, potatoes and rice with desert. The food was delicious South African cooking and included, at different times, local dishes such as:  pumpkin fritters “pampoen koekies”, corn on the cob “mielies”, bobotie and lamb curry.

There were monkeys all over the resort.  They hang around the trees in the accommodation area and in the treetops above the restaurant. Beware if you leave a plate of food on a table in the restaurant as the monkeys will be quick to help themselves to your food. I was soon warned to keep my tent entrance zipped up as the monkeys have not yet worked out how to open a zip. If they find any bottles or packages they will help themselves! The next day I chatted to a distraught couple who told me that the monkeys had got into their cabin and ate all their sweets!

At check in it was explained to me that divers need to pre-book their dives from about 1900 for the next day. This is done on a first-come first served basis. This system allows the dive guides to judge the experience of divers for a particular trip and avoided repeat visits to dive sites. This appeared to work well.

After a hearty meal I was glad to get to bed early and keen for my first two dives the next day. They dive early, I had to be up at 0500, but this did not present as a problem as, by 0500 it was already getting quite hot and humid uncomfortable to sleep.

Coral divers provide transport to the beach and you have to pre pack your dive kit into a plastic crate provided for this purpose. The trip takes about 10 minutes and once at the beach there are staff on had to help you assemble your kit and load it on to the boat – for a small fee. As it is an early start you can pre-order a beach breakfast which the catering staff will arrange.

Dive briefings are conducted on the beach before boarding the RIB. You then wade out into the sea and board the rib for an exhilarating ride out to the particular site. Entry is by a backward flip and the boat coxswain and staff will assist. I found the staff very friendly and very knowledgeable.

I have attached some photos but as I had not brought along my camera battery charger I could only take photos on the first day – a valuable lesson!

Ribbon Reef – 17 March 2010, entry @ 0716, max depth 19m, visibility approx 15 m, total dive 50 min.

Despite a cloudy rainy start to the day he diving conditions were perfect. Air temp 31 degrees and humid, water temp 26 degrees. I dived in my 5mm shortie. Saw load of small fish beautiful coral some larger honeycomb eels and a blue spotted ray. I was in awe! I have dived in the Red Sea but found this coral in a better condition also, the dive sites were not busy and entry and exit was not rushed as in Egypt.

Two Buoy – 17 March 2010, entry @ 10:48, max depth 19m, visibility approx 12m, total dive time 55 min, air temp 31, water temp 26.

Descended slowly, spectacular views. Saw a turtle feeding. Lots of small colourful fish with loads of larger fish around the reef. Also a blue spotted ray with a number of large honeycomb eels – free swimming.

In the afternoon I went for a walk round the camp. I saw some blue monkeys but turned away from the river as I saw a sign warning about crocodiles! I then relaxed by the pool for the rest of the afternoon.

At 1900 I went to book my dives for the next day and meet the crew for the next day. It became apparent that they were impressed with my level of diving experience and were happy to take me further out to some more challenging dive sites…

Bikini – 18 March 2010, entry @ 07:53, max depth 21.7 m, visibility approx 15 m, total dive time 43 min, air temp 29, water temp 26.

I forgot my weight belt ashore and the boat had to turn back to collect to collect it.

Slow decent into beautifully clear water above some awesome coral reefs. Saw loads of small colourful tropical fish.

 At the end of the dive we came across the largest honeycomb eel I have ever seen – at least 3m, and then my camera battery died.

Stringer Reef – 18 March 2010, entry @ 10:25, max depth 12.8m, visibility approx 10m, total dive time 56 min, air temp 29, water temp 27.

Backwards roll with a line decent – some surge. Slow decent due to minor equalising issues. Once again lots of beautiful small coral fish.

Saw a loggerhead turtle and another massive 2,5m free swimming moray eel. The dive master pointed out a large Potato Bass under the reef – a truly amazing sight.

Nine Mile Reef – 19 March 2010, entry @ 07:36, max depth 21,2m, visibility approx 15m, total dive time 57 min, air temp 33, water temp 26.

This is one of the further dive sites reserved for more experienced divers, but well worth the trip due to the perfect diving conditions. Very little swell and good light despite some cloud cover.

Saw a pristine reef with lots of little colourful fish. Of particular note were two large 2m+ free swimming honeycomb eels and a large oceanic whit tip shark about 10m off the reef, depth at the time 19m!

The Coral Tree was absolutely amazing to see.

Four Bouy/Arch – 18 March, entry @ 10:52, max depth 12,4m, visibility approx 15m, total dive time 56 min, air temp 32, water temp 27.

A quiet dive with only 3 divers. Once again saw spectacular coral. Surge starting to pick up but saw lots of both smaller and larger fish.
Saw another large honeycomb eel but otherwise a just a very pleasant calm dive.

On my final day I had another early start as I had to drive to Durban International Airport for a return flight to Johannesburg at 12:00.

This concluded my dive trip. To say I was impressed is an understatement. South Africa has some amazing diving to offer. I was particularly taken by the professionalism of the staff and the pleasant resort.

I will definitely be returning.

On the down side, the staff handling my kit were a bit rough and cracked two of my diving masks.
Watch out for the guys on the beach that look after your kit. If you come from abroad they pick it up quickly and will demand to be paid more than the going rate. Speak to the dive masters who will be able to advice you on how much to tip etc.

I was also very security conscious throughout having heard allot about crime in South Africa. I did not leave any valuables in my tent opting to lock anything valuable in the car. I did see security guards on duty 24/7 at the camp site. I had also planned to travel by road in daylight. Security will be an issue but you can safeguard yourself by taking some basic safety precautions. 

Martin J