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Africa Dive Tours | Africa Safaris | Africa Live Aboards

Maputaland Dive Safari South Africa

This twelve-day dive safari is designed for those adventure lovers who don’t have much time to spare but who wish to experience one week of diving in the tropical waters of Sodwana Bay and experience one week in the African bush in the company of lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo.

Day 1:
Arrive Johannesburg International Airport where you will be met and transferred by air-conditioned microbus to Sodwana Bay. Lunch en route as this is a six-hour drive. The next five nights are spent in the rustic reed chalets of Sodwana Bay Lodge.

Day 2:
Up at dawn for the first of our two dives on the magnificent true Coral Reefs of Sodwana Bay. These are the southernmost coral reefs in the world, even more south than the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. All dives at Sodwana are best done in the early morning as this is when diving conditions and visibility are at their best, before the wind gets up at about noon.

Day 3:
Another two dives on Sodwana. The rest of the day can be spent exploring the natural beauty of the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park of which Sodwana is only a small part. Weather permitting, we may include a night dive.

Day 4:
A further two dives and perhaps another night dive. During the months from October to February you will be able to witness the ancient ritual of the Loggerhead and Leatherbacked turtles congregating on Sodwana’s beaches to lay their eggs.

Day 5:
The last day diving the reefs of Sodwana.

Day 6:
Depart Sodwana Bay and travel through the Kingdom of Swaziland visiting the Swazi Market, glass factory and unique candle factory en route to Jatinga Country Lodge outside the little town of White River on the border of the world-famous Kruger National Park, where we spend the night.

Day 7:
After a leisurely breakfast we enter the Kruger National Park. The day is spent game viewing en route to our overnight camp in the Kruger Park.

Day 8:
An early start to the day, in the summer the gates open at 4:30, to look for the Big Five - lion, elephant, leopard, rhino and buffalo. The heat of the day is spent relaxing in camp. In the cool of the afternoon we again venture out into the African bush. Overnight in a Kruger National Park rest camp, to be confirmed, depending on availability.

Day 9:
After an early morning game drive and breakfast, we travel through the Kruger Park to Londolozi in the Sabi Sand Private Nature Reserve which borders on Kruger and is also home to the Big Five. The next two nights are spent in one of Londolozi’s private camps.

Day 10:
An exciting day spent game viewing in open four-wheel-drive vehicles or tracking the Big Five on foot under the supervision of qualified, armed game ranger and African tracker. The evening is spent looking for the nocturnal animals and especially the elusive and silent leopard for which Londolozi is world-famous.

Day 11:
An early morning game drive followed by brunch before we set off to Pilgrim’s Rest, the authentic gold mining town which started the first gold rush in South Africa in 1873. En route to Pilgrim’s Rest we visit places of scenic beauty such as the Blyde River Canyon, the Pot holes and God’s Window. We overnight at the Royal Hotel in Pilgrim’s Rest.

Day 12:
Depart Pilgrim’s Rest via Robbers Pass for Johannesburg and the return flight home.

TRIP COSTS:
Maputaland Dive Safari: 11 nights USD $4150.00pp based on DBL and 6 in group. Single supplement available on request. Price for groups of less that 6 persons is available.

Maputuland Dive Safari Frequently Asked Questions

What dive qualifications must I have?
This dive safari is open to all levels of certified sport diver. If your traveling companion is not already a certified diver, we will certify them as a CMAS one-star diver at no additional cost whilst on the "Maputaland Dive Safari," weather permitting.

The best time to dive " The Maputaland Dive Safari"?
This is one of those unique dives safari’s that is excellent all year round. We do not run the safari during December(the summer school holidays) as the dive sites tend to be too congested for pleasant diving.

What to bring?
The water temperature varies from 19 degrees C to 28 degrees C (66degrees F to 82degrees F)so this is true tropical diving, normally a 3mm or 5mm wet suit is worn but that’s up to you. Also bring all of equipment that you do not feel comfortable hiring, i.e. a regulator, BCD, mask or fins, etc. However, there is a full range of equipment available for hire at a nominal fee.

The Great White Encounter includes:
Accommodations; all meals; all dives; transfers in air-conditioned microbuses; tour accompanied by a full time staff member of "Dive The Big Five" who is registered tour guide or a qualified dive instructor; certification as a one-star CMAS sport diver, park entrance fees; tanks air fills and weight belts; dive-evac emergency evacuation; gratuities; additional tours in the event of not diving as a result of weather conditions.

Not included:
International airfares; drinks and alcoholic beverages; hire of dive gear.

Departure dates:
Monthly except during December. This tour is always scheduled to arrive in South Africa on a Sunday morning so as to take advantage of the quiet mid-week diving conditions at Sodwana Bay. Please contact Dive Discovery for exact departure dates.

Dive The Big Five reserves the right to change tour prices, hotels and game lodges without notice up to the dates of departure. Such changes might be required in the event of changes in prices imposed by airlines, hotels, lodges or car hire companies, as a result of fluctuations in the exchange rate of the rand against other currencies or in order to maintain the same high level of accommodation in hotels and game lodges should this be necessary.

Please email us or call us for price and details!

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