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Africa Dive Tours | Africa Safaris | Africa Live Aboards

Kwa Zulu/Natal Dive Safari South Africa

This unique fourteen-day dive safari combines the best of South African shark diving , Tropical Diving, Zulu culture and big game, all in one. Where else can you combine all these four experiences into one fourteen-day diving adventure?

Day 1:
Arrive at Johannesburg International Airport in the early morning where your guide and host for the duration of the dive safari will meet you. Transfer to Margate on the KwaZulu/Natal South Coast and overnight at Kenilworth-on-Sea.

Day 2:
Two dives with the resident dive operator in Margate on the fabulous Protea Banks. This site boasts the possibility of diving with Raggie’s, Zambezis, Hammerheads, Tigers and even the odd Great White! It has been known to be able to dive with over 100 sharks in the water at any one dive.

Day 3:
Another two dives on Protea Banks looking for the other four of the Big Five sharks. After the dives we transfer to Sea Fever Lodge in Umkomaas where we spend the next four nights, and meet Andy Cobb (South Africa’s Mr. Shark), and the local dive team.

Day 4:
Dive Aliwal Shoal under the leadership of Andy Cobb. The first of three dives which will qualify you as a NAUI specialist shark diver. These dives could take place at Protea Banks, depending on the time of year as the raggie’s are only found on Aliwal Shoal during the months of July through November.

Day 5:
Your second day with Andy on Aliwal Shoal searching for sharks. We end the day with a shark dissection to enable us to better understand these magnificent creatures.

Day 6:
The final dive on Aliwal Shoal exploring either the wreck of the Nebo(1884) or the wreck of the Produce (1974). In the afternoon we join the Natal Sharks Board and find out what they are doing to protect South Africa’s beaches, divers, surfers and spear fisherman against these "fearsome killers", the shark! We continue with our KwaZulu/Natal Dive Safari up the North Coast and overnight in an authentic Zulu village, Kwabhekithunga, the traditional home of the current Zulu chief, Thomas Fakude. accommodation is in traditional Zulu reed huts with "bathrooms en suite, hot and cold running water and electricity".

Day 7:
After breakfast we journey through the heart of Zululand to the Phinda Game Reserve, our two-night stay over and home to the Big Five - lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. After arrival and lunch we head out into the sunset in open four-wheel-drive vehicles for a sunset cruise with cocktails on onr of the many rivers and lakes in the Phinda Reserve.

Day 8:
Full day at Phinda with optional early morning game drive, walking Safari with an experienced ranger and tracker, sundowner game drive or bird watch camp at your own leisure.

Day 9:
After the optional early morning game drive and brunch we depart for Sodwana Bay Lodge and the famous reefs of Sodwana Bay. The following four nights are spent in rustic reed chalets of Sodwana Bay Lodge.

Day 10:
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 11:
Another two dives on the magnificent reefs of Sodwana Bay. 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 12:
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 13:
Our last dive at Two Mile Reef before our drive through the Kingdom of Swaziland to Jatinga Country Lodge outside the little town of White River where we overnight.

Day 14:
Depart Jatinga and drive through the spectacular natural beauty of the Blyde River Canyon, the Pot holes, God’s Window and the Long Tom Pass to the Johannesburg International Airport for the return flight home.

TRIP COSTS:
Kwazulu/Natal Dive Safari: 13 nights USD $4450.00pp based on DBL and 6 in group. Single supplement available on request. Price for groups of less that 6 persons is available.

Kwazulu/Natal Dive Safari Frequently Asked Questions

What dive qualifications must I have?
This dive safari is restricted to advanced divers only. However, all levels of certified divers are welcome to join the Safari but may be prevented from participating in certain dives on Aliwal Shoal and Protea Banks. In fact, if your traveling companion is not already a certified diver, we will certify them as a CMAS one-star diver at no extra cost whilst on the "KwaZulu/Natal Dive Safari", weather permitting.

The best time to dive " The Kwazulu/Natal Dive Safari"?
The raggie’s are only found on Aliwal Shoal in significant numbers from July to November, so if you wish to be surrounded by these sharks those are the months to come. Otherwise this dive safari is good all year round.

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.

Dive versions:
If the weather should turn foul or if there is a non-diver in the group, there is so much to do!:

· visiting museums, art galleries or antique shops;
· visiting theaters , coffee shops or just shopping;
· golf, tennis or horse riding and the Wild Coast Casino;
· a visit to the Natal Sharks Board
· a visit to Sea World, one of the South Africa’s leading Marine Research Centers;
· a visit to Durban Snake Park;
· a day trip to the Oribi Gorge;
· a day trip to the Valley of a Thousand Hills.

The Kwazulu/Natal Dive Safari includes:
Accommodations; all meals; all dives; transfers in air-conditioned microbuses; airfares from Port Elizabeth to Durban; 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 specialist NAUI shark diver; 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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