An evening during this stay we will have the honour of meeting Dr Andrea Marshall and Dr Simon Pierce, who will give a talk on the Manta and Whale Sharks around Tofo, the threats facing them and the research being conducted. Both of these experts are extremely well respected in their fields. The Manta and Whale Shark Research Foundation is the first of our conservational contributions and you will be informed of the work that is being achieved with your contributions.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Diving Praia Do Tofo
Tofo offers spectacular diving with a huge variety and abundance of sea life, from the amazingly graceful manta rays and curious whale sharks for which Tofo is famous to a myriad of benthic, macro reef life as well as pelagic species. There are 16 reefs of which we will dive a selection based on conditions and desires.
Dive sites range from 10m to 37m catering for all experience levels, visibility varies between 10 and 30m and temperature is usually between 24 – 28 degrees.
Day 5 Hlane Royal National Park Swaziland
Today we head south again and cross the border into Swaziland, entering the Hlane Royal National Park, a huge nature reserve, home to lion, elephant and white rhino. We will camp near a water hole where game can be seen coming to water and have an option to be entertained around the fire that evening by traditional dancers.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6 Hlane – Sodwana Bay
After an early morning game drive we leave Hlane, cross the border back into South Africa and enter iSimangaliso Wetland Park. We arrive in Sodwana in the late afternoon and check into our bungalows at Triton Dive Lodge. That evening we will meet our dive guides and have a briefing of the upcoming diving.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7/8 Sodwana Bay Diving.
The following two days will be spent diving a selection of the Sodwana Bay dive sites.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Diving Sodwana Bay
Sodwana Bay is a small town on the northeast coast of South Africa, south of the Tropic of Capricorn. It hosts one of the most southerly and beautiful hard and soft coral reefs in the world. The dive sites are situated in the Marine Protected Area within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage site.
Day 9 Sodwana – Protea Banks
We leave the wetland scenery en route to the KwaZulu Natal Coast. The bustling city of Durban is South Africa’s largest port and a popular surf destination. It is also home to the famous dolphin coast and some of the world’s best Apex Predator shark diving. An hour and a half south of Durban is the small beachside resort of Shelley Beach, launch point for the infamous Protea Banks, our diving destination for the next 3 days.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10/11 Protea Banks Diving
Over the next two days we will have 3 dives on the Protea Banks Reef where we hope to see some of the worlds largest marine predators. Diving both North and South Pinnacles we will have the chance to collect Sand Tiger Shark teeth and explore caves, swim-throughs and tunnels. An optional Tiger and Bull Shark baited dive at Protea Banks will be offered during our stay. This dive takes place in open water, hanging in the blue whilst possible Tiger, Bull, Hammerhead and Oceanic Black-Tip sharks come in to investigate the scent trail around us. A full safety briefing and training session is included and this is a breathtaking experience.
Here we will receive our second conservational talk, regarding the sharks in the area, the threats to them and the work that our donation will be helping towards.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Diving Protea Banks
Protea Banks has been rated by many divers from around the world as the best shark dive. Many divers are scared of sharks due to horror stories and myths created by the movie world, but their fears are totally unfounded. Sharks are intelligent animals, do not recognise us as a food source and generally tend to be shy and respectful towards the divers
Day 12/13 Aliwal Shoal
The following two days we spend diving the equally famous Aliwal Shoal. Renowned for Raggie Tooth Sharks congregating in their hundreds, dolphins and the baited shark dive.
Each morning we will travel the hour from our Dive House in Margate to the town of Umkomas, launch site for Aliwal Shoal. Over the two days we will do 3 recreational dives on the Aliwal Shoal, including the famous “Raggie Cave”. The optional baited shark dive is well worth it, with Oceanic Black-Tip Sharks gathering in large numbers and Tiger Sharks investigating the bait. The baited dive is accompanied by a photographer/videographer for a permanent record of your shark encounter.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Diving Aliwal Shoal
The World Famous Aliwal Shoal was formed thousands of years ago from fossilized sand dunes during the times when sea levels were much lower than they are today. The Aghulas Current that runs south along the east coast of Africa brings with it warm water and a huge diversity of tropical sea life.
Day 14 Margate – Durban - Johannesburg
We travel this morning to the Durban airport where we will say goodbye to our truck and fly back to Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport. The flight is booked for arrival before 5pm, but this could change, so please double check with us before making any international flight arrangements for this day.
Meals: Breakfast
Tour Ends. |
