Crazy Diving! and other Sodwana Bay National Park, South Africa Things to Do Tips

We met up with our dive master at Amoray Divers on the beach at Jesser Point. Probably at least a dozen different dive operations all meet up here. Amoray has a wooden gazebo on the beach, but everyone else set up camp under tarps. All I can say is that beach is an example of what you'd call controlled chaos. Each boat reserves a launch time, but I didn't actually spot any one person who seemed to be in charge. Fishing charters and dive boats leave from the beach. There is no dock. Boats are launched into the raging surf directly from trailers hooked up to 4-wheel drive vehicles or tractors. The tractors drive straight into the water before the boats are released. Now we're talking 6 foot waves here, at least. And divers use inflatable Zodiacs! They're huge Zodiacs, mind you, but inflatable nonetheless! Divers are expected to help launch the boat. Luckily for me, ladies are allowed to hop in while it's still relatively shallow. The timing of the launch is very important due to the high waves. Once all are in the boat, you strap your feet in and HANG ON! The captain of our boat knew exactly how to maneuver between and over the waves so that it felt like a dune-buggy ride rather than a roller coaster. Within just a few minutes we were at the reef. Out at the reef, the water was much choppier than I'm used to diving, but not too bad. But back at home, they'd NEVER launch a dive boat under these conditions! Our dive master said that the water was pretty calm for Sodwana. Our first dive was at Bikini Reef, which is a young reef and therefore doesn’t have the growth and color you might see at an older reef. The second dive was at 2-Mile Reef, which was much more spectacular. Lots of neat coral formations, arches, and all kinds of life. But it was a bit surgey. Between dives, we went back to the beach rehydrated (bring your own drinks & snacks!) and played in the tide pools. In all it was a fun day - and we saw our first clown fishes in the wild!

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Address: Amoray Divers is at Mseni Lodge, Sodwana Bay
Directions: There is no dive shop. Meet up with the dive master at Vidal Saloon at 6:00 PM to reserve your spot for the next day.
Website: http://members.tripod.com/msenilodge/amoray_diving.htm

What we didn't quite understand was that nearly all activities at Sodwana Bay are coordinated through the Sodwana Nature Conservation Office. So when our hotel called ahead for us to reserve our horseback riding tour and then told us to pay them at the office, we thought we'd pay at the office at the stable, right? Well, no. First, there was no stable, just a sign for horseback riding and a couple of people standing around minding a couple of saddled horses, with a few unsaddled horses meandering about. So we drove past looking for an office. No office, but we found a shady place to park. So we walked back to the likely looking horses and the attendants didn't even ask who we were, they just wanted to get us on the horses. OK, we got on the horses. Our guide gave us a brief refresher on how to control a horse and we were off to the beach. My horse was a new mom and her baby came along for the trot. Unfortunately for me, Mom was in no mood to cooperate with a once-every two-year rider like me and was much more interested in taking care of her baby. Understandable, I thought, but it still made for a rather difficult ride since our guide and my husband's horse were in a mood to canter and gallop. Ah well, I can't really complain. I was horseback riding on the beach, wasn't I? Sodwana is a lovely beach, and is nearly completely undeveloped. You really do get a sense of being out in the wilderness. Back from the beach, and unsaddled, we asked where to pay. Our guide looked confused and pointed to the road and said, "Back there." Well, we saw a BBQ and ice cream stand in the direction she was pointing, so we walked back there and nobody was interested in us. For a while, we wondered if we had found the right horseback riding outfit or had we jumped on someone else's horses? Our guide had disappeared so we went back to the car and drove back toward our lodge. On the way, we passed the Sodwana Nature Conservation Offices and saw the sign: "Book horseback riding tours here." Aha! Light bulbs flashed. . .

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Address: The horses start off just north of Jesser Point
Directions: Book and pay for your horseback riding tour at the Sodwana Nature Conservation Office at the gate.