Sodwana Scuba

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As I stand on the verandah sipping my hot coffee at 6am, I can see the tops of the sand dunes peeking out from the rolling mists that engulf the landscape. A bright yellow ball bursts over the horizon, casting light and shadow over the hazy dunes. This is the start of a diving day in Sodwana Bay.



There is just one road which leads through dense green bush towards the beach, and we trundle along, our bakkie loaded with gear. Vervet monkeys leap across the road and disappear into the trees. To get to the beach, you must enter the marine reserve, and park up before climbing a hill - essentially a concreted sand dune - which curves down on to the beach. To left and right, the tall, steep dunes stretch as far as the eye can see, protecting the beach and ocean from the rest of the world. A wooden beach kiosk and several gazebos are the only man-made structures in sight. Beyond the space occupied by dive companies, the beach runs uninterrupted and free from hotels, cafes, houses and the like for miles and miles along the coast.



We shiver as we squeeze ourselves into layers of neoprene, kit up and walk to the water’s edge. A tractor gives the boat a shove, and we heave it into the waves. We jump in, quickly don lifejackets, and hang on tightly as the skipper circles the breaking waves. Cold spray whips our faces; the taste of salt and excitement is in the air.



A visitor recently asked a group of locals whether everybody here was a diver.

‘Well ... yes’, we replied. ‘This is Sodwana. What else would you want to do here?’



The diving really is spectacular. Even as we descend, we can see schools of yellow fusiliers above the reef. Moray eels poke out from crevices, scorpionfish lurk unnoticed, and huge potato bass almost as big as me swim casually by. Myriad corals provide colour and texture; purples, greens, yellows and pinks pop all around. Everything here is bigger - huge parrotfish, huge morays, huge turtles, huge hermit crabs, even huge sharks. Of course, the more experienced divers also tend to look out for the smaller and more camouflaged creatures, such as seahorses, stonefish, and nudibranchs. We spot a ghost pipefish floating amongst some seagrass, so similar-looking that it is practically invisible. I only see a juvenile false stonefish because it happens to move slightly, and when I turn my head away to call my buddy, it takes me about a minute to find it again.

There are many dive sites off Sodwana Bay, and they are all worth a trip. There is nothing quite so relaxing as drifting weightlessly amongst the underwater kingdom, focusing your mind and senses on the sights which surround you, with no sound but your own bubbles to bother you.



When we surface and clamber back on to the boat, the wind and water start to freeze us to the bones. We pass round orange slices, which taste supremely sweet to our salty mouths, and discuss our adventures over the sound of the motor.



Back on the beach, we stand wrapped in towels, beanies covering our wet heads. The sun climbs higher, illuminating the ocean, warming the land. A whale breaches on the horizon.





Is there any better start to a day than this?

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Photos

Tractor Tracks
copyright Carlos de Resende