Sodwana Sunrise

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Anyone who’s ever met me before 9am will agree that I am not a morning person. However, I do make the effort every now and then to willingly haul myself from my delightful slumbers, for special occasions. One of those occasions occurred recently when we decided to go down to the beach and watch the sunrise before a morning dive in Sodwana Bay. Armed with beanies and cameras, we trudged along the dunes, watching the sky slowly turn from black to pink to blue. Whilst it wasn’t the most breathtaking sunrise I’ve ever seen, it was still worth getting out of bed for. The wet sand shone like smooth glass beside the ragged waves, and thick banks of rolling clouds on the horizon made the sea look as if it was a long, sideways-flowing river. Meanwhile, glorious light shows were playing out beyond a solid frame of dark tree silhouettes, as the pine forest gradually emerged from shadowy shapes into real trees. When the sun finally burst from between the clouds, the water was turned to a pool of liquid gold, with streams of reflected purple and orange.



By the time the sun was up, we were under the water, which was even more worth getting out of bed for. Launching a boat in Sodwana Bay is a lot of fun, as the skipper spins the boat in giant circles between the tumultuous waves, divers clinging on, before zooming out onto the smooth water beyond the breakers. The diving is superb, and on this particular underwater adventure, we spotted moray eels, jellyfish with crabs hiding inside, and to top it all off, a huge tiger shark barely 3m from us. It was my first tiger shark, so for me the dive was exhilarating and exciting, as well as relaxing. It was cold, however, so I was glad of the warm sun now overhead by the time we landed back on the beach.

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