On Friday, Barry and I slept in a little while Gywen went on the morning game drive. We were afraid we might not get back from the drive on time but Gywen came in to breakfast while we were eating. We could have made it, but this way we got a little extra rest and weren't rushed.
That morning we headed to Sodwana Bay, in a marine reserve on the coast of the Indian Ocean. It was a 90 km drive up an interesting rural highway. All along the route cows and goats were grazing on the shoulder - not always attended. The animals could often be seen crossing or standing in the middle of the highway. Lots of interesting sights to see along the way, for sure.
We made it to Sodwana around 10:15 and worked our way through the dunes to the park entrance, past the market, and to the parking area. A short walk over the dunes brought us to an active and beautiful beach and bay. There were several busy dive charter operations and a small takeaway shop. The beach itself was lined with tractors and people launching and taking in boats full of fishers, divers, and snorkelers. We found the tent where our boat was arranged, but we were about 45 minutes early so we had some time to walk down the beach and wade in the warm, clear water.
Soon the time came for us to get our orientation and safety briefing. Along with about seven other snorkelers, we learned some Do's and Dont's before piling into a truck to take us across the hot sand to the shore. Our boat was a large inflatable raft fitted with outboard motors. We had to pull the boat around into thee water before climbing in over the sides. Once in and situated, we took a couple of spins around the bay before crossing the surf into the relatively calmer water of the ocean. The captain took us a few kms up the coast in the hopes that we might see some dolphins or whale sharks, but with no luck.
After a while we came across a school of brilliant yellow fish hunting for food. (Don't ask me what type of fish we actually saw - I'm useless with tropical fish.) We jumped in the water to have a look, and it was quite a wonderful sight. Too soon, we were ordered back in the boat so we could relocate to the nearby reef. This area is known as one of the top 5 dive sites in Africa, and there are a series of reefs that are quite popular with divers. since we were only snorkeling, we went to the "1/4 mile" reef, which I believe is the closest one to the shoreline.
We got in the water again at the reef, and spent a decent amount of time in the water (although, not nearly long enough.) There were some grey fish that seemed curious and swam very close to us. There was a variety of fish further down toward the reef itself. I spent some time capturing the scenes with our GoPro, and in the process, I think I was the only person in the party to miss seeing the group of Manta Ray swim by. Apparently, that was the big highlight of our snorkel trip. All too soon we were headed back to shore, where they ran the boat right up onto the beach so we could disembark. We were out for about an hour - just long enough to get a nice sunburn.
I could have spent all day at the beach enjoying the sand and surf, people watching, and snorkeling in the bay, but we didn't have that kind of time. We rinsed off and got back in the car, stopping on the way out of the park to get fresh pineapple, which was probably the best I've ever tasted and it hit the spot perfectly.
Back we drove 90 km past the villages, pineapple fields, and cows to Zulu-Nyala. We arrived just in time for the evening game drive. I don't have the list of animals we saw in front of me... I'm sure we saw the usual good stuff. Back at the lodge that night we had dinner followed by some drinks and blogging in the room.
That morning we headed to Sodwana Bay, in a marine reserve on the coast of the Indian Ocean. It was a 90 km drive up an interesting rural highway. All along the route cows and goats were grazing on the shoulder - not always attended. The animals could often be seen crossing or standing in the middle of the highway. Lots of interesting sights to see along the way, for sure.
We made it to Sodwana around 10:15 and worked our way through the dunes to the park entrance, past the market, and to the parking area. A short walk over the dunes brought us to an active and beautiful beach and bay. There were several busy dive charter operations and a small takeaway shop. The beach itself was lined with tractors and people launching and taking in boats full of fishers, divers, and snorkelers. We found the tent where our boat was arranged, but we were about 45 minutes early so we had some time to walk down the beach and wade in the warm, clear water.
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| Beach at Sodwana Bay |
After a while we came across a school of brilliant yellow fish hunting for food. (Don't ask me what type of fish we actually saw - I'm useless with tropical fish.) We jumped in the water to have a look, and it was quite a wonderful sight. Too soon, we were ordered back in the boat so we could relocate to the nearby reef. This area is known as one of the top 5 dive sites in Africa, and there are a series of reefs that are quite popular with divers. since we were only snorkeling, we went to the "1/4 mile" reef, which I believe is the closest one to the shoreline.
We got in the water again at the reef, and spent a decent amount of time in the water (although, not nearly long enough.) There were some grey fish that seemed curious and swam very close to us. There was a variety of fish further down toward the reef itself. I spent some time capturing the scenes with our GoPro, and in the process, I think I was the only person in the party to miss seeing the group of Manta Ray swim by. Apparently, that was the big highlight of our snorkel trip. All too soon we were headed back to shore, where they ran the boat right up onto the beach so we could disembark. We were out for about an hour - just long enough to get a nice sunburn.
I could have spent all day at the beach enjoying the sand and surf, people watching, and snorkeling in the bay, but we didn't have that kind of time. We rinsed off and got back in the car, stopping on the way out of the park to get fresh pineapple, which was probably the best I've ever tasted and it hit the spot perfectly.
Back we drove 90 km past the villages, pineapple fields, and cows to Zulu-Nyala. We arrived just in time for the evening game drive. I don't have the list of animals we saw in front of me... I'm sure we saw the usual good stuff. Back at the lodge that night we had dinner followed by some drinks and blogging in the room.
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