Great Whites, Tiger Sharks & Safari - The Ultimate South Africa Experience

October 2010.

Gansbaai in the Western Cape offers reliable and adrenalin-fuelled access to great white sharks.  Feeding on the seals of Dyer Island throughout the winter months, they then come closer to the in-shore sandbanks during summer. Free diving within a safety cage brings you face-to-face with these majestic creatures, while a resident marine biologist explains the challenges of their threatened existence.

The village of Umkomaas in KwaZulu-Natal is your portal to the tiger sharks of Aliwal Shoal – starting with an exhilarating surf entry from the beach. This is a drift dive like no other, completed with highly experienced guides whose local knowledge has been built over the past ten years.

Sodwana Bay in northern Zululand provides your opportunity to dive tropical reefs that fulfil every expectation. Situated off a remote shoreline, close to the border with Mozambique, over twenty dive sites offer stunning underwater structures, beautiful coral gardens, endless echelons of reef fish and a constant stream of larger, pelagic visitors.

We have organised a fantastic two week safari and shark diving experience for October 2010.

Full Itinerary as follows: 

Monday 18^h October to Sunday 31st October 2010

Day 1

18/10/10

Forget autumn gales and dark nights for today you are flying to Africa. Just say it to yourself: it sounds good. Enjoy(?) the mid-air cuisine, hope for a good film (with headphones that work) and anticipate the two weeks that lie ahead.

Day 2

19/10/10

Arrive in Cape Town; a city often described as a little bit of the Mediterranean in Africa. This is a relaxed city with so much on offer. Whether shopping, restaurants, bars, helicopter trips or historical visits are your thing, Cape Town has something for everyone, all set against a landscape of outstanding natural beauty. There is no better introduction to the city than to see it from the top of Table Mountain, so this is what you will do. You will stay on the Waterfront, right in the heart of the vibrant city.

Day 3

20/10/10

Your first full day in South Africa and already you are in the water. Dive 1 is a trip out to one of the seal colonies found on the coast along from the city. These marine gymnasts are curious creatures, always willing to engage. In fact, in part, the length of the dive will depend on how confident they become; we like to return to the boat with most of our fins left intact. In the afternoon, leaving the city, you take the beautiful drive east along the coast, through hill sides covered by vineyards to the small fishing village of Gansbaai. Here you will stay, enjoying the local hospitality and wandering just how you will respond tomorrow when a great white shark comes to greet you…..personally. Great white sharks like seals too.

Day 4

21/10/10

Waking early, you will have breakfast (not too much, it may be choppy!) and then receive a briefing from the resident marine biologist on the ecology and behaviour of the white shark. Then it is a short walk to the harbour and your boat. All kit is provided, so you will be warm and safe, all you have to do is enjoy the experience. Dive 2 is just you, a cage and some very large sharks. When back on shore, you will return to Cape Town, on the way visiting the charismatic penguins of Boulders Beach before progressing on to Cape Point: the place where two oceans meet, a whole continent is at your back and the wind is no friend to elaborate hair styles. The evening is yours to spend as you wish. Enjoy!

Day 5

22/10/10

Today you fly northeast from Cape Town to Durban, the vibrant heart of KwaZuluNatal. There we will transfer into vehicles and drive north, out of the city, through the green fields of sugar cane and into the bushveld of Zululand. Africa just got a little wilder. The journey will last for approximately three hours, but, with breaks and a good road, it will fly by. Your destination is Sodwana Bay and the lodge of the same name, a place where forests meet sandy beach and your access to the most southerly tropical reefs in Africa. Hello warm water diving!

Day 6

23/10/10

Sodwana Bay is a place of great marine diversity with over 20 beautiful dive sites and a host of large pelagic visitors. Look out for the whale sharks. Join the turtles floating over the reef. Get close up for a bit of macro action. You will spend three days here, so enjoy and make the most of it. (Dive 3 and Dive 4)

Day 7

24/10/10

Back in the boats and confidently enjoying the surf launch, you will spend the day diving whichever of the reefs our local guides are confident will give you the best diving experience. (Dive 5 and Dive 6.) However, should you want a break from diving, it will be possible to arrange other excursions, not included in your package, such as quad biking, horse riding and even a flight over the bay in a micro-light (weather permitting).

Day 8

25/10/10

After an early breakfast and a final dive (Dive 7), you will leave Sodwana and drive through Mkuze Game Reserve to Pongola Game Reserve and the White Elephant Bush Camp, a little-known haven on the shores of Lake Jozini. This is a place to relax, enjoy the wildlife, or just absorb the peace of the place – while eating like a king. Arriving in time for the afternoon game drive, you will be taken out into the reserve, hopefully to find the famous ‘red elephants’.

Day 9

26/10/10

Waking early, while it is still cool, you will be taken out onto Lake Jozini, to view the reserve from the water and try to spot as many of the over 300 bird species resident in the area. Then it is back to the camp for a lazy breakfast, before retreating from the heat of the day. As the sun drops, you have the opportunity to go out on an evening game drive and watch as the creatures of the reserve prepare for the night. Or perhaps you would prefer to take a walk with a ranger and learn more about the little things of equal importance to life in the bush.

Day 10

27/10/10

After a final early morning game drive, you are heading south to the coast again. Destination: the village of Umkomaas, entry to Aliwal Shoal, the home of the tiger sharks. It is time to dive again. Sharks and a surf entry are the order of play again, but this time it’s for the tigers. Staying at a local guest house, you will be well fed, watered (!) and as comfortable as you will have grown to expect.

Day 11

28/10/10

Tigers. You are diving with the experts, who it is suspected prefer tiger to human company, they spend so much time with them.  You will be fully briefed on the ecology and behaviour of these beautiful creatures. The dive briefing will be comprehensive and don’t worry: there is no such thing as a stupid question. Launching from the river, you will break the surf line and head out to the waters of the shoal. Then it is up to Mother Nature. In the afternoon, you will dive cathedral on Aliwal Shoal, a dive known for its raggies.

Day 12

29/10/10

Today you will dive again on Aliwal Shoal with the option of repeating the tiger dive; you are confident now and fully enjoying a diving experience that may never be bettered. Pike in the local quarry will never intimidate you again. (Dive 10. And Dive 11.) This evening will be your last night in South Africa, so test the local hospitality (it won’t be found wanting), eat the sea food like it’s going out of fashion and enjoy a night to remember as befits a trip you won’t forget.

Day 13

30/10/10

Today the expedition comes to an end. Leaving Umkomaas, you make the short transfer back to Durban and the international airport for your return flight home. Chin up: next stop is Christmas.

Day 14

31/10/09

Arrive back in the UK; bet your photos will be good this year.

A total of 13 days in-country

Trip cost - £1,976 per person + flights (approx £500)

Deposits are now being taken, a £500 deposit secures your place