KwaZulu-Natal

uMkhanyakude District Municipality

South Africa

Situated within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Sodwana Bay is the only tropical scuba diving site in South Africa. The reefs at Sodwana are the southern-most coral reefs in Africa and offer a wide diversity of attractions.

Thungwini

Sodwana Bay

This dive is generally open during the Dec-Jan Holiday season as the spotted ragged tooth sharks are in the area. Close encounters during this season are pretty certain. 

Access to this site is restricted and divers must be accompanied by an KZN Wildlife accredited divemaster. As with most of the sites in Sodwana this reef is named by the distance from the launching area at Jesser Point.

Quarter Mile is also known as Raggie Reef.

Quarter Mile

Stringer is a bit closer to Jesser Point than the main portion of 2 Mile Reef. It's is home to many different species and is a fantastic place to practice photography. Many Tomato Rock Cod, cleaning stations and paper fish can be found here as well as ghost pipefish.

Access to this reef is by boat only through one of the many charters in the area. Boats launch from Jesser Point

Stringer is also known as Stringer reef.

Stringer

This is a stunning small reef for those interested in small creatures. It is also home to Ribbon Eels.

Access this divesite is by boat only. Boats launch from Jesser point.

Ribbon Reef is also known as Ribbon Reef.

Ribbon Reef

A 1m to 1.5m ledge in the sea bed, home to many lion fish. Also large gamefish. Can have a strong current, in which case a negative entry may be advisable with experienced divers who are comfortable with the practice, as the main wall is a relatively small spot to find, especially after the 30m descent. Great unusual species to be seen. Also beware the lack of profile results in a deep average depth, nitrox may be worth while to extend MDT. Incidentally this reef was discovered on breath hold.



Hot Spot



The reef is about 1.7 km long and up to 900 m wide. It is one of the most popular reefs to dive at, since it is only a few minutes away from the launch area. Many different corals, reef and mid-water fish can be found here, with eels and other creatures hiding in the many caves and holes. Two Mile Reef is where most new divers in South Africa do their qualifying dive. 


2 Mile Reef

The drop-offs and mushroom shaped pinnacles, characteristic of this wonderful reef with its great diversity of marine life make it quiet popular among divers. Turtles and rays are often seen and shoals of brightly coloured goldies and other reef fish visit the coral often.

7 mile has been rated by many divers as one of the most beautiful reefs in the world and is frequently rated in the top 15 throughout Africa. As it is less frequently dived the fish life is spectacular. Also it is a high reef, the depth from top to bottom is significant, giving the divers a real feeling for exploring.

Access to this site is by boat only. Although the distance to shore is only a few hundred meters, it is a 7 mile boat trip to the reef.

7 Mile Reef

The top of the reef is at 4m on the southern edge, dropping to 21m on the north-eastern edge. The highlight of this dive is a green tree that towers about 2.5m. Just south of the green tree is a spectacular system of swim troughs, overhangs and caves. Huge green coral tree.

The major draw to this reef is a massive green coral tree with millions (well, maybe hundreds) of sea goldies. As this is a deeper reef and more remote the local fish life is extensive. Look around every now and then and you may see some larger fish in the blue.

Access to this reef is by boat only. The boats launch from Jesser point and it is a 9 mile journey that can take up to one and a half hours in rough conditions. Save it for a good day.


9 Mile Reef

Great dive site(s). All kind of tropical fish, and loads of female sand tiger sharks in caves, more then 2m tall!

Have to go with the local dive center via boat.

Shark Point is also known as Rocktail bay.

Shark Point

Long drift dive along (soft) coral and rocky outcrops with pinnacles on the south side.

Occasionally shark encounter with blacktip reef sharks, tiger shark and spotted eagle rays. Whale shaks may be seen in the channel.

During summer (late December to March each year), you can meet pregnant female ragged tooth sharks (within the cave).

1.1 kilometres south of Rocktail Bay

Sodwana Bay

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Sodwana Bay