Southern African Dive Safari 2013

TOUR CODE:
SADSS
PRICE:
ZAR 34 900.00
ACTIVITY PACKAGE:
Whats this?
ZAR 1 200.00
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT:
Whats this?
ZAR 2 300.00
GREENSEAT:
Whats this?
ZAR 120.00
Accommodation:
Twin Share Camping
Max Passengers:
24
Number of Crew:
2
Vehicle Type:
Adventure Truck
DURATION:
Days: 19 Nights: 18

Meals:

Breakfast:
17
Lunch:
18
Dinner:
18
Departure Point:
Johannesburg
End Point:
Durban
Rates Valid:
2013-01-01 to 2013-12-31
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Highlights:

Hlane National Park, Kruger National Park, Mozambique beach, Diving with sharks

Countries Visited:

South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland

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Pre Tour Accommodation:

Post Tour Accommodation:

Activity Package
This is a compulsory payment on this tour and is called “conservational contributions”. 

Day 1 Johannesburg – Blyde River Canyon
Leaving the city of Johannesburg behind, we travel along the Panorama Route, one of South Africa’s most scenic drives, where we will visit the Blyde River Canyon, God’s Window and Bourke’s Luck Potholes. Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world and the view is dominated by the Three Rondavels, huge rocky outcrops at the end of the canyon.  Later your guide will give a full briefing on the tour.
Meals:    Lunch, Dinner
 
Day 2 Kruger National Park
Today we start the day with an early morning game walk with Timbavati before visiting the Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, where injured or lost animals are rehabilitated so they can be released back in to the wild. After a full tour of the Moholoholo facility we travel to the world famous Kruger National Park for an afternoon game drive en-route to our camp.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3 Kruger National Park
After breakfast we will pack up camp and load everything on to our truck, however the day will be spent in open 4x4 vehicles in order to truly appreciate the Kruger.  Your 4x4 vehicles will be driven by specialist Kruger guides and by using these smaller vehicles we have a better chance of viewing the wildlife.  The whole morning will be spent driving, at mid day we will stop at one of the well appointed camps where lunch will be provided, before the afternoon game drive that will bring us to the our overnight stop.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4 Kruger to Bilene
A very early start will see us crossing the Mozambique border and driving north to Bilene.  This peaceful town, known as San Martino in the days of Portuguese Mozambique, is situated on a hill overlooking the sprawling waters of the Uembje Lagoon. 
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5/6/7/8 Diving Praia Do Tofo
Departing Bilene, we head to Tofo where three days will be spent diving the reefs of Tofo, home to the largest Whale Shark and Manta populations in the world.  Each morning (day 6,7,8) we will depart early for a double dive trip, returning in time for lunch at the campsite. The afternoons will be free for you to enjoy any one of the optional activities or just lazing on this truly beautiful beach.

An evening during this stay we will have the honour of meeting Dr Andrea Marshall, Dr Simon Pierce or one of their representatives, who will give a talk on the Manta and Whale Sharks around Tofo, the threats facing them and the research being conducted. Both of these experts are extremely well respected in their fields.  The Foundation for the Protection of Marine Megafauna is the first of our conservational contributions and you will be informed of the work that is being achieved with your contributions.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Diving Praia Do Tofo
Tofo offers spectacular diving with a huge variety and abundance of sea life, from the amazingly graceful manta rays and curious whale sharks for which Tofo is famous to a myriad of benthic, macro reef life as well as pelagic species. There are 16 reefs of which we will dive a selection based on conditions and desires.

Dive sites range from 10m to 37m catering for all experience levels, visibility varies between 10 and 30m and temperature is usually between 24 – 28 degrees.

Day 9 Hlane Royal National Park Swaziland
Today we head south again and cross the border into Swaziland, entering the Hlane Royal National Park, a huge nature reserve, home to lion, elephant and white rhino. We will camp near a water hole where game can be seen coming to water and have an option to be entertained around the fire that evening by traditional dancers.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 10 Hlane – Sodwana Bay
After an early morning game drive we leave Hlane, cross the border back into South Africa and enter iSimangaliso Wetland Park. We arrive in Sodwana in the late afternoon and check into our bungalows at Triton Dive Lodge. That evening we will meet our dive guides and have a briefing of the upcoming diving.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 11/12 Sodwana Bay Diving.
The following two days will be spent diving a selection of the Sodwana Bay dive sites.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Diving Sodwana Bay
Sodwana Bay is a small town on the northeast coast of South Africa, south of the Tropic of Capricorn. It hosts one of the most southerly and beautiful hard and soft coral reefs in the world.  The dive sites are situated in the Marine Protected Area within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park World Heritage site.

Day 13 Protea Banks
We travel this morning to the bustling city of Durban, which is South Africa’s largest port and a popular surf destination. It is also home to the famous dolphin coast and some of the world’s best Apex Predator shark diving. An hour and a half south of Durban is the small beachside resort of Shelley Beach, launch point for the infamous Protea Banks, our diving destination for the next 3 days.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Day 14/15/16 Protea Banks Diving
Over the next three days we will have 5 dives on the Protea Banks Reef where we hope to see some of the worlds largest marine predators. Diving both North and South Pinnacles we will have the chance to collect Sand Tiger Shark teeth and explore caves, swim-throughs and tunnels. An optional Tiger and Bull Shark baited dive at Protea Banks will be offered during our stay. This dive takes place in open water, hanging in the blue whilst possible Tiger, Bull, Hammerhead and Oceanic Black-Tip sharks come in to investigate the scent trail around us. A full safety briefing and training session is included and this is a breathtaking experience.
Here we will receive a conservational talk, regarding the sharks in the area, the threats to them and the work that our donation will be helping towards.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Diving Protea Banks
Protea Banks has been rated by many divers from around the world as the best shark dive. Many divers are scared of sharks due to horror stories and myths created by the movie world, but their fears are totally unfounded. Sharks are intelligent animals, do not recognise us as a food source and generally tend to be shy and respectful towards the divers

Day 17/18 Aliwal Shoal
The following two days we spend diving the equally famous Aliwal Shoal. Renowned for Raggie Tooth Sharks congregating in their hundreds, dolphins and the baited shark dive. Each morning we will travel the hour from our Dive House in Margate to the town of Umkomas, launch site for Aliwal Shoal. Over the two days we will do 3 recreational dives on the Aliwal Shoal, including the famous “Raggie Cave”. The optional baited shark dive is well worth it, with Oceanic Black-Tip Sharks gathering in large numbers and Tiger Sharks investigating the bait. The baited dive is accompanied by a photographer/videographer for a permanent record of your shark encounter.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   
Diving Aliwal Shoal
The World Famous Aliwal Shoal was formed thousands of years ago from fossilized sand dunes during the times when sea levels were much lower than they are today.  The Agulhas Current that runs south along the east coast of Africa brings with it warm water and a huge diversity of tropical sea life.

Day 19 Durban
We travel this morning to the Durban airport where our tour ends upon arrival at the King Shaka International Airport. 
Meals: Breakfast

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SADSS 1301 Departing Johannesburg: 07-Jan-13 Arriving Durban: 25-Jan-13
SADSS 1302 Departing Johannesburg: 28-Jan-13 Arriving Durban: 15-Feb-13
SADSS 1303 Departing Johannesburg: 18-Feb-13 Arriving Durban: 08-Mar-13
SADSS 1304 Departing Johannesburg: 28-Oct-13 Arriving Durban: 15-Nov-13
SADSS 1305 Departing Johannesburg: 18-Nov-13 Arriving Durban: 06-Dec-13

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