Sodwana Bay

02/08/10 

After the never ending game drive we yet again extended the car and drove to Sodwana Bay. This is the site of the southern most coral reef in the world and is supposedly the most popular dive location in S.A. It's in the guide books as 'warm tropical seas filled with colourful fish', and yet again our expectations were raised. Locals we'd met on a previous dive had recommended that we go to Coral Divers. This is a large dive shop based right in the centre of Sodwana Bay National Park. As with so many other places of beauty here it has been made into a national park and you have to pay to get anywhere near it. Every time you want to go to the beach you pay. We had been told by the dive shop that we couldn't camp there but they are based in the middle of a 400 plot campsite in the park. For $15 a night we get our very own secluded tree ringed private patch of sand. Not exactly budget, but cheap by local standards. After paying for 3 nights we were disappointed to learn that unlike backpacker campsites there are no cooking facilities, not only that, but there weren't even any braai spots. We had no way of making a meal for 3 days, and we also had nowhere to sit. Our first day we spent most of the afternoon sitting in the only comfy seats we had access to; those in the car. We sat there planning the next part of the trip while drinking wine out of an old ice cream pot and the cut off bottom of a bottle. We went to the dive shop to check about diving and asked if we could borrow the kitchen, they responded “only for residents”. We got the same response in regard to putting a small tuperware in their fridge, paying for laundry, and having a drink by the pool. At $20 a night per person for a tent like ours, I definitely can't afford to be a resident. Coral Divers is huge. They have 11 boats and each boat takes out about 10 people. They have 160 divers booked in for the long weekend starting in a few days. They must be raking it in. We have taken it upon ourselves to enjoy the 'only for residents' sun loungers, coffee and TV room.