Sodwana Bay

Sodwana lies inside the iSimangaliso Wetland Park on the Maputaland coast, where the warm Agulhas current runs close inshore and allows coral to grow further south than anywhere else on the continent. The reefs are named for their distance from the launch site - Two Mile, Five Mile, Seven Mile, Nine Mile - and there is no harbour, so rubber boats are driven off the beach straight through the breakers, which is the part divers remember. What is down there is tropical: some 1,200 fish species recorded, soft and hard coral, turtles, and whale sharks and manta rays in the warmer months. Humpbacks pass offshore between June and November. Above the water, loggerhead and leatherback turtles nest on these beaches in summer and are monitored on guided night walks. Facilities are basic camps and dive lodges in coastal forest.

What you actually see

• Africa's southernmost coral - reefs surviving here on the warm Agulhas current.
• Surf launches - boats driven off the beach through the breakers, no harbour.
• Tropical life - around 1,200 fish species, turtles, whale sharks and mantas in season.
• Nesting turtles - loggerheads and leatherbacks on the beaches in summer.

When to go

April to September for the clearest water; November to February for turtles and whale sharks. Three to five days.

Honest expectations

Surf launches are rough and some people cannot manage them. Visibility varies widely and dives are cancelled in swell. Roads in are sand and the last stretch needs care. Accommodation is basic and malaria prophylaxis is advised for this area - ask a doctor.

Nearby

Lake Sibaya is west; Cape Vidal and the iSimangaliso coast run south.