15 day 17 dive Classic Safari
Safari Dates Details
Day 1 Saturday
Depart Europe
Day 2 Sunday
Arrive Durban, South Africa .
We drive to our overnight hotel in Hluhluwe village.
Day 3 Monday
Early breakfast because we want to catch the animals coming out to feed on our visit to Hluhluwe/Umfolozi National Park. 96,000 hectares (235,000 acres) of hills, rivers, Acacia Bush and Savannah with every species of animal that ever lived in this area (but is not extinct ! ) Lions, Elephants, Rhinos (Black and White), Hippos, Crocodiles, Leopards, Bufflalo,all the antelope, Hyena, Zebra- even 3 different species of Dung Beetle if that is your bag !!
After our 'Big 5' visit, we will take a leasurely drive to Sodwana Bay on the Zululand coast where we will overnight.
Day 4 Tuesday
After an early breakfast, we hit the road for the Mozambique border and on to Ponta do Ouro.
Ponta is tiny and a delightful refuge from the 'real world'. The only real argument we have ever heard here was between restauranteurs over who had the largest and freshest Tiger Prawns and shellfish..... paradise !!
We shall do one reef dive on arrival in Ponta, preferably on 3 Sisters reef. This is a 24 metre deep reef with lots to see. It is a familiarisation dive which also gives us the chance to ensure that all divers have enough experience to dive with tomorrow's Bull sharks.
Day 5 Wednesday
Two dives at Ponta do Ouro . This area has only been dived since the mid 90s due to it having been a war zone from the early 70s until that time. New reefs are being found regularly and we are able to dive on pristine virgin coral reefs. This area of Mozambique is also famous for Mantas, Whales, and, on certain deeper reefs,big sharks (Hammerheads, Tigers, Zambezi (Bull) etc)and this is the time of year for large numbers of these big sharks..
At this time of year with such large numbers of sharks on Pinnacles Reef and such a variety of species - January / March seeing six large shark species in a single dive is not unusual - so we normally do a Pinnacles dive early morning and a coral reef dive second. This is, of course, decided by you, the diver.
Day 6 Thursday
Two more dives at Ponta do Ouro....Pinnacles anyone ? There are a huge variety of other reefs available at Ponta. Brian's favorite is '3 Sisters'. At 25 metres time is limited after a deep Pinnacles dive but the small system of 3 rock outcrops are covered in a huge variety of corals and teems with fishlife. It is one of the best reefs for finding the elusive Longnosed Hawkfish, the sand around has Garden Eels and Partner shrimp/Goby, there are numerous Moray species including a huge Honeycomb who just loves interacting with divers. This is one reef that you have to dive.
Day 7 Friday
Two more dives at Ponta do Ouro.
Day 8 Saturday
Our two last dives at Ponta do Ouro and then the 4x4s are waiting to take us back to the South African border. After the brief border formalities, it is on to the World Heritage site of St Lucia Wetalnds Park
Day 9 Sunday
Morning boat trip on Lake St Lucia with it's 2,000 crocodiles, 800 Hippopatami and nearly 400 bird species including our regional emblem, the African Fish Eagle.
In the afternoon, we drive south to Aliwal Shoal
Day 10 Monday
Our first dive on Aliwal Shoal will be 'The dive of a lifetime' as many people call it in our Visitor's Book with Tiger sharks, normally lots of Blacktip sharks and Dusky Sharks and at certain times of the year, Zambezi or Bull sharks. Full details of this incredible dive can be seen at our Tiger shark page.
Our second dive will be a reef dive during which, hopefully, we shall see our famous Spotted Ragged Tooth sharks and maybe, om southern sands, Giant Guitar sharks which have been seen at up to 4 metres in length. If we have inshore currents, masses of plancton may be carried in to the shoal with giant Manta Rays taking full advantage of the feast on offer.
Day 11 Tuesday
Your choice of two conventional dives with the Ragged Tooth sharks (if in residence) or a second specilist baited dive for sharks (at additional cost).
Aliwal's famous Ragged Tooth sharks used to disappear at the end of November but since rules on entering their resting places (caves and overhangs) have been strictly enforced, we have a few Raggies in residence throughout the year.We can normally dive to the entrance to Cathederal and, if we lie motionless on the sand, they become curious and will approach very close to us.There are also numerous rare fish species such as Paper fish, Frogfish (or Angler fish) and various Pipefish are to be seen. This is a good time of year for Manta Rays, Dolphins, Scallopped Hammerheads with Blacktip sharks and possibly..Dusky Sharks circling us at the safety stop.
Morning boat trip on Lake St Lucia with it's 2,000 crocodiles, 800 Hippopatami and nearly 400 bird species including our regional emblem, the African Fish Eagle.
In the afternoon, we drive south to Aliwal Shoal
Day 10 Monday 
Day 12 Wednesday
Today we are going to travel 80 kms south of Umkomaas to dive the world renown Protea Banks.
Our first dive will be a baited dive. The dive is carried out in a similar manner to our Aliwal baited dives but the variety of shark species seen is much greater. Please note that this is a baited dive not a form of 'shark feeding'. The large sharks are attracted by the odour from rotten sardines in a suspended sealed container. The sharks are not able to get to the sardines to eat them.
Bull sharks (called Zambezis locally) are virtually year around residents.
Tiger shark are most numerous February -June and again in October and November.
Copper sharks can be seen June to November.
Spotted Ragged Tooth sharks May to November sometimes in massive numbers.
Scalloped Hammerheads also can be in large numbers from October to April.
The Oceanic Blacktip Shark another year around resident.
The reef is similar to Aliwal Shoal though on average much deeper. The attraction for us on the reef dive is the number of shoaling big sharks often seen. Scalloped Hammerheads in particular can be in huge numbers.
Day 13 Thursday
Again we are diving Protea Banks with two reef dives on the programme. A baited dive plus one reef dive is an option at an extra cost.
Day 14 Friday
Sadly we now travel down to Durban Airport for the start of your return journey and wish you 'Hlalakahle' in Zulu 'Go in peace and safety'.
Most of our guests have return flights leaving Durban Friday morning. Our transfer from Umkomaas leaves around 09h00 normally but will leave earlier if one of the clients has an earlier flight. The Safari finishes at that time at the airport. Should you have a later flight, there are local tour operators who offer day trips to Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve, Valley of a Thousand Hills, uShaka aquarium etc. We are more than happy to assist you in making reservations with these operators or, in deed, to assist with reservations should you wish to prolong your stay in South Africa after your Safari with us.
Day 15 Saturday
Arrive back in Europe.
Total 17 Dives on 3 very different sites.
Our Pinnacles, Mozambique dive Click
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