Stuck in the Sand: Sodwana Bay
It is slow season for
diving in Sodwana right now so we scored a great deal for accommodations at
Triton Dive Lodge. The attached dive shop gained fame for being the ones to
find the once thought extinct Coelecanthe. They found it 113meters (that’s
nearly 350ft!) down in caves at a site named Jesse’s Canyon. While we did not
plan to do extreme tech diving here to those depths, we did come to see the
beautiful coral reefs at recreational diving depths. I dove here
once before
about 6 years ago and saw dolphins, a whale shark, nudibranchs, and all sorts
of fish among the reef. So I was eager to come back. But first we had to get
there.
 |
| Deep sandy roads in Sodwana |
We saw the Triton
Dive Lodge sign, but looked for any other way to get there. Our little Ford
Fiesta would not like the deep sand of the road past the sign. But after a few
failed attempts at finding another route including accidentally driving into
the local elementary school, as it was releasing all of its students, we
decided to make a run for it on the sand road. The first turn was pretty deep
sand but the little car made it through. The next kilometer was a bit
terrifying as the car was only centimeters from bottoming out on the raised
sand in between the deep tracks. Finally we saw the lodge and as we made the
final turn we hit the softest sand yet. The underpowered front wheel drive
decided then to spin and spin until it dug the front of the car to sand level.
Luckily we were right in front of the lodge and you could tell this happens often
because they jumped into action and had us hooked up to a tractor in no time.
Once we heard that
lodging was 25% off we upgraded to the two bedroom chalet which turned out to
be quite nice, especially since we both came down almost immediately with the
travelers bug. So while we were both down for a couple of days at least we had
a nice comfortable space to get over it. Unfortunately we were missing some
prime diving. But this stuff happens when you are on the road for a while so we
tried to rest up, got some movies in, and just relaxed a bit.
 |
| Giant Clam |
After 24 hours I
was feeling up to try a dive. I had forgotten just how much of a scene the dive
beach was here in Sodwana. All the shops use sturdy RIB’s or zodiacs. They
trailer them down to the waters edge, then hook up the trailer to a tractor,
who then takes it in to the water with the help of all of us. When you get it
deep enough for the captain to lower the engine he yells for everyone to jump
in. You quickly pass out lifejackets then hold on for dear life and he guns it
through the breaking wave zone. There were some head high breaking waves this
day but they use their speed to maneuver around the impact zones and make it
out past the breakers. They pause over the dive sight, and gear everyone up,
then on the count of 3 everyone does a backwards roll off into the water.
 |
| Blue spotted stingray |
After the dive you
surface and flag the boat down. They grab your gear and you propel yourself out
and up onto the boat. Once again the lifejackets come out and go on. Then you
look for dolphins or whale sharks or whales on your way back. Again you hold on
for joy as the captain rockets back through the breaking waves and slides up on
the beach at top speed. It can’t be easy for the boats but they seem to take
this daily beating and keep on going according to the dive guides.
 |
| New nudibranch in Sodwana |
On this day the
conditions were choppy, wavy, not very good vis, overcast, and incredibly
surgy. It was a lot like how I imagine diving in a washing machine would feel
like. So not very good for photos since in the time it takes to focus on the
subject you would be swept ten feet away by the surge. There were plenty of
fish of all sizes, some big schools, colorful coral, and a couple of
nudibranchs. I would love to catch this place on a really calm sunny day.
Triton Dive Shop Prices:
Gear Rental $20, Scuba Dive $28
Once we heard that
lodging was 25% off we upgraded to the two bedroom chalet which turned out to
be quite nice, especially since we both came down almost immediately with the
travelers bug. So while we were both down for a couple of days at least we had
a nice comfortable space to get over it. Unfortunately we were missing some
prime diving. But this stuff happens when you are on the road for a while so we
tried to rest up, got some movies in, and just relaxed a bit. 
After 24 hours I
was feeling up to try a dive. I had forgotten just how much of a scene the dive
beach was here in Sodwana. All the shops use sturdy RIB’s or zodiacs. They
trailer them down to the waters edge, then hook up the trailer to a tractor,
who then takes it in to the water with the help of all of us. When you get it
deep enough for the captain to lower the engine he yells for everyone to jump
in. You quickly pass out lifejackets then hold on for dear life and he guns it
through the breaking wave zone. There were some head high breaking waves this
day but they use their speed to maneuver around the impact zones and make it
out past the breakers. They pause over the dive sight, and gear everyone up,
then on the count of 3 everyone does a backwards roll off into the water. 
On this day the
conditions were choppy, wavy, not very good vis, overcast, and incredibly
surgy. It was a lot like how I imagine diving in a washing machine would feel
like. So not very good for photos since in the time it takes to focus on the
subject you would be swept ten feet away by the surge. There were plenty of
fish of all sizes, some big schools, colorful coral, and a couple of
nudibranchs. I would love to catch this place on a really calm sunny day. 
Comments
Post a Comment
Leaving a comment is a great way to provide feedback, ask further questions, and inspire more answers...so go for it.