Sodwana Bay National Park protects the subtropical jungle of the bay. It is situated on the coast within the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park. The reserve lies adjacent to Africa’s southern-most coral reefs. The park is visited mostly in the South African school holidays when guests spend weeks at a time in this remote location. Much of the vegetation is pristine and unspoilt. Walking trails through a fig tree forest in a swamp have been laid out, and with a bit of luck, one might even see bushbuck, red duiker, reed-buck and other small mammals.
Sodwana Bay has a unique reef, and is worth a visit by amateur and professional divers. The warm Mozambique current provides pleasant water temperatures all year round. The reefs are numbered according to the distance from the starting point. Reef 7 is one of the most beautiful and spectacular in the world. Over 1200 different species of fish and turtles can be observed here.
Although the Natal coastline is known to have many sharks, they pose no threat to divers. To this day, no attacks on divers have occurred along the Natal North Coast. Hot subtropical moist summers and mild winter climates can be expected. Very often a cool sea breeze brings relief in high temperatures. |
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| tropical coral reef at Sodwana |
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