As forecast, we did indeed go diving. We returned to Sodwana Bay. We are likely to be doing almost all our diving there as it is known to the be the best dive site in South Africa and it is only 90 minutes drive from Ingwavuma.
We spent Saturday on a refresher course so that we were familiar again with the basic techniques and rules for diving. We realised that we had forgotten almost everything since we were PADI certified. Our pool session took an age as we had to revisit all the skills with Johannes. It was made slower by our instructor’s inexperience and grasp of English. His thick Africaans accent meant it was easier to understand him under the water.
We rose obscenely early on Sunday morning for the dive proper. Nerves, tent discomforts and my snoring meant Mary wasn’t feeling well. I had slept like Rip Van Winkle.
We had beautiful weather for our dive. Having driven out to a top section of coral our diving group were invited to backwards roll into the sea simultaneously. In (what I took to be) revenge for my snoring, Mary dived backwards into ‘my’ water. Result = I smacked my head on her tank. As we both emerged from the water, Mary was frantically shrieking, ‘Something hit me’. Unamused, I enlightened her.
I enjoyed the dive tremendously. We were only at a depth of 9-10 metres and we had great visibility. The coral was stunning and tropical fish life surrounded us. The highlight was swimming with some giant turtles. There are five species of turtle off the SA coast. I am not sure which type we saw - probably leatherbacks - but they were very handsome. Leatherback turtles are drawn to the sandy beaches. We hope to time a visit for their nesting - done during the summer months.
For Mary, the dive was less enjoyable. She offered her critical assessment moments after surfacing vomiting several times. Sadly she had felt sick throughout. As a result we decided against doing a second morning dive. We will, though, return soon.
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