Mar 03 2020
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Beware the Sandy sea life – Be cautious when walking in underwater Sand @ Sodwana Bay ~ South Africa

By Sodwana Bay

Sodwana Bay – Sea Life We all love swimming in the ocean when going to any beach. It’s a fundamental part of having vacation by the beach. As tourists, we never really take a step back and realise we are about to swim in the worlds largest marine aquarium… We all respect dams, lakes and rivers, knowing there is things that could ultimately kill us, such as Crocodiles, alligators, hippos even piranhas… We often just stay clear from these water spaces as much as possible and if need be enter the waters with extreme caution and eyes opened at all time. But yet when we go swim in the worlds largest Sea Aquarium – especially been close to the edge (Rock pools) we tend to forget we are in a wild underwater nature reserve… You will never climb out your car in a nature reserve, especially not knowing what might be lurking in the bushes, but for some reason we have made excuses for ourselves about why we can swim in water that we have know idea what might be underneath us at all times. Trust me we are no exception to this delusion, that swimming in a wild space like this is still safe, to list a few close call killer animals we have encountered so far under the water: The lion fish: Ok we haven’t actually swam with one yet, if we wanted to we would have to be it’s size cause all the ones we found swim in tiny holes. These fish are reported to be highly poisonous and dangerous… Will write a post in the future about their venom and impact on our sea life.   The sea Urchin: in rough seas the waves could bash you into these spiny creatures and their spines do break off, all though they are not poisonous, their spines are extremely brittle, if you miss a few pieces they can become septic and if not treated poison your blood stream and lead to death. See article to learn more: Thorns of the Sea – Sea Urchins    The Moray Eel: We encountered a honeycomb moray, one of the more prettier eel species, they can be friendly, but rather don’t take any chances… Usually these sea snakes will try hide out in holes and under coral ledges, So not easily seen, if they feel threatened they might try bite you, that is bad for both you and the Eel, because the moray eel has a lock jaw that only releases after what ever is in its mouth is consumed or it is dead, meaning if it bites you, the only way you get this poor creature off you is buy killing it. So please be careful of this sea serpents for their sake and yours.   The Blue spotted ribbon Tail ray: A gorgeously bright colorful ray. We found one of these beauties in Sodwana Bay’s rock pools once. They seem to be very scarce as I have looked everywhere to find one of these again with no luck… They are reported to be one the more poisonous and dangerous rays in the ocean. Although they will rather try flee than attack when threatened, their 2 barbs on their tails can still be deadly if the ray feels there’s no other way of escape. They are beautiful to look at, but if you ever have the privilege of finding one don’t make it feel uncomfortable, remember you are in it’s world now not other way round respect that it allows you to admire its home… Also always be aware when walking on sea sand in the water all rays tend to try bury themselves under the sand as a way to hunt and hide from predators. See Article to learn more: The Spotty Ghost – Blue-spotted Ribbontail Ray    Puffer fish: We have encountered a few different puffer fish while swimming in the rock pools of Sodwana Bay. These fish are most probably the most venomous fish in the sea, small, super cute – whether they blow up or just normal… their venom is more than 1000 times more venomous than cyanide. So stay clear of these cutey pies they are super dangerous… Avoid any contact with them, there are no known antidotes for their poison and you could be dead in 24 hours…   The Electric marbled ray: This was our very first ray we have ever encountered in Sodwana Bay Rock pools. We were so excited finding this awesome ray in January 2019, especially finding one in such shallow waters. Of course we did not know it was electric and dangerous, but like most creatures of Sodwana it was not aggressive and rather swam away once it realized it was spotted. If you find one of these proceed with caution allow it to swim away and get out its way, they can pack a punch without you even touching them… See article and checkout our YouTube video of our encounter with a Marbled Electric Ray: An Exotic find- Marbled Electric Ray (Article) and Marbled Electric Ray (YouTube Video). So these are a few creatures that are highly dangerous that are definitely swimming around in Sodwana bay rock pools. Always be careful when swimming in any unknown water especially the open ocean nature reserve… Never extend your hand out to an unknown fish or other sea animal, you never know if they are poisonous, keep your eye out for any potential predator and if encountered by an aggressive animal or fish, try get away as quick as possible, but be calm about it… Try keep your snorkel gear on and rather swim with your head underwater so you can see what is going on around you underwater as much as possible, most fish will try avoid you, but there’s always that unfortunate accident waiting to happen… Hope you guys found this article interesting and enjoy the extra content. Please go checkout our  Patreon Page Below… We wanna start giving…

Jan 30 2020
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The shy one was sighted – Thread-Fin Butterfly @ Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Everybody who has ever snorkeled or dived and tried to take a video or pic of a butterfly fish knows how hard that can be. Its rare enough to actually find a butterfly fish, especially in rocky reef areas, where they usually live. We have only spotted the raccoon butterfly fish a hand full of times and even more rarely been able to capture it on camera. But this time instead of finding the more common raccoon butterfly fish, we spotted a new kind of Butterfly – The Thread-fin Butterfly fish. They might be a bit more of a common variety but this is the first one we have ever seen in Sodwana Bay’s Waters. They usually swim in pairs and like any other butterfly are very elusive and wary of everything. Research suggests that they usually swim in pairs and are monogamous (Stick to one partner), although they will choose a new partner in crime if one should die. Sounds like most humans… This one unfortunately did not have a partner, which would suggest it is either still to young or hasn’t chosen a life partner yet. Thread-fin’s can grow up to 23 cm(9in) long and lives in water depths of 1 – 35m (3-115ft) deep. Fun fact they also darken their colors and night. No-one knows why.

Sep 27 2019
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Our new Q&A (Questions & Answers) page @ Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Have you heard of our new Q & A page? This is a fun New page where tourists, locals and the Sodwana Bay informatiom team can all interact together. Where you can ask any question about Sodwana Bay. Such as where  to eat, sleep, best tourist attractions etc. But that’s not all you can ask, ever wonder about the biodiversity of fish and coral under the water. Take a picture add it to the comments below and if you know the answer to the question you can add your comment of the answer. Remember no question is to stupid to ask. Please do not judge questions that are asked on this site. There are always things that might seem obvious to others but to some they have not seen or heard of these objects or creatures yet.

May 30 2019
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Activity – Snorkeling @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Experience the great reefs in Sodwana Bay. We have had first hand experience in snorkeling on the rocky reefs of Sodwana Bay. Although on first glimpse of swimming around in rock pools it will seem as if there are absolutely no fish in the water. This is not true,  although the water is a beautiful deep dark blue on the surface on a calm weathered day you will find that the water is quite clear underneath the surface, with plenty of fish, some fish are more common than others , but rest assured when swimming under the water you will think you are been transported to another world. If you are lucky you might catch a few eels hiding in rock crevices or coral, or even small manta rays, 0r like us we were lucky enough to find a rare spotting of a Marbled Electric Ray (Check out the Video below:) This was by far my favorite siting of all the times we have been to Sodwana Bay. But beware of getting to close to it, they can pack a nasty electrical punch if feeling threatened. Although we didn’t know this the moment we saw it. Well apparently it didn’t feel too threatened by us, cause it didn’t try attacking us. If you have any exotic or rare videos you would like to share send us an email with a link and description and your video could be uploaded on our Website. Click the link below to send an email to our Sodwana Bay Team and keep an eye out for your video: info@sodwanabayinformation.co.za 

May 28 2019
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Activities – Spear Fishing @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

With the Zululand spots such as Cape Vidal and Sodwana Bay having all year round diving conditions and lots of big gamefish action, to wreck diving where large dagga salmon and big ignoblis kingfish, thrilling action is provided for everyone. The world record black marlin was also shot in this area.  Influenced by the warm Agulhas and Mozambique currents which flow southwards down this section of the coast, the waters are home to a rich diversity of fish life.  On any dive spearfishermen can expect to encounter large gamefish along with the many different types of reef fish found here – pelagic fish, black and striped marlin, yellowfin tuna, world record size kawakawa, skipjack tuna, king mackerel, queenfish, kingfish, dorado and wahoo. Kwazulu Natal enjoys a sub-tropical climate with mild winters and hot steamy summers. Summer water temperatures are around 24°C and the use of a 3mm wetsuit is more than adequate. For the winter months May-August you need a 5mm wetsuit with sea temperatures as low as 18°C.  The south coast stretches from Durban southwards to Port Edward, a distance of 160km. With lots of rivers on this section of coast, the rainy months make the inshore conditions mostly undiveable.  The south coast is characterized by short beaches bounded by rocky headlands.  The annual sardine run takes place along this section of coast during winter. Shoals of sardines move up from the south eastern cape coast accompanied by large game fish. This is an exciting time for divers with big game fish and even bigger sharks encountered right on the back line. 

May 21 2019
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Activities – Scuba Diving @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Rated amongst the top 10 dive sites in the world, Sodwana Bay truly is a diver’s dream​…. ​Sodwana Bay boasts some of the most southern coral reefs in the world and as such offers incredible diversity – although it is only a fraction of the size of the Great Barrier Reef, it is estimated to contain more than two thirds of the fish species. This 50 km long reef complex is estimated to be more than 400 years old.​ Whether you are diving or snorkelling there is so much to see -more than 95 species of hard and soft corals, 1200 species of fish, turtles, manta rays and much more. An encounter with one of the oceans big creatures on your drive to the further dive sites is also very likely – frolick with the playful bottlenose dolphins, swim with an incredible whaleshark and observe the mighty humpback whales as they migrate past Sodwana Bay.​ Visibility varies depending on the season and conditions, this can vary anywhere from 5 to 40 meters, with a average of about 12-15 meters. The water temperature in winter generally averages around 22 degrees °C and in summer the temperature can get as high as 28 degrees °C.