May 28 2019
Off

Activities – Skippers License Training Courses @ Sibaya – Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Our recommendation: Indian Ocean Skippers www.skipperstraining.co.za Tel: 012-3612617/012-3489078 or info@skipperstraining.co.za Get your Skippers License now!  Everybody who owns a boat or is interested in buying a boat sometime in the near future needs a Skippers License. Unfortunately just like getting your drivers License for a car, you will also need a license to drive your boat on the open waters (no matter where you go!). Luckily these days Skippers Licensing Courses are not so hard to come by. But that is easy if you live near a lake, dam, or the Sea. But for most this can become a tricky and expensive course if you can’t find the right trainers. Here are a few things you should do to start and complete your course: The first thing you have to do when getting your license is applying for a course that will suite your budget and needs. Remember to make sure the course you choose suits your needs. E.g Inland Skippers Course or Coastal Skippers course. Whats the difference you ask? The difference is that Inland courses will restrict you from venturing into the open seas, whilst Coastal Skippers License Training will  allow you to drive on the open oceans and allow you to go for a day out fishing on the dam or lake! Although the Coastal Skippers Courses are a bit more expensive than the normal Inland Courses it is worth the while, sort of like  getting a manual car License instead of  going for an automatic license. Its easier to pass but can screw you around in the future. So once you have established which course you want to or are willing to  take the next logical thing will be to decide which Skippers inland or Coastal Skippers training course you would like to apply  for and  which Skipper Licensing training company you would like to train with. Try if possible go for a company that will allow you to do your theory in your home town, there is unfortunately not much you can do if you live far away from a water bed that will suite your courses needs. Next step is to pay attention in class! If you are done with school this can be an annoying process (Unless you liked tests and exams in School). You have applied for your course and now have to attend the theory part of your License. This includes attending classes (most times over weekends to accommodate those who can’t make it during the week). You should really try pay attention during these courses and take as many notes as you possibly can, or maybe even take voice notes from the instructor while he is giving his lesson. Theory like most other tests are really important to getting your License, it shows your instructor that you truly understand the course and what  you should do practically. Once you pass your Theory test you will be able to move onto your Practical test.  Practical is where you will either make it or break it? Your actual Practical Skippers Licensing test is where your instructor takes you out on the water bed to see if you can actually put your Theory that you have learned so far into the practical world. Of course you will have a few days of Practical Training before doing your actual test. So make sure to pay as much attention as possible  to your instructor to achieve the maximum results on your final test. Sodwana Bay is a great place to do your Coastal Skippers License as you will have to learn to do a surf launch instead of just a normal dock launch, which will give you a great advantage all over the world. Check out our listings to find out which lodges and Trainers are available to get  your Coastal Skippers License from!

May 20 2019
Off

Isimangiliso Game Park entrance fee and Rhino Card fees @ Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Entrance Fees If you enter the park gate you will be charged a daily rate. There is a new day visitor car park just outside the gate – you can now park there and walk into the beach for free.​ The entrance fees were hugely reduced by the new park management on 1 Dec 2018. The current gates fees are as follows: Adults – R23 Child- R19 Vehicle (1-5 seater) – R32 Vehicle (6-12 seater) – R47 The park fee is waived with a RHINO card but you still have to pay the R5 levy per person. ​ Your basic Rhino Card costs you R250 per person (under 60 yrs of age) or R230 per person (over 60 yrs of age) for a year’s membership. There is no juvenile rate. Eg. In order to receive the benefits, two people will pay R 500 ie. you will be buying two memberships @R250 each = R500 and ONLY THOSE 2 PEOPLE enter for free. However, as long as ONE of the cardholders is present, any second person can enter with you for free because you have paid for two memberships. Rhino Club Your Rhino Card will have your ID and name on it, plus your partner’s ID, plus the number of memberships you have paid for eg. No. 1 will be printed onto the card where there is only 1 membership purchased; eg. No. 2 will be printed on the Couple card; eg. No. 4 on a Family Card where 4 memberships have been purchased, etc Park campsite – please confirm the current fees with the operator at the establishment where you will be staying

Apr 24 2019
Off

Snorkeling Gear @ Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

Just like having the right Scuba gear when Scuba diving, it is also very important to have the right snorkeling gear to have a great time. What do I mean by the right gear? We were snorkeling in Sodwana Bay in January 2019. Our very time Snorkeling in the sea with our new gear. The first problem we came across was our masks: The stuff was cheap and Universal. We thought we struck a bargain buying the Mask and Snorkel for the same price as what you would buy the mask separate for. Not long after we went Snorkeling for the very first time with our new masks we found that the things were leaking and also kept readjusting themselves after each swimming session. This is really annoying when you chasing a really cool fish or just enjoying the underwater world and all of a sudden you start getting drops of water dripping in you’re mask or like my fiancé’s mask it just completely floods if you just move your head from side to side. This can be extremely annoying. You have to come up every few seconds/minutes (depending on how bad the leak is) to clear your mask and go back under again. Solution: Don’t try be cheap like we were… Rather go to a proper dive shop where they can allow you to test out each mask and find which mask fits your face the best. Once you have established that you will never have problems with your mask, unless of course the strap breaks or something else goes wrong. But you at least you don’t have to worry about water getting in your eyes and nose. Another alternative that is newish to the Snorkeling market is a full faced mask. We have not tried this mask yet. But basically it has it’s snorkel on top of the mask and it covers your whole face instead of only your nose and eyes. If you have experienced sea water you know it burns worse than an over chlorinated swimming pool! Just remember nobodies Face is exactly the same, so not all masks will be work for you. Second thing that I had a problem with was my Snorkel: The problem I had with my snorkel (hence been a cheapy) was that I kept getting water in my snorkel, whether it be me blowing to hard on the snorkel or just moving to vigorously around. Very frequently I got a mouth full of sea water which is really unpleasant. Another problem that I encountered was I found a piece of plastic I assumed was part of the packaging of my snorkel by the mouth piece that lets out the air you breath out. That was a big mistake. That little piece of plastic was actually there to prevent water from getting into the snorkel. Although it didn’t do a very good job of it, it still helped a little. When I broke that plastic off my whole Snorkel was buggered and I could no longer use it. I ended up having to buy another more expensive snorkel that actually worked so much better than my old one. I still got a mouth full of water every now and than but much less than the previous one. Always test your snorkel that it doesn’t take in water before going in for a full on swimming session. That’s all for today. Don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel. Please Like and Subscribe!

Apr 24 2019
Off

First day of Traveling to Sodwana Bay @ Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

So the if you are traveling from Pretoria/Joburg you know that your travels could be between 8-9 hours. This is the most boring time you will have in your whole vacation period. We always consider traveling day as our first holiday day. We usually like to leave quite early in the morning to avoid adding time to our journey by getting stuck in traffic between Pretoria and Witbank. Here are a few tips on how to prepare for your trip that will get you there sooner and make life so much easier: First of all – Try make sure everything non-perishable is packed and ready to go the day/night before. What I mean by this is, if you have ever been in Sodwana you know most places are self catering, meaning you have to bring your own food water and drinks to the camp site. So stuff that can defrost and go off you would rather pack in the morning instead of letting it thaw out through the night and still have to stay in hot car or trailer all the way down to Sodwana Bay. Quick Tip: What we always like to do planning our trips to Sodwana Bay is start saving frozen foods and vegetables before going down. We always like to start buying what we call “Sodwana food” months in advanced, when ever we see a special or a cheap piece of meat we will buy it chuck it in our freezer and forget about it. Once we start preparing to go to Sodwana Bay we go through our freezer and find we never have to buy extra meat when we go down and often times end up bringing more than half of the food back. Trust me you do not wanna buy anything in Sodwana. The town spar in Mbazwane is insanely busy all day long with nobody respecting each other and very little variety of meats to choose from and the little Town heading to the beach is way to expensive with very little to offer it is better just to prepare before hand. Also never try buy Alcohol there, they will charge you nearly double to triple the amount you would pay here in the city. Try pack all clothes and snacks (non-perishable) the day or even weekend before you travel (depending on when you plan to leave). We find trying to rest the day before you leave to be the best course of action, as it is a really long journey to go down. Make what we in South Africa call Padkos (road food). You really don’t wanna go on an 8-9 hour journey without having something to eat or drink. I guess you could just stop at a restaurant or gas station and getting something to eat there, but there are two (2) reasons I would not suggest that – (1) Its less spending money for when you are in Sodwana Bay. You wanna maximize your spending in Sodwana where your actual holiday is not use it on boring restaurants along the road. Why not save a few bucks by making some great home made food that is anyway in your very own kitchen. (2) The second reason is you can save alot of time, instead of spending an hour to 2 hours in a restaurant you could rather take a 5 minute toilet break every once in a while and eat whilst driving or just stop and take 10 min to eat rather than add hours to your journey. Take a lot of Drinking water with you! Sodwana Water is not the same as city water, most camp sites use borehole water and as a result can upset your stomach if you are not use to it. Rather just bring your own water from home, whether it be bottled or tap water and also make sure to bring enough to last your whole trip until you come back. Keep cold and frozen things together. I have found if keep cold (Fridge) stuff and frozen stuff in the same container it helps keep everything cold and for the most part frozen for longer. So the last thing to do before traveling is to get a good nights rest. Before any long journey you need to be well rested up, so I would suggest the night before your big trip try get an early night in. It is the big day! You are mostly packed early in the morning just got the last few things to pack before locking up your house and off on your exciting vacation. One last check through your to do list and were off on our exciting journey. GoSodwana!!!!!!!!!!!! Once you arrive in Sodwana, you will be exhausted, but still have to pack out everything from the car, first thing is get all the food in the fridge and freezer. That’s done! Next go dump all bedding, bags etc. in the chalet/tent/house. After that jump back in the car and go claim that beach/sea once more. Maybe you don’t need to go swim that very first day but just to see the sea once more and to breath that clean air is just so amazing. Makes me wanna go back there right now! Explore this Website a little more, start at Homepage and discover some of our cool finds in Sodwana and check out our Youtube Channel (Please Like and Subscribe while you at it)

Mar 11 2019
Off

The Sand under your feet and the Gorgeous waves in your site! @ Sodwana Bay

By Sodwana Bay

That day of travel is always the hardest. Early morning (for most earlier than usual) long drive, real early packing, double checking you have everything you want and need for your vacation. For most of us who hate mornings this is the most tedious time of the whole vacation. Not including the horrible long journey you have to take (especially from pretoria!). But guess what?! The best part is yet to come! Once you get to Sodwana Bay, you have unpacked everything that needs unpacking, you might have a few hours of daylight to spare (depending on what time you get to your accommodation grounds). Why not take a few minutes to reward yourself and go take a stroll on the beach. The reward is worth the wait! After that long hard journey down the only thing I can imagine making it all worthwhile is definitely seeing the sea afterwards. After all thats what you are there for! That warm soft sand between your toes and that beautiful sound and sight of the big wide gorgeous ocean. It doesn’t matter if you are there to: Snorkel, Scuba Dive, open water fishing, free diving or any other activities you can think of, it is still nice to take a step back and enjoy the ocean for what its worth! For more information on Sodwana Bay explore a little more of this website. There are many questions to be answered here, such as: where to eat, where to sleep, where to shop, etc. Also check out our YouTube channel, like and subscribe whilst you at it :)!

Feb 28 2019
Off

Go Sodwana Bay!!!

By Sodwana Bay

Hey guys & gales – our new domain https://gosodwanabay.co.za is live!!!     We so happy – we will be using Go Sodwana Bay as a Digital Magazine (blog) for all things Sodwana Bay. It wont be the same as our Information Gateway where we promote local businesses and services.