10 Nights
Specific Tour
16 people
English
This exclusive adventure tour is on offer twice a year and should not be missed by thrill seekers. Savour and appreciate the many spectacular offerings of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the Kingdom of Eswatini whilst participating in carefully planned thrilling and spectacular activities. The highlight is the very rare opportunity to scuba dive with thousands of hammerhead sharks on their annual migration. Pack your dive gear and appetite to indulge daily in 3 delicious South African meals set in wonderful and scenic locations.
You will start this adventure with the opportunity to do the sentinel hike to the top of the Drakensberg Amphitheatre where we will picnic at the top of the Tugela Falls. The Amphitheatre is home to the Tugela Falls, which at 948 metres or 3100 feet and recently classified by the World Waterfall database to be the tallest waterfall in the world. The vistas from the falls are completely mesmerising and unmatched anywhere in the world. From the mighty mountains we will bid farewell to our hotel and its views of the towering cliffs of the Drakensberg Amphitheatre and travel scenic routes to the beautiful coastline of KwaZulu-Natal.
The next part of the tour is an exclusive experience enjoyed by only a few people in the world. We will do a total of four dives on the world-famous deep reef Protea Banks situated on the scenic Hibiscus Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, a dive site famous for incredible shark diving with regular sightings of large Bull and Tiger Sharks. During spring every year thousands of migrating hammerhead sharks congregate at Protea Banks. This is a very rare phenomenon that occurs in just a few locations in the world. While not diving we will enjoy the many features and offerings of the Hibiscus Coast and fall asleep in our beach accommodation to the sounds of the Indian Ocean.
After our epic dive experience, we set off to the famous Hluhluwe-iMfolozi nature reserve in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, famed for being the wildlife park that saved the White Rhino. During our stay at the oldest proclaimed protected area on the African continent, you will enjoy campfire meals to the sounds of wild animals. On game drives through wooded hills, grass covered slopes, and spectacular African valleys, you will be on the lookout for the Big 5 (Lion, Rhinoceros, Elephant, Leopard and the mighty Cape Buffalo), which are amongst the 86 special species found in this 96,000ha park.
After enjoying some of the most spectacular game drives in Africa we will travel to the Kingdom of Swaziland (Eswatini) and end our adventure white water rafting the Usutu River.
Meet at O.R. Tambo International airport at 9AM. We will have a picnic lunch and snacks available on the road trip and comfort stops on the 5 hour drive to the Witsieshoek Mountain Resort. After settling into our rooms, we will go on a short afternoon hike with views of the Amphitheatre.
There will be a braai (barbeque) for dinner and a relaxing campfire to end the day.
Start the day with a hearty breakfast before setting off on the Sentinel hike. This is an intense hike at a steep gradient to reach the top of the Drakensberg Amphitheatre. The last section to summit the Amphitheatre is scaling the famous chain ladders, the hike is often referred to as the chain ladder hike with these sets of chain ladders secured to sheer cliff faces. After reaching the top of the mighty Amphitheatre we hike across golden grasslands to the falls. We will enjoy a picnic lunch at the top of the Tugela Falls, the tallest waterfall in the world and then return to camp.
Dinner will be served around the campfire, whereafter guests will retire to their mountain chalets for a good night’s rest.
Breakfast will be ready early in the morning for us to leave as early as possible for the Hibiscus Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. This is a 7 hour drive with a picnic lunch on the road and comfort stops. The plan is to arrive at our beach accommodation in the afternoon and check in, followed by a visit to the dive centre.
Dinner will be a traditional Durban curry and guests will fall asleep to the sounds of the ocean outside their window.
The first day of diving starts with early breakfast at the beach accommodation before travelling to Shelly Beach Harbour. The boat trip to Protea Banks is an 8 kilometre trip out to sea that starts with a thrilling launch through the surf.
All dives start at a depth of anywhere from 30 metres to 35 metres. A short time is spent at the maximum depth for the dive, exploring the incredible features and sea life at depth. This includes shark caves and spectacular topography covered in deep corals teeming with sea creatures.
After reaching maximum bottom time, divers slowly ascend to approximately 22 metres below surface for the remainder of the dive. This level is where we will see an abundance of pelagic fish, sharks, possibly a chance sighting of sailfish and marlin. During November this is also where we find the migrating school of thousands of Scalloped Hammerheads. Minutes can be spent drifting weightless in the strong current watching this awe-inspiring and extremely rare spectacle passing us by.
After the dive we will explore the beautiful Hibiscus Coast, have lunch and spend time on the many beautiful beaches on offer. Dinner will be at the beach accommodation.
As with day 4 we will start the day with a hearty breakfast and then embark on the sea journey to Protea Banks. Sightings of Humpback Whales, turtles and flying fish have been made during this relaxing trip out to the deep waters.
The hammerhead dive will follow the same dive plan with limited time exploring this deep fascinating reef looking for a multitude of rays and bottom dwelling creatures. Encounters with Bull, Tiger and Ragged Tooth Sharks are common on the reef.
We will ascend to 22 metres and drift in the strong current always focused on the vast blue waters for signs of the Scalloped Hammerheads.
After the dive we will explore the beautiful Hibiscus Coast, have lunch and spend time on the many beautiful beaches on offer. Dinner will be at the beach accommodation.
We will start the day with a much needed breakfast to manage the dive conditions at Protea Banks. The currents are formidable and the dive is deep even for the most experienced divers. We will explore the reef and search for the many interesting reef dwellers, there have been sightings of the very rare Angel Shark at this incredible world-renowned dive location.
At 22 metres we drift with the current, flying weightless through the warm waters of the Indian Ocean searching for the mega school of hammers. They always first appear as a massive dark shape until when slowly moving closer to them, they become a very distinct wall of sharks. Divers can drift along and behold this wall of creatures for minutes and minutes upon end. The boat trip back is filled with excited chatter and disbelief at seeing this beautiful and rare phenomenon.
After the dive we will explore the beautiful Hibiscus Coast, have lunch and fun swimming at the many beautiful beaches on offer. Dinner will be at the beach accommodation.
Early breakfast is served to the group, excited and ready to go and spend their last day of diving searching for the migrating Scalloped Hammerheads and wondering what the dive on the reef will present.
During encounters with the migrating hammerhead sharks it is not uncommon that individual hammerheads break out from the school and approach divers, possibly scouts coming to investigate. The search for the hammerhead school is also exciting and not without surprises along the way. It is common while searching to encounter large schools of Bluefin Tuna, Giant Grouper, Greater Hammerhead Sharks and inquisitive Blacktip Reef Sharks, who do not have respect for personal space and are quite entertaining!
After the dive we will spend our last day exploring the beautiful Hibiscus Coast, have lunch and spend time on the many beautiful beaches. Dinner will be at the beach accommodation.
The day will start with breakfast at our beach accommodation before we depart on the 4 hour drive up the Kwazulu Natal coast to the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi National Park.Â
This 96,000ha reserve with its woodlands and beautiful valleys is home to the big 5 and many other species of African wildlife.
After lunch at the nature reserve accommodation, guests must be sure to pack their binoculars for an afternoon drive around the reserve.
Dinner will be a bush braai (barbeque) at the camp surrounded by nature.
We will start the day early with a game drive and a picnic breakfast on the drive. Lunch will also be a picnic out in the bush enjoying views of nature and the wildlife. The game drive is for the whole day with a professional safari operator with 4x4 transport. Dinner will be served back at camp, followed by a campfire before bed.
Day ten starts early with an early breakfast at the safari lodge and then a 5 hour drive to Eswatini to get to the adventure group ‘Swazi Trails’ for lunch and to set out on the white water rafting adventure for the afternoon.
At completion we will check in to our Swazi accommodation for the night where we will enjoy dinner and a campfire.
Breakfast at the Swazi accommodation before driving back to OR Tambo. This is a 5 hour drive and the intention is to arrive back at OR Tambo International Airport around lunch time. This allows for guests to fly out or travel to their next destination that afternoon or that same night.
The trip plan has been carefully designed to make optimal use of the time available. Guests arriving from abroad must ensure that they factor in time for passport control and baggage retrieval. This can sometimes take up to 2 hours at OR Tambo International airport. Flights must be selected with the earliest possible arrival time on the first day of the tour. Guests should land at a time that allows them to be at the tour departure point at 9AM on Day 1 of the tour. A suggestion may be to arrive the night before and book into one of the many airport hotels at OR Tambo International Airport. Information on the departure point and time will be provided in a pack of documents after purchasing the tour.
This all depends on the season in which you plan to visit and the locations on the specific tour you book. There is a list of items to pack that can be seen by following this link What to pack checklist.
Our professional guides are locals and familiar with the country as a whole and will make every effort to avoid any unfortunate incidents. The locations have been carefully selected for being scenically beautiful and safe.
We highly recommend that you have travel insurance and/or comprehensive medical insurance in case of an emergency. It is necessary to provide us with this information before you arrive so that we can assist in ensuring you have access to private healthcare facilities and services.
The alternative is government healthcare facilities where you may not receive specialised treatment, especially in the event of a diving related emergency. It's always advisable to get dive accident cover from Divers Alert Network (DAN).
Please consult the article ‘Your Step-by-Step Visa Guide’ under Stories, Tips and Guides for more information on countries that require Visas and those that are exempt. You must carefully read up on the countries that are included in your tour, all tours include time in South Africa.
This tour involves diving in extreme conditions and does not allow for the opportunity to learn to dive. The minimum diving qualification for this trip is a PADI Advanced Diver qualification, Enriched Air (Nitrox) Certification and Deep Diver Specialty. Divers must dive on a regular basis and be experienced divers. The Deep Diver Specialty is required since the dives are at depths exceeding 30 metres and there are very strong currents at the dive location. Course theory component must be completed electronically before arriving for the tour. PADI Course Registration and login will be sent to you after booking.
Diving forms a key part of all our tours and a lot of time is spent on this activity, there are limited spaces available for non-divers for each trip. We do not provide for alternative activities while the group is diving.
You must dive Enriched Air (Nitrox) to have an extended bottom time and so the whole group can multilevel together. If you are not qualified yet select 'PADI Enriched Air (Nitrox) Specialty' under 'More options' to enrol. Course theory component must be completed electronically before arriving for the tour. PADI Course Registration and login will be sent to you after booking.
The Deep Diver Specialty is required since the dives are at depths exceeding 30 metres and there are very strong currents at the dive location. If you are not qualified yet select 'PADI Deep Diver Specialty' under 'More options' to enrol.Course theory component must be completed electronically before arriving for the tour. PADI Course Registration and login will be sent to you after booking.
Dive computers and surface marker buoys are essential on Protea Banks and are not available to rent, you will have to bring these items with you on the trip. The rental gear is good quality, so this is not necessary, but as divers we understand if you bring your favourite gear along. Please check with your airline regarding the limitations on dive gear.
There are larger units available at a number of the venues. We will strive to book these as per guests requests and needs.
Yes, select the special dietary requirements option under ‘More options’ when booking on the website. Guests must advise African Scuba and Safari of their specific dietary requirements on their information forms.
Guests may choose to enjoy meals at restaurants during the 10 night tour at their own cost and where such establishments are available.
Only tour operator in Africa to offer these all-inclusive experiences
Tour packages include accommodation, transport & meals
PADI Professional Divemasters
Certified Rescue & Emergency First Responders
Professional tour guides
Member Since 2024
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