Sodwana Bay National Park Off The Beaten Path

If you're in Sodwana for peace and quiet, and a little relaxation, the main beach maybe isn't so great. Head down south a wee bit, bout 5 - 10 minutes walk, around the 'point', you'll find an amazing stretch of deserted beach...

take a walk along this beach and you'll come to a rocky area thats exposed at low tide... there's some cool wildlife in the resulting rock pools, and the most amazing variety of shells, all shapes and sizes and colours... just be careful though, some of them are still inhabited!

Just outside of Sodwana ther are a couple of places that offer quad biking trips, from 1 - 3 hours long. We took the 3 hour option, and had the most amazing trip through the fields, plantations and forests, almost entirely on dirt track and paths, to lake Sibaya (South Africa's largest freshwater lake). The wildlife is abundant, especially birds, but we also saw hippo and crocodile, and a few buck.

We paid R300 each fro this trip, which may seem a bit steep, but for 3 hours, covering almost 50km, its worth every penny! Once the experienced guide is confident everyone knows how to handle their quads, he lets rip! And travelling at high speeds on dirt roads, wind blowing in your hair (and everywhere), is the most brilliant experience!

After our day of snorkelling, we took a lovely stroll on the beach at sunset, and sat for about an hour watching the sea... during this time we saw at least 5 whales passing by, and it really is the most amazing site, to see such a large animal looking so graceful. Unfortunately it was really bad light for photography, and despite my best efforts the only decent shot i took still looks terribly grainy :-s