Marine Scuba Experience - Sodwana Bay, May '21

This was another amazing month for students and interns at our Marine Conservation Dive Experience in Sodwana Bay.

This video features some of the scenery on the beach and around camp as well as underwater photographs taken during dives collecting data on these spectacular reefs.

There are several macro photography images featuring a range of shrimps such as the Harlequin Shrimp, Humpback Cleaner Shrimp, Clear Cleaner Shrimp and Durban Dancing Shrimp.  These shrimps can be aggressive as they are blind and known to defend themselves by pinching divers that may unintentionally venture too close!

Other macro photography photos include Two Bar Anemone fish inside the tentacles of a Red Anemone, as well as a Peacock Mantis Shrimp under a sandy ledge.  The Peacock Mantis Shrimp has the most powerful punch relative to its weight of any animal and can shatter a diver's mask with one of these punches.   

There is also a photo of a Black Cheek Moray Eel with at least two species of cleaner shrimp grooming it at a cleaner station.

Large groups of Blue Stripe Snappers would regularly school in midwater creating yellow clouds of fish which would often obscure a diver! 

We had several encounters with Green Turtles which were added to our global database as well as a young Whale Shark calf that swam right up to one of the dive boats!

The warm Indian Ocean waters of Sodwana Bay Marine National Park offer year round tropical diving in temperate waters.  These southerly coral reefs are relatively sheltered and offer clear underwater conditions even during the colder winter months.