Treat yourself to an underwater carnival in a remote KZN bay

Luke Metelerkamp went diving in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park to witness the return of two rescued green sea turtles to the wild

The long-distance taxi rank in Durban is abuzz with activity as I wander through, trying to find my ride. Somehow, even after my more than 25 years of living in South Africa and travelling its highways and back roads extensively, this northeastern stretch of coast is completely unfamiliar to me.

So when the opportunity came up to cover the release of two green sea turtles in Sodwana Bay as part of the iSimangaliso Sodwana Shootout photography competition, I jumped at it.

My love for the ocean borders on obsession and I'd been yearning for a good reason to dust off my camera.

For the uninitiated, Sodwana Bay is a jewel in the crown of the larger iSimangaliso Wetland Park. The 332,000ha park was listed by Unesco as South Africa's first world heritage site in 1996 and now employs more than 8,000 people and indirectly benefits many more in one of the poorest parts of South Africa.

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Old plantations have been taken over and rehabilitated, beach mining has been fended off and national borders have been opened; now the park consists of eight interconnected ecosystems and wildlife corridors. These are woven into a transfrontier park that includes a recently established marine protected area in Mozambique.

It's a "big seven" park, which means that in just one day visitors can see the terrestrial big five and then drop into the warm Indian Ocean in search of southern right whales and great white sharks.

The park is a diversity hot spot, home to an astounding 1,280 species of fish, five species of turtle, 100 species of coral and more than 526 bird species.

Park CEO Andrew Zaloumis highlights that with less than 3% of the world's oceans under any form of protection, marine protected areas such as those connected to iSimangaliso are of critical importance to the planet's oceans and all who depend on them.

The day after we arrive, Mel and Grotto arrive in the park in a pair of well-padded turtle-sized boxes.

It's been a long journey for the pair of green sea turtles, which washed up sick near Cape Town and Port Elizabeth more than three months ago. Since then, they have been cared for by a network of aquatic safe houses in the lead-up to their release back into the calm, warm waters of the park.

The exact cause of their original distress, which carried them so far off course, is unknown. But as Robert Kyle, a senior aquarist at the Oceanographic Research Institute informs me, there has been a sharp increase in the number of turtles washing up in Cape Town's icy waters over the past few years, many with plastic clogging their digestive tracts.

Cheers go up as the pair slip gracefully back into the ocean and disappear beneath the blue veil - a small victory in a much larger battle to save a species.

Remarkably, after spending at least 20 years at sea, all female green sea turtles return to nest at the exact beach of their birth, laying hundreds of eggs in a season, though only 1% survive to maturity. Exactly how they find their way home after intercontinental journeys that can stretch over 7,000km remains a mystery to modern science.

Free again, Mel gives the camera a wink before speeding off into the ocean.

As I dive deeper into Mel and Grotto's world over the next few days, I'm humbled by the lives of these incredible creatures and the efforts of their human counterparts working tirelessly to ensure their species does not slip over the brink of extinction forever.

The good news is that, in South Africa, there are many more marine protected areas on the way that will provide havens for the likes of the recently released pair.

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Over the four days of the trip, we suit up many times and speed off in rubber dinghies beyond the breakers to explore the many offshore reefs of iSimangaliso.

The colours and richness of life clinging to every rock and coral outcrop make life back on land seem rather dull.

Returning to the surface, I feel like someone forced only by lack of oxygen to leave in the middle of a Brazilian carnival halfway through the night and head back to my desk at the office.

After such a short time in the park, I walk away with a renewed sense of hope in humanity. I'm reminded that although things may be moving in a direction of intolerance and short-sighted self-interest on many global political fronts, new local frontiers are also emerging.

These are being led by a new generation of social and environmental activists who, like those I encountered at iSimangaliso, are somehow finding the courage to work with lightness, patience and laughter despite the massive challenges they are up against.

Theirs is a courage drawn, perhaps, from the incredible natural heritage that surrounds them and a finely tuned appreciation for the importance of restoring spaces with the power to re-wild the hearts and minds of modern man.

IF YOU GO...

• With a range of campsites, backpackers' and lodges on offer, there are accommodation options to suit all budgets. For those looking to cut costs, getting a local minibus taxi to and from Durban costs just R200 each way and, compared to the costs of renting a car, will save you enough cash to cover your first few dives.

• If you want to take your diving up a notch, next year's iSimangaliso Sodwana Bay Shootout from May 22-27 is an underwater photography competition open to all skill levels, with over R250,000 in prizes up for grabs.

• The diving is truly outstanding but don't let this distract you entirely from all the terrestrial treats on offer. For fitness freaks, the park now offers a four-day mountain-bike ride and a trail-running series.

• If possible, avoid peak season. Christmas and New Year mean madness. September is quieter and ideal for divers and underwater photographers.

• Sport fishing is big business around Sodwana but this is changing. Explore ways of treading lightly in the park and if you do fish, take only what you really need.

Visit iSimangaliso.com for more information.

• Metelerkamp was a guest of iSimangaliso Wetland Park.