Simon's Cave

There are caves, and then there are caves that become landmarks — places so distinctive, so reliably rewarding, and so well-suited to the unique pleasures of cavern diving that they accumulate a reputation within the dive community that outlasts any individual visit. Simon's Cave at Sodwana Bay's two-mile reef is firmly in the second category: a defined, accessible cavern experience set within one of southern Africa's most celebrated marine environments. Located within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and part of the broader two-mile reef complex, Simon's Cave descends to a maximum of 17 metres — a depth that sits comfortably within beginner recreational limits but provides enough of a dive profile to feel like a proper dive rather than a shallow reef pass. The cave itself is the centrepiece: a substantial cavern in the reef structure where sunlight filters in from the main entrance and the back wall recedes into darkness, creating a gradient of illumination that transforms the same space depending on how far you venture into its interior. The cave-adapted community here is typical of the best cavern sites on the KwaZulu-Natal coast. Soldierfish — the big-eyed, red-bodied species that thrives in low-light conditions — school in the mid-water of the cave in dense formations, their scales catching the thin light in intermittent flashes of copper and silver. Lobsters with antennae extended patrol the back walls, generally retreating deeper as divers approach but occasionally standing their ground with that peculiar combination of alertness and apparent unconcern that makes them such engaging subjects. Moray eels of several species occupy crevices throughout the cave system, some large enough to be imposing, all content to pose for photographs as long as divers maintain a respectful distance. Outside the cave, the reef of the two-mile system continues in its characteristically magnificent way. The coral diversity surrounding Simon's Cave is consistent with the high standards of the broader reef complex: healthy coverage, large colonies, abundant fish life, and the regular appearance of hawksbill turtles moving between feeding areas with that purposeful, banking glide. Eagle rays appear along the sand channels adjacent to the reef, and in summer the blue water above the site occasionally delivers pelagic visitors — barracuda, trevally, and sometimes a school of bumphead parrotfish on their morning circuit of the reef. The site is dived on the same boat-launch system as all Sodwana reefs, with permanent moorings preventing anchor damage and dive leaders familiar with Simon's Cave conducting structured tours that ensure every group encounters the cave's primary features. Visibility is typically 10–20 metres, water temperature comfortable year-round between 22°C and 28°C, and the combination of cave interior and open tropical reef provides enough variety to satisfy a wide range of diving interests in a single dive. Simon's Cave is that rare site that delivers on two levels simultaneously — the immediate drama of the cave encounter and the sustained pleasure of the surrounding reef. It is a Sodwana must-dive.