The trip started with beautiful sunny weather until we got to the Swaziland-South Africa border. There we hit an intense storm. The wind was so strong it was blowing over signs and bending the tin on the roof. The lightening and thunder felt like it was just over us. Doug, Phil and I were still in the border house and I think were the luckiest. Steph, Fiona and Michelle had gone to the woman's restroom. Believe me this is not a place you would choose to spend 2o minutes, but the girls did because the storm was so intense they did not feel like they could leave. Jason, Paisley and baby alex were in the car. The car had been pulled under a large domed tin roof so Jason said it felt like they were in a really powerful car wash. Luckily the torrential rains and heavy winds passed after about 20 minutes and we were able to reunite and continue on our journey. The remainder of the drive though was lit by some spectacular lightening that was snaking across the sky. We arrived just in time to get dinner at the restaurant. I had the yummiest prawn curry I have ever had.
The next morning we awoke early to head down to the beach for scuba diving. Remember that I am still a relative amateur so still get somewhat nervous with the equipment preparation, etc. This was not helped by the fact that the last time we went scuba diving in Ponta d'Ouro I felt horribly nauseous. I did not actually get sick, but did not feel well. Well, I made up for that this time. The ocean was still rough from the storm the night before. I somehow managed to puke before we even got into the water to dive. I was ok once we got underwater, but the surge even underwater was quite impressive. It was interesting to watch all the fish swimming one way then just be carried to the left for a few minutes then back to the right. I wonder if they ever get seasick. Tao's dream is to see someone vomit underwater. I did not actually accomplish this, but the second I surfaced I started to vomit again. This continued until we got back to the land. The driver, giving me shit, said he was going to pull the dive master up right beside me. He kept to his word and almost on cue, I felt the intense urge to hurl again. Luckily I was able to hold it and did not puke in the dive masters face. Needless to say, I was not up for a second dive. It did make me feel a little better that even the hardcore divers in our group had not enjoyed that dive and were ready to call it a day.
We headed back to the house where we napped and read. Then headed down through the dune forrest to the beach.
The beach was beautiful and completely deserted. It was like our own private beach. As we started to walk though, we noticed that there were a large number of small dead black birds that had washed up onto the shore. The driver of our boat explained that he had seen these same birds floating out at sea. He believed that the storm had come in so fast and from a westerly direction that it had caught the birds and just pounded them. It was pretty sad, but I was relieved to hear it wasn't something in the water killing all of them!While we relaxed on the beach, Jason, Fi and baby Alex stayed home to relax.
Fiona found out during that time that this sign is not completely accurate. 
Turns out the monkeys will come in even if there is somebody in the living area. They came in a stole some cookies and crackers while Fiona stood helplessly in the kitchen. She eventually found something to throw at them and chased them out. She filled us in on the excitement when we met up with them on the deck of the bar later that afternoon. Here we partook in some fruity beverages and started our game marathon with some speed scrabble. 
We then moved it back to our place so we could get some food on the grill. The games were continued with an intense game of Jenga involving our dive master. 
After filling our stomach with yummy food we then concluded the night of games with few serious rounds of catch phrase. This has quickly become a popular game amongst the ex-pats.The next morning, I really had to dig down deep and give myself many a pep talk before I was willing to pull back on that wetsuit. You can see below that I was pretty pensive and not sure about this decision.
I was reassured that the ocean was more calm, but decided not to chance it and took a antinausea pill from the dive shop. Best decision of my life. We did two dives and I enjoyed both. In my limited diving experience, the corral in Sodwana is gorgeous. We saw a few of the loggerhead turtles and some manta rays. Either because I am new at diving or just easily entertained, I am still impressed by all the little things and was maybe most excited by a large purple starfish.After two wonderful dives, our new found friend took us to this little backpackers where an Italian man makes pizzas in a small wood oven.
Each of the pizza's were made to order and delicious.
Overall I think in the end this was a fairly successful and positive first dive trip for me!
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