Mpumalanga’s Underwater Adventure

One of the most intriguing brown tourism signs you will come across when exploring Mpumalanga is the sign pointing to Komati Springs, just outside Badplaas on the R38. What makes this sign stand out from all the rest is the little man in the left corner decked out in scuba gear!

Komati Springs photo by Ludwig Sevenster.

330km from the nearest coast, one thing you don’t expect to do while discovering Mpumalanga is to have an underwater adventure! Yet, that is exactly what you will get at Komati Springs Inland Dive Site. This hidden gem along Mpumalanga’s Genesis Route is one of the province’s best kept secrets and yet most talked about attractions.

Locals might not know about its existence, but amongst diving circles Komati Springs is renowned and attracts divers from around the world. So what makes it a diving mecca? It’s the unique combination of a 54m open hole and network of flooded tunnels extending 186m below the ground, that makes it an ideal spot for both recreational and technical divers alike.

..the open pit and network of tunnels and shafts flooded, leaving behind one of the most spectacular inland playgrounds for divers in Southern Africa.

The Komati Springs site was once a mine, which closed in the 1970’s. Subsequently the open pit and network of tunnels and shafts flooded, leaving behind one of the most spectacular inland playgrounds for divers in Southern Africa. The tunnels make Komati Springs one of only a few places you can gain technical diving qualification in South Africa. What is more, because Komati Springs is an inland site it also means you are almost guaranteed to be able to dive, as it is not affected by swells or wind issues like coastal sites.

Komati Springs. Photos by Roger Horrocks.

Yet the real magic about Komati Springs is not what the area has done for diving, so much as what diving has done for the area. Until 2002 the site was an ugly scar on the beautiful Nkomazi Game Reserve. As the Reserve had been painstakingly restored back to an original savannah grassland ecosystem and thanks to the diving going on at the mine, it was awarded an international rehabilitation grant and the total transformation has been remarkable.

It is almost impossible to imagine the site was once a mine, abuzz with heavy machinery. Now there is only open grassland, herds of eland, wildebeest, kudu and other antelope. The quarry lake is crystal clear and the cliff is home to a huge colony of rare Southern Bald Ibis, which is just one of the 145 bird species recorded at the site making it a bird watchers paradise.

Komati Springs, photo by Ludwig Sevenster.

The dream of owners Don and Andre is to continue with the transformation, developing a more fully integrated accommodation facility for the whole family. Turning Komati Springs into the dream holiday destination for everyone and anyone, as the site boasts fabulous nature walks, cycle trails, camp sites and game viewing opportunities, as well as the potential to swim, scuba and free dive.

So what are you waiting for? Add Komati Springs to your Mpumalanga Bucket List and try something different and discover something new in this wonderful province we call home.

Details:

Komati Springs Dive Site is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, but pre-booking is required.
Overnight camping costs are R115 per person per night. Day rates to use the facilities but not to dive are R90 per person per day. Divers need to bring their qualification cards and logbooks. Alternatively, try-dives or courses can be arranged at extra costs – pre-booking required.
Directions from Nelspruit: take the R40 towards Barberton and turn right onto the R38 signposted to Carolina. 48km on from the turn you will find the brown sign for Komati Springs with the scuba guy. It is signed with a white IANTD board at the actual turn off on your left. GPS Coordinates: Latitude S25 55.757 & Longitude E30 42.615
To book, contact Andre [info@komatisprings.com | +27 (0) 82 650 2294]