Goggles, air tanks, wet suits and dry suits, flippers, weight belts, underwater watches and cameras. The stuff of scuba diving, venturing into a different world, a beautiful world, where the plants and animals are so varied and marvelous, so very different to life on dry land. When you strap on your scuba diving gear and drop beneath the waves, there's a certain quiet and something foreign-yet-fantastic that envelopes you. There's the weightlessness, that floating feeling. You become aware of the wave action, the currents, and the lighting is different down there – filtered, less glaring, and yet sometimes the colors can be so bright, luminous even.
You might have walked into the sea from the beach or the rocks, or you might have boated out to a popular drop site, above a reef perhaps. Scuba diving to some is a sport, possibly involving spear-fishing, or a means to an end if you're a scientist studying the ocean, or a treasure-hunter exploring sunken wrecks, or, or, or. For most people who go scuba diving, though, they do it for the fun of it, for the sense of adventure. Generally speaking, scuba diving does not involve taking anything out of the ocean other than what you took in with you plus memories and pictures of the many amazing sights, of the incredible diversity of life – from the tiny to the huge, harmless to dangerous, downright weird to unbelievably spectacular.
You never go scuba diving alone – diving in pairs or in groups is one of the safety precautions, and besides, it's more fun to share each other's experiences. And before you even think about pulling on a diving mask and heading for the ocean floor, you must undergo some basic training – possibly even taking an advanced course if you're contemplating something particularly unusual or challenging. Yes there are creatures and conditions down there that can be life-threatening if you don't follow the rules, don't heed the advice of the experts, don't show respect for the deep. By and large, however, even more important than learning how to behave in the sea is how to breathe in it – there's a lot more to it than connecting to an air-pipe and keeping an eye on the clock.
Even once you're qualified to go scuba diving, before you dive in there are numerous checks and cross-checks that one does in terms of the condition of the water and the weather, the boat if you're using one, and all the equipment you'll be using down under. But without taking anything for granted, you soon get used to the necessary rigmarole in the interests of trouble-free scuba diving. From there on out it's about going on a magical mystery tour – though you're prepared for what to expect, the exact nature of things will surprise you time and again, which of course is all part of the adventure.
The following outfits are all professionals offering scuba diving adventures in South Africa. In Johannesburg: Divetek. In KwaZulu-Natal: ScubaAddicts, Reefteach, Aqua Planet Dive Center and the Umkomaas Lodge Dive Charters. In Plettenberg Bay: Jamin Adventures. In Mossel Bay: Electrodive. In Gans Bay: Shark Diving Unlimited.
Goggles, air tanks, wet suits and dry suits, flippers, weight belts, underwater watches and cameras. The stuff of scuba diving, venturing into a different world, a beautiful world, where the plants and animals are so varied and marvelous, so very different to life on dry land. When you strap on your scuba diving gear and drop beneath the waves, there's a certain quiet and something foreign-yet-fantastic that envelopes you. There's the weightlessness, that floating feeling. You become aware of the wave action, the currents, and the lighting is different down there – filtered, less glaring, and yet sometimes the colors can be so bright, luminous even.
You might have walked into the sea from the beach or the rocks, or you might have boated out to a popular drop site, above a reef perhaps. Scuba diving to some is a sport, possibly involving spear-fishing, or a means to an end if you're a scientist studying the ocean, or a treasure-hunter exploring sunken wrecks, or, or, or. For most people who go scuba diving, though, they do it for the fun of it, for the sense of adventure. Generally speaking, scuba diving does not involve taking anything out of the ocean other than what you took in with you plus memories and pictures of the many amazing sights, of the incredible diversity of life – from the tiny to the huge, harmless to dangerous, downright weird to unbelievably spectacular.
You never go scuba diving alone – diving in pairs or in groups is one of the safety precautions, and besides, it's more fun to share each other's experiences. And before you even think about pulling on a diving mask and heading for the ocean floor, you must undergo some basic training – possibly even taking an advanced course if you're contemplating something particularly unusual or challenging. Yes there are creatures and conditions down there that can be life-threatening if you don't follow the rules, don't heed the advice of the experts, don't show respect for the deep. By and large, however, even more important than learning how to behave in the sea is how to breathe in it – there's a lot more to it than connecting to an air-pipe and keeping an eye on the clock.
Even once you're qualified to go scuba diving, before you dive in there are numerous checks and cross-checks that one does in terms of the condition of the water and the weather, the boat if you're using one, and all the equipment you'll be using down under. But without taking anything for granted, you soon get used to the necessary rigmarole in the interests of trouble-free scuba diving. From there on out it's about going on a magical mystery tour – though you're prepared for what to expect, the exact nature of things will surprise you time and again, which of course is all part of the adventure.
The following outfits are all professionals offering scuba diving adventures in South Africa. In Johannesburg: Divetek. In KwaZulu-Natal: ScubaAddicts, Reefteach, Aqua Planet Dive Center and the Umkomaas Lodge Dive Charters. In Plettenberg Bay: Jamin Adventures. In Mossel Bay: Electrodive. In Gans Bay: Shark Diving Unlimited.