Scuba Diving

Since Durban is right on the Indian Ocean, it is quite conducive to doing water sports. Surfing championships are often held here, the water is warm for swimming, and the conditions are great for Scuba diving. I missed out on the first dive course through the school’s dive club, but I still really wanted to learn. Since my exams were scheduled early, I was able to book a private course on my days off to get my PADI certification.

My teacher was fantastic, so I was really comfortable with my pool sessions. I had to swim a few laps before I began, after which my first experience getting into a wetsuit was a bit challenging: note to self, always dry off first, otherwise your fingers will bleed from trying to pull the suit on wet.

We went to nearby UmKomaas, which has a fantastic site to dive at called Aliwal Shoal. It’s a marine protected area, and is very serene. I was worried about being motion sick on the boat, but it wasn’t much of an issue since we were driving so fast to get out to the site. It was so busy on the beach though - the sardine run hit this area that day, and the people came out in droves to come and see the water become thick with the silvery fish. Of course, people aren’t the only ones interested in these tasty morsels: dolphins and sharks were having a great time in the bay. We saw the dolphins swimming happily beside the boat on the way to my first open-water dive. I happily dove in, and was greeted by a colourful array of fish. It was hard to regulate my buoyancy at first, but I figured it out without too much trouble (or damage to the coral!). After doing the requisite mask clearing (filling the mask with water, and then emptying it underwater), we were able to enjoy water. There was a strong current, but I didn’t know that since I had never been diving before. We came upon two small Ragged-tooth sharks, who had a truly intense presence. When I say small, they weren’t when compared to me - at least 2m in length! What a great first dive! After we surfaced, we boated along the shore to see more sardines. I saw a Whale shark jump out of the water to get a big mouth full of fish. Cool! My second dive we also saw some sea turtles and some other cool fish.

My next dives allowed me to increase my time underwater because I was better at controlling my breath. My first dives were about 30 minutes long, and my third was 60 minutes! I stayed down for longer than most of the others on my boat, which is pretty sweet. I couldn’t believe that all of the sardines were gone already though! I guess I would be fast if I had sharks chasing me. On my fourth dive, my instructor found me a tooth from one of the ‘Raggies’ to keep as a souvenir. I’m now officially certified as an open-water diver, and I can’t wait to go again! Anyone care to join me?