Are You for Scuba?
A group of women take the plunge into the world of underwater fun in Sodwana
WOMXN FOR WILD RALLIES A GROUP OF WOMEN WHO WANT TO TAKE THEIR NEW-FOUND SCUBA DIVING SKILLS FROM THE CONFINES OF THE SWIMMING POOL TO THE VAST INDIAN OCEAN
‘Itʼs like learning to live on another planet,ʼ Carmen van der Westhuizen said with some incredulity. It was our second day in Sodwana Bay and I was sitting on the stoep of our log cabin at Coral Divers resort in blissful February sunshine, talking with my good friend and business partner. Contemplating what it takes to explore the ocean after her first swimming pool session on the PADI Open Water Diver scuba course, Carmen continued: ʻYou have to learn everything all over again. How to breathe, how to see, how to walk, how to survive.ʼ She mused while sorting out her plastic crate of sopping-wet scuba kit. She had a valid point, but it is a little ironic.
The ocean is our planet. Us landlubbers inhabit just 30 percent of Earth, but our globe is covered primarily by saltwater. Of that, roughly 20 percent of it is visible to us at the surface. The other 80 percent lies somewhat ominously below the waves.
I was lucky. My partner has been scuba diving and holidaying in KwaZulu-Natalʼs Sodwana Bay since he was a laaitjie, and his family returns almost every December. It didnʼt take long for me to want to peer under the curly curtains, too. Four months after we started dating, I dropped down on my first scuba dive with Coral Divers resort and I have never looked back (or should that be up?).
Carmen has always wanted to plunge below, but couldnʼt find the right outdoorsy friends keen enough to tackle the course with her. Itʼs one of the reasons she dreamed about a platform like Womxn for Wild. We started an experience business that builds ways for eco-conscious women to immerse themselves in Africaʼs wilds without fear or prejudice. Carmen and I aim to be those infallible adventure buddies.
STEP ONE? COOK UP THE TRIP
Carmen wanted to learn, so surely other women would too? Plus, I was more than happy for an excuse to dive the days away while everyone worked through the five-day PADI Open Water Diver course.
STEP TWO? PRIORITISE SAFETY
We chose Coral Divers resort for a host of reasons. The biggest advantage? Itʼs one of the only dive schools inside the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, so there's no gate admin when getting onto the beach in Sodwana Bay – and thereʼs freedom to roam around the resort and surrounding coastal forests.
STEP THREE? LEARN TO DIVE, DUH
Coral (as itʼs affectionately nicknamed) is also a pretty and professional stay. The established centre ranks as a PADI five-star Instructor Development Centre and Gold Palm resort. Thereʼs a choice of cute cabins, basic tents (with proper beds, though) and well-kept communal ablutions, plus a free shuttle available on the hour to take you (and your very wet wetsuit) to the beach and back for dives. Last but not least, itʼs got an acclaimed learn-to-dive programme with female dive instructors. Our in-depth research told us the beers here are cold, too...
STEP FOUR? MYTHBUSTING
If you ever thought scuba diving was sexy, squeezing into a tight wetsuit will quickly dispel that notion. Likewise, learning to breathe underwater can be taxing. The PADI Open Water Scuba Diver course consists of three segments: confined water dives, knowledge development and open water dives. This means time in the classroom listening to American voices drone on for a bit, learning how to kit up and submerge in the swimming pool to practise those essential underwater skills, then prove you can do it all again under the big blue. Our all-women group must then do a multiple-choice quiz and obtain 75 percent or more to pass.
STEP FIVE? ASSEMBLE A CREW
The party numbered just six. A motley squad from all over South Africa – one from Plettenberg Bay, another from Cape Town, two from Johannesburg and two from the windy city, Gqeberha, but all eager to inspect the Indian Ocean, perhaps naively so.
The PADI Open Water Scuba Diver certification allows you to dive down to a maximum depth of 18 metres. There are particular techniques you have to master to complete this training. These include learning to assemble your underwater air jacket (or buoyancy control device) and breathing apparatus (or regulator) to your oxygen tank, not calling your mask goggles and fins flippers, and practising emergency procedures.
Essentially, this course takes you through every worst-case scenario. What to do if your oxygen tank cuts off? What to do when you find yourself lost
‘Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, THE OCEAN TOUCHES YOU
WITH EVERY BREATH you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume. Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly DEPENDENT UPON THE EXISTENCE OF THE SEA.’
– Sylvia Earle, marine biologist