Christmas Eve Dive
Sani and  I joined a dive to 'Bikini' which is a max 22m dive and so called because 'she hides all her best bits'. As usual the guys from Calypso provided a good experience.  Vis was ok, about 10m but didnt get any good photos to use.

Saw a large double ended pipe fish amongst others.
Next dives for New Years Eve!

Awesome day!

Yesterday was an awesome dive day. Beautiful day, calm sea, sun shining, great for a 6.30am start. First dived 28m to 'Nevs Ledge', 3 miles straight out from Durban past the shipping lane. Saw two unique fish on the dive - a double ended pipe fish and a very rare ornate sleeper ray which is on the critically endangered list.  Dived for about 22 mins due to the depth and had a long slow ascent so total dive time 31 mins.

At 9.30am I started the 'nitrox/enriched air course' which is just theory and a video. Got 23 out of 25 for the questions, then we did a practical check of the oxygen content of two cylinders.  DONE!

At 13.30 the boys and I got to dive 'Caves' which is one of the best spots off Durban. We were fortunate that Patrick the course director was our divemaster. He shared his vast experience with us and we enjoyed a leisurely 1 hour dive! Got to see frog fish, boxys (my favorite), and a lovely little paper fish (see picture) and several rays.  Of course there were the usual tropical fish - butterfly, wrasse and moorish idols.  Also saw a natal sea catfish but difficult to photograph.  The boys enjoyed going into the caves - they are only shallow so no need for special training which is great.

Advanced open water course complete!

hi again, well, my son and I completed the Advance open water course last Sunday after diving in pretty awful conditions. The visability for the navigation dive was so bad we had to pack together like sardines thank goodness for another students bright pink fins or I would have been lost!

Anyway, we tried to dive last Tuesday but again the visability was poor, it is Durban's rainy season so all that fresh water and muck entering the sea makes diving difficult on the reefs close to shore.

We did enjoy a fantastic 30 minutes diving in the open ocean tank at the Ushaka aquarium. Lots of rays and pelagic fish and the rays come right up to you and swim over your face! It was a fun dive and my 10 year old could join on that one too. We waved at the people through the glass, giving some a fright!

We are waiting for better conditions so we can try to dive 'caves' again soon.

My first blog

Hi, I have set up this blog as part of my WEB 101 course at Curtin Uni in Western Australia.
I have chosen to call my self 'Durban Diver' as my blog and 'presence' will be relating to my interest in diving.

I will post photos and information relating to diving in Durban and experiences I have while undertaking my advanced open water diving course.