Scuba diving is back at Two Oceans Aquarium

It’s been a long wait for your favourite indoor diving experience to re-open, but scuba diving is once again back at the Two Oceans Aquarium – all skill levels welcome, even if you’ve never tried to dive before!

If you have never scuba dived before, or are simply curious to see the sub-tropical ocean from the inside, then diving inside the I&J Ocean Exhibit is for you! This exhibit is home to a variety of warm-water-loving animals that are home to South Africa’s East Coast – giant short-tail stingrays, friendly rehab sea turtles, schools of batfish and more.

Learn to dive

If this will be your first-ever dive, contact Two Oceans at [email protected] to book a PADI Discover Scuba Course. This short course, supervised by legendary local scuba instructor Iain Robertson, covers all the needed safety and technical skills you’ll need to carry out a scuba dive under supervision. Before you hop into the I&J Ocean Exhibit, you’ll have a chance to practice your underwater skills in a pool make especially for training – so this is an excellent way to get your feet wet!

Swim with sharks

If you already have a valid Open Water qualification, why not take a dive with the ragged-tooth sharks of the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Exhibit? Under the guidance of Two Oceans divemasters, circle this exhibit in safety and tick “dived with sharks” off your bucket list. Plus, if you find a shark tooth, you get to keep it!

The next level

And finally, if you’re an Advanced Open Water diver and want to test your skills in the simulated waves and gullies of the Southern Hemisphere’s only above-ground, living kelp forest, then a scuba dive in the Kelp Forest Exhibit is a unique experience for you!

Is it safe?

During these uncertain times, your health and safety are of utmost importance – especially when it comes to hygiene practices. For that reason, these measures have been put in place to ensure visitor safety during diving experiences:

-Upon entry to the Aquarium, including the behind-the-scenes areas you’ll visit for your diving experience, you will be screened and be required to wear a mask, maintain reasonable physical distancing behaviors and sanitise your hands. You can see more about the general Aquarium entry and safety protocols in place for Aquarium visitors here.

-Between use, every piece of scuba equipment used, from wetsuits to masks, is thoroughly washed in an antimicrobial detergent solution. The storeroom where equipment is stored between dives has also been limited to essential staff as well that are aware of and compliant with safety procedures.

-Showers, changing areas, and classrooms used are also kept sanitary and are thoroughly sanitized between diving slots.

If you have any specific queries related to dive safety and hygiene practices, please feel free to chat with the Two Oceans team when making your booking. You can also find more details of their safety procedures and diving Ts & Cs here.

Picture: Two Oceans