Posted on 1/10/2013

Cageless shark diving? Really?

YES! And no, we have not lost the plot...in fact! We have a ridiculously fun, secret weapon in our Team and she has shared a little snippet of info with me, which you might very well want to know more about!First and foremost, lets give you a quick intro to said team member who has the knowledge and the power to be your personal guide on this adventure - your underwater, V&A Waterfront Aquarium dive with the Sharks. (and yes, it'scage less)Leonore recently joined theNox family in a Guest Relations role and loves every second of it. She's an avid diver, who has explored the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. She started out on wrecks and soon moved to shark diving. She has studied Travel and Tourism and coincidentally did her practical at the Two Oceans Aquarium for two years... hence her knowing way more about what you, as a guest, can do when on an Aquarium visit!She also seems to have a thing for Sea Turtles. She's incredibly good with them and if you've ever seen one, you'll know they can get pretty big. Something about stroking them on the head and them falling asleep. You'll need to chat to her about this. Either way, theAquariumat the Waterfront is one of herfavoriteplaying grounds and you can have her be your personal guide in the largest fish tankI'veever seen.So if diving with turtles, a myriad of fish and sharks is on your bucket list, then here's your chance to tick that one off! Sure, it's not open waters, but this option seems seriously safer and so out of the ordinary (by this I mean, Shark Cage diving in a fish tank is not something I would normally read, hear, speak or write about...)Our beautiful Cape Town not only offersspectacularviews, the Big 5 Game, Wildlife, merging Oceans and ridiculously delicious wine... it also offers you this great opportunity of mingling with the fishies in the Aquarium tanks! By mingle, I mean Scuba diving. Naturally. No, there's no cage. It's just you, the wet suit and the tank on your back. The best part? You don't have to be a qualifiedscuba diver to dive in the 2 millionliter I & J Predator Exhibit. Nope... you don't!So when you sign up to a little dip at the Aquarium, you are going to be overwhelmed by the likes of turtles, stingrays, sharks and large predators like yellow tail, dusky kob, black and white muscle crackers and more. This adventure is not weather dependent at all - yay! Unlike shark cage diving off the coast, where bad weather leads to swells and if you get stuck on those you can find yourself trying your utmost to keep down those motion sickness tablets!If you do happen to be a qualified diver, well then you can also swim among the kelp fronds and the feed the fish in the Ocean Basket Kelp Forest Exhibit. Leonore tells me that there are only three of these in the world! I recon exploring an underwater forest is a pretty cool thing to do...More about the DiveThe Aquarium offers a One day Course, which starts at 8.30 am :The Discover Scuba CourseYou start off with a short course and then usually by 1pm you are in the big tank.The fine print for now:The cost of the course is R500 and the dive is R625 over and above this course fee.The course fee is paid directly to the Instructor, and must be paid in Cash.The dive fee is paid to the Aquarium and can be done by card or EFT.We start at 08h30 at the Aquarium with a short overview of what is to be done.We then move off site to a swimming pool where we teach the basic skills.We return to the Aquarium in time for the dive at 13h00.The dive itself is 30 minuets long.This means that all will be completed in one day, starting at 08h30 and finishing around 15h00.The course numbers are limited to the maximum number of divers allowed into the tank at any one time which is 3.You'll need to complete a medical questionnaire (which we can always send to you).If there is a Yes answer to any of the questions then a Doctor must clear you for diving.NB!! Please bear in mind that you cannot fly for 12 hours after diving, so take this into account when you book your experience.  If you have any questions regarding the shark cage diving, you can email Leonore directly on our Guest Relations email: gr@noxrentals.co.za
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