A JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN WORLD!
This is an adventurous sport where you have the
opportunity to escape your natural environment and enter a world of the unknown where you
are no longer an inhabitant, but a visitor. When you sit on the beach and admire the most
the exquisite beauty of the ocean, you can only but imagine of what really lies
beneath the surface...............
Scuba Diving allows you to transform your imagination into a reality.
 Scuba Diving is an extreme sport which
has its risks - much like any other extreme sport for e.g. bungi-jumping and skydiving. So
if your are not a daring and extremely adventurous person then this is definitely not for
you.
Scuba Diving is not the type of sport where you can just jump in the water and
explore the underworld for as long as you like. One has to undergo sufficient training
before doing so, obviously depending on the the type of diving you wish to do.
You can go on a guided Dive - where you can dive at some of the
best dive spots in the Cape with a Dive Master who knows the area well. You can go on a
Shore or Boat Dive that takes place daily, weather permitting. You can go on courses to
qualify as a registered diver and so forth.
Now eventhough the Ocean is classified as the most beautiful view on earth,
underwater diving has it's risks. Yip - you guessed it - SHARKS!!!
Okay, let us be realistic in Cape Town it is highly unlikely and there has
been no record of a Scuba Diver ever being attacked by a shark in this Country. But,
I suppose there is always that thought of you being the first.
Do not be discourage by this thought, because believe it or not, Divers have seen
sharks and what do they do? Swim?
No! they kick back and relax on the ocean floor and
admire the beauty before their very eye's.
Now I don't know about you, but I can not exactly see me and a shark in the same
picture, but Divers who have seen sharks believe that they are one on the most beautiful
and graceful creatures on earth. They say that you are so much bigger than all the other
fish in the ocean, especially with all the gear you have to wear, that the sharks would
much rather target a smaller and less threatening prey. Hard to believe - but it is true!
But off Course if you come into contact with a really mean deep sea shark
- WELL let us just say that at least your body was not donated to Medical Science,
but to Nature!
This is just the typical worst case scenario, and that is probably all it will ever
be, a SCENARIO!
There are different stages to diving - it really depends on how enthusiastic you
are and how qualified you would like to be in Scuba Diving. So you can apply for various
courses leading you all the way to being a qualified Dive Master!!!
So you can either have a once off experience or make a career of it.
When you train to be a qualified diver, you have to undergo theoretical and
practical training.The Theoretical side is learning all the necessary techniques, signs
and safety measures when diving.They will instruct you of what to do in any
problematic situation. You also need to have a fairly broad knowledge about the diving
equipment that you should use.
There are two situations that divers fear one being decompression and the other
being nitrogen narcosis.
Decompression - The nitrogen content in the air that you breath is
absorbed into your blood stream. If you should rise to quickly or on the other hand should
you stay under for to long, the nitrogen can form BUBBLES in your tissues and blood.
Nitrogen Narcosis - The Nitrogen that you inhale on the surface
does not hamper your body in any way, but as you go deeper into the ocean, the nitrogen
increases. This can not kill you, but much like alcohol it can make you irrational and
irresponsible.
Now do not panic too much - because if you go diving for the mere experience of it,
you have the qualified Dive Masters, which assist you all the way!
Should you wish to partake in this adventurous experience , Adventure-Village
is the place to go. They offer a wide variety of extreme sports, some you definitely can
not miss. One Dive you should not miss by them is the Predator Dive in the Two Oceans
Aquarium alongside ragged toothed sharks, rays, turtles and game fish!!
So - let your adventurous and daring self take over, and experience sports and
activities that are sure to change your life.
Think of it this way - if you decide to give Scuba Diving your best shot, the next
time you sit on the beach and admire the endless beauty of the ocean, you will no longer
have to imagine what is beneath the surface - you will KNOW!!!!!.
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