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Depends. Are you doing the 2 dives in one day? Dives in SA are not too expensive, but rental of equipment is, especially if you don't belong to a dive club. I expect to pay between ZAR300 to ZAR350 for a dive. Rental varies a lot from place to place. If you are not happy with the price, shop...

Hey guys, As promised, here is my report on our Ponta trip. A group of about 15 went on this trip. The small group I traveled with left Johannesburg on Thursday morning at around 4:30AM and got to the resort at around 3PM. We could have done this quicker, but we did mess around a bit on the...

I have noticed that I detect pressure changes more than I used to now that I am a diver (sometimes even in an long'ish elevator ride). It's never painful, but rather a feeling of equalization. I don't think it's a physical side effect, but more noticeable due to me being more consciously aware...

There have been a lot of threads regarding entry level dive computers, which you can look at as well. I am pretty new to diving and I bought the Zoop. As I said in a previous post, there are only 2 issues which bug me: 1. No deep stop functionality; 2. Phosphorescent display does not last...

Hi All, I am off to Ponto for a few days next week. We are staying with and diving through Planet Scuba. Our dive package includes breakfast and dinner. This is my first time diving outside the borders of South Africa. Any tips on what I need to take along or anything I should be aware of...

Nope, does not sound appealing at all. I would wear a neoprene vest over my tankini if I needed more core warmth, but all my diving is done in warm water so a 5mm wetsuit has always been sufficient. I still think a tankini without any fancy ties or buckles is the best. It's super comfortable...

Sorry to hear about the run of bad luck. Hopefully your dry excursions were enjoyable. The 7 Mile reef is my favourite reef at Sodwana Bay. It's usually covered with life and plenty to see. I could spend a whole dive at the Amphitheater just chilling there and watching all the fish. Maybe I...

Wow, talk about jumping to conclusions. How did you get to the conclusion that Dave Shaw did the dive for "glory and fame"? I have read quite a bit about this incident and I didn't come to this conclusion at all. Rather keep your snide comments to yourself. If you want to discuss the dive plan...

I battled a little bit to get down on my first few dives. I am very inexperienced and have recently been certified, so I can relate to your experiences. On one of trips, my very first dive trip after a break after my initial OW sea dives, I was battling to get down. I got a brand new wet suit...

I completely agree with you and it touches one something I have noticed recently. There has been a lot of criticism on this board lately regarding newly certified OW students doing AOW. I see many users of this forum have stated that they did a substantial number of dives before doing AOW. I can...

Thanks for the write up jnash. Hope you guys will come back some day. Give Sodwana Bay a try next time. xyrandomyx, I believe Aliwal is for advanced divers? Aliwal is next on my list after diving in Ponta in June (can't wait!). I just want to make sure I have the right experience before going...

Relax and enjoy it jw2013! It's really an amazing feeling. Don't be afraid to ask your instructor for feedback after each dive. For my OW, we had to do about 5 pool sessions, 3 quarry dives and then another 3 boat dives. I got a little bid nervous before rolling off the back of the boat the...

Purely for interest, diving in Sodwana is around ZAR270 a dive (around $27), so it's pretty cheap in my books. A full weekend of diving (5 dives, 3 nights worth of accommodation in 3 star self catering units) can cost as little as ZAR2500 ($250) if diving with certain LDS. Really a bargain in...

Diving in Sodwana is done off a rib. It's warm water diving, so very little weights are required (most recreational divers dive a 5mm suit). I usually dive an AL 10L, back inflate BC and weight belt. Although, 12L steel cylinders are not uncommon. We first kit up, then the operator will...

Not sure if this is gimmicky or anything, but I bought a compensating weight buckle for my weight belt. Basically, it's a metal buckle which is spring loaded. As my wetsuit decompresses, the weight belt automatically adjusts. Just one small thing to not worry about.

I did my first night dive this past weekend at our local quarry. I have always been a little apprehensive of dark water. As we were swimming out to the buoy line where we were to descend, I felt something brush against my leg. I look around and see my group about 2 meters ahead of me so it...

Thanks buddasummer, but I still find it weak even when I charged it. ;) The cable is on the bottom half of my millions of other things I want to get.

My hubby recently bought me the Zoop as a gift. I have only done 3 dives with it though. I love it. My only gripes are: 1. The phosphorescent display: It does not last very long and is not very bright. 2. No deep stop functionality. 3. The dive profile also does not record temperatures...

Yeah. That is the first thing I noticed. :cool2: After my deep dive, I was chatting to one of the employees at Miracle. Apparently they are arranging for SAPS divers to remove the car and sink another object in its place. Was relieved to hear it as there are some very sharp and large edges on...

We did have caylumes and torches. The torches are not very bright. As you can imagine, it's school gear, so it's not great quality stuff. A decent torch is next on my never ending list of stuff to purchase. I mainly dive in Sodwana Bay, which is warm water diving. Gloves are prohibited, so was...