Marine Conservation Dive Experience
An underwater adventure in the wonder world of an Indian Ocean marine national park. Dive pristine reefs in warm tropical waters. Explore an African paradise on the east coast of Africa.
Adventure
Are you a lover of the ocean and all things marine? Want a life changing adventure and the satisfaction of doing something worthwhile? Pursue your passion and learn about marine life? Learn to scuba dive and acquire new skills?
Explore
Are you considering to explore another country? Experience different cultures and make new friends? Get out of the city and spend time in nature? Considering a career change? Want to pursue your passion for the environment? Find greater meaning?
Contribute
Do you want to contribute to marine conservation? Provide meaningful support to the protection of our marine environment? Participate in data collection on marine life and coral reefs? Be an active part of the solution and make a difference?
Join our Marine Conservation Dive Experience in Sodwana Bay Marine National Park. We welcome volunteers, students and interns from around the world at our beach camp to help contribute to the conservation of the southernmost Indian Ocean reefs.
Obtain your internationally recognized PADI scuba dive certification. Become a competent scuba diver and gain valuable dive skills which are recognized anywhere in the world.
Learn about the marine environment through our extensive online Indian Ocean Reef Ecology presentation and video series. Acquire greater skills to identify different fish, coral and invertebrate species as you learn from knowledgeable marine biologists and field staff.
Assist our Marine Ecologist and Field Staff with data collection and photo records of marine life and corals as you accompany them on their daily dives. Support marine conservation and citizen science projects to conserve sea turtles and key fish species on the southernmost Indian Ocean reefs.
Become and active part of the solution and make a difference to conservation of our marine environment! Stop wondering and day dreaming, don't delay anymore! Come share your passion with other like minded people from around the world.
Just do it!
Scuba Courses
We have a 5 star PADI training facility and are able to offer all PADI scuba diving courses from beginner to Divemaster. If you are already qualified, then add to your competency with further specialty courses. Our location in South Africa means you enjoy tropical warm water diving conditions, while the costs are significantly lower than most other training centers around the world. Your PADI certification is recognized anywhere around the world and could be a new career path should you desire to make your living from scuba diving.
Reef Ecology Series
You are able to self-study or as part of a group learn from our comprehensive Indian Ocean Reef Ecology video series. You learn about the marine environment and how we can conserve its inter-connected marine life. Topics that are covered offer transferrable knowledge across all oceans and marine environments, including megafauna (rays, sharks and turtles) as well as fish biology and coral reef systems. Benefit from specific modules that teach you in an easy-to-follow manner how to improve your identification skills for fish, coral and invertebrate species.
Conservation
You become an active participant alongside our field research team to assist with photographic evidence for our marine databases. You will support our global sea turtle conservation database, as well as keystone species such rays, sharks and large groupers. We use advanced software to identify individual fish which are used to estimate population numbers and range movements. We conduct daily dives to monitor fish species, ecosystem health and coral reef abundance across multiple reefs inside the marine national park.
"The past two months I've been here have been the happiest two months of my entire life. Feeling excited about every day is the first emotion I feel once I wake up! The most fantastic two months of my life! I lived a whole lifetime of joys jam-packed into a few short weeks! "
Charlotte O'Meara - USA
"The highlight of my stay was probably one of our dives. On the boat ride out we saw humpback whales jump out of the water, then had an amazing dive and even got to see a pod of dolphins surround our boat on the way back. It was a beautiful day with amazing people, definitely something Iā€™ll remember forever! Such an amazing experience. The things I learned, the experience I gained and the people Iā€™ve met are all unbelievable!"
Abigayle Timms - USA
"I found the practical experience of diving with such knowledgeable and passionate professionals extremely rewarding! It greatly enhance my knowledge about marine life and reaffirmed my passion for it!"
Aidan Bossert - RSA
Marine Conservation Dive Experience
Check out this short (2 min) video from footage by our students and interns that have participated in the Marine Conservation Dive Experience in Sodwana Bay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Programmes start throughout the year on the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month.
Our programme schedule runs on two week block periods and you can stay as long as you want e.g. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 weeks. Chances are you will want to stay longer than your original booking! This is no problem and two weekly extensions can be booked while on the programme, as long as you remain within the maximum stay requirements of your tourist visa.
You can join if you are 18 years or older at the time your programme starts. Unfortunately no young children given the nature of scuba diving activities.
As long as you are able to meet the minimum requirement for safe scuba diving i.e. 50m swim underwater with one breath, then you're Ok!
Absolutely not! We have a 5 star PADI training facility and pride ourselves on training scuba divers to highest standards of safety. We teach from beginner to advanced and master diver levels.
I want to join the Marine Conservation Dive Experience!
Don't wait any longer, come meet the friends you've always wanted to know! Come make a real difference to marine conservation and become an active part of the solution! Just do it!
