Crawford Times - Summer Edition 2020 (2)

TRAVEL
DIVE IT, RIDE IT,
WALK IT, SWING IT,
SPLASH IT!
So this year, we’ve told our kids that Santa (and all other gift-bearing beings) cannot make it to
South Africa for the holidays due to Covid-19 restrictions – one can never be too careful. Instead,
“Santa” will be sending fun times and cool experiences for our family rather than material goods.
We started doing some investigations into what cool experiences there are out there so we can
add them to our wishlist. Here is what we found...
By Donna Verrydt
Dive it!
SODWANA BAY FOR KIDS
If your kids are at the age where they’re in search of adrenalin and
wild experiences, then “Santa” should look no further than Sodwana
Bay, which is between St. Lucia and Lake Sibhayi. It is in the Sodwana
Bay National Park, and the Maputaland Marine Reserve, and is a top
diving spot in the world.
For kids older than 10-years, you may want to start with a ‘Discover
Scuba Diver’ course. This is similar to a resort course and includes
a lecture, pool sessions and a dive in the sea! It only takes half a
day and it is completely recreational; you do not leave with an
accreditation, just a test experience to see if you actually like it.
If you are pretty sure the kids are going to love scuba diving, but you
are pressed for time, consider the PADI Scuba Diver course (entry
level) which includes the manual, equipment, lecture, pool sessions
and two dives in the sea. This takes two days – and the time spent
could count towards your PADI Open Water Diver accreditation later.
If they’re raring to go then go straight to the PADI Open Water course
– the most popular underwater course in the world. This includes the
manual, equipment hire, four sea dives and registration. It takes four
days – and the kids will be fully accredited on completion.
For littles between eight and 10, there’s the PADI Bubblemaker course.
This is an introduction to scuba diving experience and includes a
lecture and a dive in a 3m pool. They are too young for an open sea
dive, but if you want to include them in the sea experience, then you
book them on the boat ride out and maybe even a snorkel.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE
INFORMATION
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