On the coast road cradling False Bay, the train track meanders shy of the shoreline. Between Long Beach and Boulders Beach, you’ll find a ‘big blue shed’- Pisces Divers. A repurposed railway goods shed, this dive school and shop was founded 22 years ago by Mike Nortje. The building is painted a striking blue and features its original Oregon wooden beams, and is as characterful on the inside as on its out.
There will doubtlessly be a collection of cars, vans, trucks and bikes parked around the back also. With a table that can seat more friends than you can find next to the coffee machine, divers are encouraged to make themselves at home, to hang around. And they do! After dives, everyone is about, chatting about what they did (or didn’t!) see, drinking coffee and laughing. During my time in Pisces where I completed my PADI Instructor course, many friends of the shop came and went, for coffee, for conversations, gear and advice.
On our lunch break from theory classes on the IDC course one day, I was delighted to meet Shamier Magmoet who called in. Shamier found great tranquility in the ocean when he began freediving at the age of 33. He has since founded a charity, Sea The Bigger Picture, promoting access to the ocean to underserved communities. He shares freediving and ocean conservation with children from his home area, the Cape Flats, and surrounding neighborhoods, and has been acknowledged as a National Geographic Explorer for his work and contributions. On windy or stormy days when it’s too rough for Shamier to take children involved in the Sea the Bigger Picture program into the ocean, they go to Pisces Divers to do some classroom work.
Pisces Divers was my home for the 2 week IDC course. I loved being a part of a busy diving operation, meeting locals and internationals, learning to dive or calling in to start exploring Cape Town coasts, which are famous for their rich kelp forests, ship wrecks, and the presence of many whales and sharks. The busiest time of the year for Pisces is around May, when the Sardine Run takes place. This sees millions of individual sardines pass on their migratory journey every year. Large predators such as humpback whales and dolphins, alongside diving seabirds, preying on these shoals of fish create an amazing spectacle.
I shared the classroom with 4 other students. Shannon, taking a gap year before university. Ronnie, already working as a Divemaster and taking the next step in his journey. Zach, taking the leap from being a business owner to scuba instructor. Madelle, planning to take her new qualification to travel the world. And myself, on my Our World Underwater Scholarship Society adventure!
Spending so much time with this small group was wonderful. We got on like a house on fire, and coming from different backgrounds, with different reasons for taking the course, I think we learned as much from one another as from the content. Of course, it wasn’t all about being in the classroom, and the group were keen to show me some real South African culture! I was delighted to be brought along to the local Yacht Club to watch a Springboks game, and Madelle and I took a hike up the iconic Table Mountain.
The weeks flew by and before we knew it, it was time to take our IDC exam. Though nerves were running high, Mike’s patient guidance reassured us. He had walked us through both the theory and practical aspects so many times, it gave us the confidence we needed. And what a wonderful feeling it was when we all got through it!
A special memory for me of my time in Cape Town was the day I visited Two Oceans Aquarium. Located at the southern tip of South Africa, the aquarium takes its name from the unique meeting point of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans where it is situated in Cape Town. The brilliant team here took the time to tell me all about their exhibits and the complexities of hosting diving in them for the public.
I was delighted to have the chance to get kitted up and take a dive myself, both in their turtles & ray exhibit, and the kelp tank. I really enjoyed this experience. It was such a novelty being in the tanks and feeling part of the exhibit…I think it was too for the children on the other side of the glass looking in…who I had good fun playing ‘rock, paper, scissors’ with from inside!
A sincere thank you to Mike and all of the team at Pisces Divers who hosted me and got me through the IDC and exam to completion, thank you. Thank you to all of the wonderful people and friends I met in Cape Town. Thank you to the OWUSS and all of the wonderful sponsors supporting me. It was a treat to use my new GoPro at the Two Oceans Aquarium!
