Dive Sites
With Oxygene/Scuba Scene being and inland dive centre and retail group we are spoilt for choice in terms of dive sites both in South Africa and Mozambique, listed here are some of the more frequented dive sites commonly used by us. 

Aliwal Shoal (South Coast of South Africa)
Aliwal Shoal is located approximately 5 Km from Umkomaas on the Kwazulu Natal South Coast, this part of the South African coast is world renowned for the excellent Shark diving opportunities and is frequented by thousands of local and international travelers on a yearly basis, flocking to experience close encounters with the Ragged Tooth Shark, Oceanic Black Tip Shark and Tiger Shark amongst others.

Shark Diving is however not all the Shoal has to offer, there are two well known wrecks to the likes of the Produce, a 2000 ton molasses carrier that came to peril after colliding with the reef in 1974, now forming an artificial reef providing shelter to a plethora of fish life including gigantic Brindle Bass hiding inside the massive cargo hull and the Nebo that came to peril on her maiden voyage in 1884.

Aliwal Shoal affords diving to all levels of certification with reefs starting from 6 meters to 36 meters, comfortable water temperatures ranging between 27 Degrees C in the summer period to 18 Degrees C in the Winter Months.

Launches gets done from the Umkomaas river mouth and is claimed to be every bit as exhilarating as the diving itself.

Sodwana Bay (North Coast of South Africa)
Sodwana Bay is renowned for it’s Scuba Diving and Snorkeling amongst other leisure and sporting activities like hiking and angling and is classified as a Marine Protected Area and is situated within the greater St Lucia Wetland Park, proclaimed as one of South Africa’s first World Heritage sites.

The “5 mile” reef within the Sodwana reef system has also been classified as one of the top 10 dive sites in the World where encounters with White and Black tip reef Shark, Leatherback and Loggerhead turtle and Manta Ray’s is not unknown as well as regular encounters with Whale Shark and Bottle Nose Dolphin on route to the numerous dive sites.

Sodwana Bay is also situated within comfortable reach of a wide variety of privately owned game farms and Lodges, affording an ideal opportunity to view the “Big 5” game species within the comfort of a game drive vehicle with qualified game rangers on hand to answer all your questions.

Take a Scuba Lesson with the PADI Open Water Diver Course
Get your PADI scuba certification. If you’ve always wanted to learn how to scuba dive, discover new adventures or simply see the wondrous world beneath the waves, this is where it starts.

The PADI Open Water Diver course is the world’s most popular scuba course, and has introduced millions of people to the adventurous diving lifestyle. 

The Fun Part
The fun part about this course is . . . well, just about all of it because learning to dive is incredible. You breathe underwater for the first time (something you’ll never forget) and learn what you need to know to become a certified diver. During the course, you’ll make at least five pool dives and four dives at local dive sites under the supervision of your PADI Instructor.

What You Learn

• How much fun scuba diving is

• Scuba diving equipment considerations for your local diving environment

• How to plan, and execute actual dives

• How to prevent and manage problems

the PADI Open Water Diver course consists of three main phases:

• Knowledge Development (in a classroom ) to understand basic principles of scuba diving

• Confined Water Dives (pool) to learn basic scuba skills

• Open Water Dives to review your skills and explore!

• If you’ve tried diving through a Discover Scuba Diving course, the skills you learned may be credited towards a portion of the full PADI Open Water Diver course certification.

The Scuba Gear You Use
In the PADI Open Water Diver course, you learn to use basic scuba gear and standard accessories. The equipment you wear varies somewhat, depending upon whether you’re diving in tropical, temperate or cold water.

The Learning Materials You Need
PADI offers a variety of home-study materials for the Open Water Diver course.

PADI’s Open Water Diver materials cover what you need to know about basic scuba diving skills, terminology and safety procedures. For each concept you’ll read a description and watch a video demonstration. Then you’ll jump in the pool (or pool-like environment) to practice these skills with your instructor. Later, as a certified diver, use the course materials as a reference guide for future diving adventures and to review what you learned.

Prerequisites
To enroll in the PADI Open Diver course or Junior Open Water Diver course, you must

• Be 10 years or older
  

Continuing Education

Courses
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course
The PADI Rescue Diver Course
PADI Divemaster Course

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course
Exploration, Excitement, Experiences.  
They’re what the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course is all about. And no, you don’t have to be “advanced” to take it – it’s designed so you can go straight into it after the PADI Open Water Diver course.   

The Advanced Open Water Course helps you increase your confidence and build your scuba skills so you can become more comfortable in the water.This is a great way to get more dives under your belt while continuing to learn under the supervision of your PADI instructor. This course builds on what you’ve learned and develops new capabilities by introducing you to new activities and new ways to have fun scuba diving. You’ll hone your skills by completing five adventure dives that introduce you to:

• Under Water Navigation 
• Deep Diver  (typically anywhere from 18-30 metres)
• A sampler of three more Adventure Dives of your choice

The Fun Part: Your Choice
One reason you’ll love the Advanced Open Water Diver course is that you and your instructor choose from 15 types of Adventure Dives to complete your course. You can try your hand at wreck diving, night diving, peak performance buoyancy and much more.

• Get credit! Each Adventure Dive in the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course may credit toward the first dive of the corresponding PADI Specialty Diver course.  

What You Learn
The knowledge and skills you get in the Advanced Open Water course vary with your interest and the adventures you have, but includePractical aspects of deep diving

• Physiological effects of deeper scuba diving.
• More ways to use your underwater compass
• How to navigate using kick-cycles, visual landmarks and time
• How to better use your dive computer and electronic Recreational Dive Planner  
• And much, much more, depending on the Adventure Dives you choose  

The Scuba Gear You Use
You use all the basic scuba gear including your underwater compass. Depending on which three adventure dives you pick, you may also try out underwater photography equipment , DPVs (underwater scooters), a dive light, lift bags or other specialty gear.The Learning Materials You Need
PADI’s Adventures in Diving Manual and DVD provide information on more than 16 types of specialty diving. You’ll use them as a guidebook to improve your diving skills and prepare for new experiences and adventures.Prerequisites
To take this course, you must be:

• A PADI Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another training organization)
• 15 years old (12 for Junior Advanced Open Water Diver)

The PADI Rescue Diver Course
“Challenging” and “rewarding” best describe the PADI Rescue Diver course. Building upon what you’ve already learned, this course expands on what you already know about how to prevent problems, and how to manage them if they occur.

The Fun Part
The fun part about this course is rising to challenges and mastering them. Most divers find this course both demanding and rewarding, and at the end, say it’s the best course they’ve ever taken.

What You Learn

• Self rescue
• Recognizing and managing stress in other divers
• Emergency management and equipment
• Rescuing panicked divers
• Rescuing unresponsive divers

The Scuba Gear You Use
You use all your basic scuba gear including a dive computer and accessories.

The Learning Materials You Need
The PADI Rescue Diver crewpak includes all materials required to complete the PADI Rescue Diver course – including a pocket mask. You’ll learn how to think like a rescue diver and preview skills you’ll practice with your PADI Instructor. Once your Rescue Dover course is complete, you can review the DVD to refresh your dive safety skills as needed. This tool box of knowledge and technique will give you the expertise to handle almost any emergency situation.

Prerequisites
To enroll in the PADI Rescue Diver course, you must

• Be 15 years or older
• Have a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification (or have a qualifying certification from another organization)
• Be trained and current for first aid and CPR within the previous two years (Ask your instructor about EFR, CPR and first aid courses).

PADI Divemaster Course
Looking for the first step in working with scuba as a career? Your adventure into the professional levels of recreational scuba diving begins with the PADI Divemaster program. Working closely with a PADI Instructor, in this program you expand your dive knowledge and hone your skills to the professional level. PADI Divemaster training develops your leadership abilities, qualifying you to supervise dive activities and assist instructors with student divers. PADI Divemaster is the prerequisite certification for both the PADI Assistant Instructor and PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor certifications.

What You Learn
During the PADI Divemaster program, you learn dive leadership skills through both classroom and independent study. You complete water skills and stamina exercises, as well as training exercises that stretch your ability to organize and solve problems as well as help others improve their scuba. You put this knowledge into action through a structured internship or series of practical training exercises.

What You Can Teach
After becoming certified as a PADI Divemaster you will be authorized to:

• Supervise both training and non-training-related activities by planning, organizing and directing dives
• Assist a PADI Instructor during the training sessions for any PADI Diver course
• Conduct the PADI Skin Diver course and PADI Discover Snorkeling program
• Conduct the PADI Discover Local Diving experience
• Conduct the PADI Scuba Review program
• If qualified as a Discover Scuba Diving Leader, independently conduct the PADI Discover Scuba Diving program.
• Earn the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty Instructor rating to be able to teach the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer specialty.
• Independently guide Open Water Diver course students on the tour portion of Open Water Diver Course Training Dives 2, 3 and 4 at a ratio of two student divers per certified divemaster.
• Accompany Open Water Diver students under the indirect supervision of a PADI Instructor during:
  
  • surface swims to and from the entry/exit point and during navigational exercises
  • when the instructor conducts a skill, such as an ascent or descent, a Divemaster can remain with other student divers (with an individual student or buddy team)
• Accompany student divers during Adventure Dives or Specialty training dives under the indirect supervision of a PADI Instructor.
• Conduct the PADI Seal Team AquaMission
• Conduct subsequent dives under an instructor’s indirect supervision for Discover Scuba Diving participants after participants have satisfactorily completed the first dive with a PADI Instructor.
• Teach Emergency First Response courses after successfully completing an Emergency First Response Instructor Course.

At a glance, compare what you can teach when you continue your professional diver education.

The Scuba Gear You Use 

• You use all the Basic scuba equipment and some scuba accessories such as a dive slate, dive knife, compass, dive watch, etc.

• It is highly recommended that you own all of your own scuba equipment, as familiarity with personal gear improves general scuba diving skills. 

The Learning Materials You Need
The PADI Divemaster crewpak includes everything you’ll need to start the PADI Divemaster program. The complete set of materials includes:

• The Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving - a comprehensive overview of diving physics, physiology, and equipment.
• The Diving Knowledge Workbook – a self-study guide used in preparation for the Divemaster and Instructor exams.
• Divemaster slates
• PADI Divemaster Manual
• CD-ROM with instructor outlines for Divemaster-conducted programs (exclusive item not available for purchase separately)

Prerequisites
To take this course, you must be:

• 18 years old
• A PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another training organization)
• A PADI Rescue Diver (or qualifying certification from another training organization)
• An Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care Certification (or qualifying first aid and CPR training from another organization) course completion within the past 24 months.
• Have at least 20 dives to begin the course and 60 for certification
• Be fit for diving and submit a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months.

Teach others

Instructor courses
The PADI Assistant Instructor course
PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor Course

The PADI Assistant Instructor course
As a PADI Assistant Instructor, you not only gain additional experience as a PADI Professional scuba diver, but you also start learning the PADI System of diver education. You can act as an instructional scuba assistant and assume limited teaching responsibilities. It’s a great way to gain experience in order to become a scuba instructor!

The PADI Assistant Instructor course is the first portion of the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) and when followed by the Open Water Scuba Instructor course (owsi) and successful performance at the Instructor Examination (IE), leads to certification as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.

The Fun Part
Get mentored while gaining hands-on experience teaching students.

What You Learn
You build upon your abilities to organize and supervise scuba diving activities, while concentrating on developing teaching skills. You learn through:Knowledge development through self-study, quizzes, lectures and presentations
Confined water skill review and assessment, workshops and presentations
Open water workshops, rescue assessment and candidate presentations
The PADI Assistant Instructor Course consists of these sections:

Module 1: Academic Training
    PADI Discover Scuba Diving and Snorkeling Programs
    Developing Knowledge Development Presentations
    Teaching Project AWARE and Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialties
    Teaching in Confined Water
    Conducting Open Water Training Presentations
Module 2: Independent Study
    Knowledge Development
Module 3: Practical Application
    Confined Water and Open Water Teaching Presentations
    Standards Exam
    Dive Rescue Skills Assessment

What You Can Teach
In addition to the responsibilities and duties you already have as a PADI Divemaster, as a PADI Assistant Instructor you can:

• Teach academic presentations under the indirect supervision of a PADI Instructor 
• During confined water dives, present initial skills training under the direct
• supervision of a PADI Instructor 
• Evaluate Open Water Diver surface skills under the indirect supervision of a PADI Instructor 
• Teach and certify  PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy under the direction of a PADI Instructor
• Teach Project AWARE Specialty courses
• Teach the AWARE Coral Reef Conservation specialty course
• Conduct PADI Discover Scuba Diving experiences in a pool or confined water
• Conduct PADI Seal Team AquaMissions
• Teach PADI Digital Underwater Photographer specialty courses under the direction of a PADI Instructor after earning the PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty Instructor rating

At a glance, compare what you can teach when you continue your professional diver education.

The Scuba Gear You Use
You use all the basic scuba equipment and some scuba accessories such as a dive slate, dive knife, compass, dive watch, etc.It is highly recommended that you own all of your own scuba equipment, as familiarity with personal gear improves general scuba diving skills.

The Learning Materials You Need
The PADI IDC crewpak includes all the materials needed to prepare for a PADI Assistant Instructor or Open Water Scuba Instructor course. The 23-item pack includes:

• Instructor cue cards for PADI’s core courses (OW, AOW, Rescue and Divemaster)
• IDC Candidate Workbook and related reference materials,
• Lesson planning slates for confined and open water
• Quiz and exam booklets for the core courses
• Specialty outlines for Project AWARE
• PADI Instructor Manual.

 
Prerequisites
You must

• Be a PADI Divemaster or qualifying certification from another certification organization
• Be at least 18 years old
• Have 60 logged dives, including night, deep, and navigation dives
• Have been a certified diver for at least 6 months
• Have CPR and First Aid Training within the last 24 months
• Be fit for diving and submit a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
• Want a fun and exciting career!

PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor Course
Are you looking for something extraordinary? To do something others can only dream of? To help people transform their lives? To open doors you didn’t even know existed? All of this, and more, awaits you as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.The Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) program is one of two distinct components of PADI’s Instructor Development Course (IDC)—the core of PADI Instructor training. The first portion is the Assistant Instructor course followed by the Open Water Scuba Instructor program.The OWSI program is a minimum of four days. It introduces you to the entire PADI System of diver education and concentrates on further developing your abilities as a professional dive educator.

The Fun Part
It’s about life transformations—both yours and those around you.The fun part of instructor training is interacting with course participants while creating friendships that continue long after the course concludes.You’ll begin networking with other professionals and begin to explore PADI Pro Diving Jobs worldwide. You’ll also have the opportunity to continue your professional education by participating in specialty instructor courses, which train you to teach specialties after instructor certification.

The Challenging Part
The challenging part of this course is your personal commitment to the training. The course requires you to complete all the self-study Knowledge Reviews before the course begins and to prepare daily assignments for teaching presentations daily. Organization and dedication are key.

What You Learn
During the course you’ll learn how to apply the PADI System of Education by presenting at least

• Two confined water teaching presentations
• Two knowledge development presentations
• One open water teaching presentations integrating two skills

You will also attend and participate in the following 14 curriculum presentations:

• Course Orientation
• Dive Industry Overview
• General Standards and Procedures
• The Role of Media and Prescriptive Teaching
• Legal Responsibility and Risk Management
• PADI Scuba Diver and Open Water Diver Course
• Adaptive Teaching
• The PADI Continuing Education Philosophy
• Business Principles for the Dive Instructor
• Adventures in Diving  Program
• Specialty Diver Courses and Master Scuba Diver Program
• Rescue Diver Course
• Divemaster Course
• Diver Retention Programs
• How to Teach the RDP (Instructors from recreational diver training organizations other than PADI must complete.)

You will demonstrate competence at

• performing all 20 dive skills listed on the Skill Evaluation.
• performing a facedown, nonstop swim for 800 metres/yards using a mask, snorkel and fins.
• During the course you’ll need to demonstrate competency in Dive theory by passing a five-part theory exam scoring 75% on each part.

What You Can Teach
After becoming an Open Water Scuba Instructor, you will be able to conduct the entire range of PADI progras from Discove Scuba Diving up to Divemaster. You may also choose to acquire specialty instructor ratings in areas of interest, such as Digital Underwater Photography or Enriched Air Diver.At a glance, compare what you can teach when you continue your professional diver education.

The Scuba Gear You Use
You will need to equip yourself with all the basic scuba gear as well as two scuba signaling devices —one audible and one visual.

The Learning Materials You Need
The PADI Instructor Development Course crewpak includes all the materials needed to prepare for the Instructor Development Course. The 23-item pack includes:

• Instructor cue cards for PADI’s core courses (Open Water and Advanced, Rescue and Divemaster)
• Instructor Development Course Candidate Workbook and related reference materials,
• Lesson planning slates for confined and open water
• Quiz and exam booklets for the core courses
• Specialty outlines for Project AWARE
• PADI Instructor Manual

Next Steps
View the Instructor Examination (I/E) schedule on the Scuba Scene WEB site

Prerequisites
To qualify for training as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, you must:

• Be certified as a PADI Dive Master or a PADI Assistant Instuctor or be an instructor in good standing with another training organization for at least six months.
• Be at least 18 years old
• Be certified as a diver for at least six months
• Have 60 logged dives that include experience in night, deep and navigation diving to participate in the Instructor Development Course. You’ll need 100 logged dives to take the Instructor Exams
• Have proof of CPR and First Aid training within the last 24 months. The Emergency First Response course meets this requirement
• Be fit for diving and submit a Medical Statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months

How to find us
Oxygene Scuba Scene Menlyn is situated in one of the largest retail shopping centers in Sub-Saharan Africa called the Menlyn Park Shopping Center.
 
You can find us in the bustling suburb of Menlyn in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa, we are approxamitely 35 minutes drive from the Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, you follow the R21 towards Pretoria take the offramp to the N1 Highway towards Polekwane and then take the Atterbury Road offramp and find the Menlyn Park Shopping Centre to your right
 
Oxygene Scuba Scene Menlyn is open to trade seven days a week and provides ample secure parking affording all shoppers a pleasant retail experience. 

Booking agencies

The Oxygene dive centres and liveaboards work with an expanding network of tour operators and travel agents all over the world. They are always ready to help you to put together your dream holiday according to your wishes.

Please find your closest tour operator in the list below.

For diving, accommodation and flights from Scandinavia contact:

Scuba Travel Scandinavia
mail: info@scubatravel.se
site: http://www.scubatravel.se

For diving, accomodation and flights from the UK contact:

Scuba Travel UK
mail:travel@scuba.co.uk
site: http://www.scubatravel.com

For diving, accomodation and flights from the Belgium contact:

Travel and Joy
mail: info@travelandjoy.be
site: http://www.travelandjoy.be

For diving, accomodation and flights from the US and Canada contact:

Caradonna Dive Adventures
mail: sales@caradonna.com
site: http://www.caradonna.com/

Deep Blue Adventures
mail: info@deepblueadventures.com
site: www.DeepBlueAdventures.com

Learning Through Travel
mail:redsea@corridorofmarvels.com
site:http://www.corridorofmarvels.com

Reef Rainforest
mail: info@reefrainforest.com
site: http://www.reefrainforest.com/

South Pacific Island Travel
mail: info@spislandtravel.com
site: http://www.spislandtravel.com/

World of Diving
mail: will.m@worldofdiving.com
site: http://www.worldofdiving.com

For diving, accomodation and flights from France and Switzerland contact:

Energy Trip
mail: contact@energy-trip.com
site:http://www.energy-trip.com

Ultramarina
mail: info@ultramarina.com
site: http://www.ultramarina.com

For diving, accomodation and flights from Germany and Austria contact:

Taucher Traum
mail: reisen@tauchertraum.com
site: http://www.tauchertraum.com

Reisecenter Federsee
mail: reisen@reisecenter-federsee.de
site: http://www.reisecenter-federsee.de

For diving, accomodation and flights from the Netherlands and Belgium contact:

Diving Holidays
mail: info@divingholidays.nl
site: http://www.divingholidays.nl

For diving, accomodation and flights from South Africa contact:

Scuba Scene
mail: info@scubascene.co.za
site: http://www.scubascene.co.za/ 

For diving, accomodation and flights from Italy contact:

Nosy Tour
mail: info@nosytour.it
site: http://www.nosytour.it/

For diving, accomodation and flights from Mexico contact:

Mare Nostrum
mail: info@marenostrum.com.mx
site: http://www.marenostrum.com.mx/