While scuba diving accidents are quite rare, it is a very good idea to get your own scuba diving insurance. You will be covered as a student with us and our instructors have personal student insurance. Certified divers are also covered under our insurance but there are limitations. We highly recommend getting your own specialist dive travel insurance to account for all eventualities,
What are the Potential Risks?
Well as mentioned above scuba diving is a very safe sport to take part in. But even if you are a very conservative diver, accidents can happen. Now once an evacuation has occurred, once you reach a hyperbaric chamber, then treatment costs can go through the roof. Standard treatments can start at over $3000 and it is highly likely you might need multiple sessions. The chamber at the Kenya Navy base here in Mombasa will need proof of scuba diving travel insurance before treatment can begin.
As such we highly recommend you have your own cover to expedite the process. Our own policy is a cover-all general policy and it will take longer for approval. In the cases where hyperbaric treatment is required for decompression illness, then it is crucial to get the treatment started as quickly as possible. Your own name on a valid insurance document will speed this up drastically.
Will My Standard Travel Insurance Cover Scuba Diving?
Now many standard travel insurances will cover you for scuba diving within the limitations of your training, but you should be very careful. Ensure that you have read your travel insurance document thoroughly as insurance companies might add certain restrictions such as:
Limited to 30m or sometimes less
Diving only with professionals
No wreck or cave diving
Search and recovery expenses
Where your scuba diving licence was issued
It is the business of insurance companies to try and avoid paying out, so please ensure that your policy will cover your diving activities. If you go into environments you are not trained for or to depths you are not certified for then the insurance company will not pay out. As such you should also seek further training if you plan to go into these environments. A good example is experienced Open Water Divers should consider taking the PADI Advanced Open Water, Deep Diver course to extend their ranges and potential insurance coverage.
Is Specialist Scuba Diving Insurance Available?
Yes, there is specialist scuba diving travel insurance available and this is definitely the way to go. The specialist insurers such as our recommended insurer Divers Alert Network (DAN) will be very clear about what coverage is extended and what is not. DAN is made up of divers and research is done by diving doctors. DAN is experienced in getting everything sorted, quickly and efficiently, no matter where on earth you are. Once they have consulted with their specialists they can then guarantee payment to the medical facility where you are receiving treatment.
You can select from a range of lengths of cover with DAN. Annual insurance is superb value for money, but they can also offer short-term packages ranging from single days, weekly, or monthly packages.
As standard we insure every diver but it’s only up to a lower level limit. In all honesty that should cover most diving accidents but it certainly won’t cover repatriation or any other costs incurred. Insurance in Kenya has a general policy of the claimant paying first and then claiming back from the insurance company. That goes the same with ours. Suddenly there could be a big potential problem here if there is hyperbaric treatment required.
Please check with your insurance company very carefully on what your policy covers. Find out if you are covered before your dive trip, not when you require emergency treatment. We don’t want you to have to start go-fund me pages just to get help. Specialist scuba diving travel insurance is definitely the best course of action, enabling you to dive safe in the knowledge you are covered in the unlikely event anything were to go wrong.
The type and condition rental dive equipment you will use when you go diving with Ocean Tribe is of utmost importance to consider when you are planning your dive trip.
While we do counsel that the goal for a diver should be to have their own dive equipment custom arranged for them, we do appreciate that it is not always faille or within budget for some divers to have this option when they dive with us.
As such we try to keep a good range of well-maintained rental dive equipment for our divers to use when diving with us. All of the equipment is from top scuba brands including Scubapro, Aqualung, Fourth Element, Suunto, Beaver Sports and XS Scuba.
A Standard equipment rental package includes a mask, snorkel, BCD, regulator with octopus, SPG and depth gauge, fins, shorty wetsuit, tanks and weights. Dive computers are also available at an extra charge. To give you a basic idea we list the types of available equipment below
Rental Diving Equipment- BCDs
Our rental BCDs are made up of the two workhorse BCDs of the industry. Going in sizes from 3XS-XL we use Aqualung Wave BCDs and Scubapro T-Ones. Both style of BCD offer side pockets for carrying items like Go Pros and are comfortable, wrap-around stabilising jacket styles of BCD.
The Ocean Tribe rental regulators which incorporate 1st stage, 2nd stage, octopus, SPG and depth gauge also are manufactured by Aqualung and Scubapro. From Aqualung we have the Calypso and Titan Regulators, while our Scubapro regulators are the MK2 Evo R195 1st and 2nd Stage with and R095 Octopus. All regulators offer a decent breathing experience and are the number one choices for dive centres around the world. Regulators are available in both DIN and Yoke formats.
For diving in the tropical waters of Diani, we offer shorty wetsuits as our rental equipment option. These come from Aqualung with a 4mm shorty or Fourth Element Xenos Shorty wetsuits.
Catering for a wide range of sizes from kids to very large adult foot sizes we have a range of full foot and open-heel fins. The full foot options are Aqualung Caravelles, while the open-heel options are Aqualung Storm and Scubapro Go fins which are able to be worn without boots.
Our choice of rental masks enables a fit for a wide range of face shapes and sizes. Brands include Beaver, Scubapro, Aqualung and even our own custom Ocean Tribe brand. Snorkels are either ones with easy clear blast vents or bendable freedive snorkels.
The rental dive computers that are available are either Suunto Zoop computers or Aqualung i100, wrist mounted ones. We can also provide guidance on how to use your own rental computers or investing in newer technology like the Apple Watch Ultra.
While we offer 11 litre steel tanks upon request, most of our dive tanks are 12 litre aluminium tanks from Coltri Sub, Catalina or Beaver Sports. For our smaller divers or side mount divers we also have 7 litre aluminium cylinders available. Tanks have interchangeable DIN and Yoke valves.
We are delighted to announce that we have teamed up with top brand Native Outfitters to come up with an awesome Ocean Tribe clothing range. The new gear includes gorgeous sublimated long sleeve SPF50+ sun shirts and hoodies. There are choices for both the ladies and the guys with cool prints on them, reflecting local wildlife and activities.
Native Outfitters are a specialist company based in Florida, U.S.A., and have developed a range of shirts featuring their exclusive DRiQ Fabric Technology, providing safe, comfortable sun protection with immense style and some of the softest shirts in the industry.
The Ocean Tribe range by Native Outfitters includes an awesome Dive, Safari, Adventure shirt, an Ocean Tribe hoodie (probably the most comfortable shirt you’ll ever wear, some awesome turtle wraps, and an amazing lady’s turtle print. Visit our online shop to check them out and get yours today or they are available in both our dive bases at Alliance Safari Beach Hotel and Baobab Beach Resort & Spa in Diani.
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As well as the awesome clothing range in the Ocean Tribe shop we also stock dive equipment and Ocean Tribe souvenirs including coffee mugs, beer glasses, vacuum cups, and even baseball caps. Come down and check it out and get items to remember your dive experience in DIani Beach, Kenya.
How to choose a dive centre in Kenya is a very important process for a diver or potential diver. There are a few operators claiming to be dive centres / diving instructors, yet lacking the qualifications or equipment quality and having no monitoring of their activities. It really breaks our hearts and worries the bejesus out of us when we hear reports from people who have been taken in by these perpetrators. As such we have decided to write a guide to selecting a safe operation to dive with.
What Should I look for When I am Trying to Choose a Dive Centre?
1. When you choose a dive centre, ensure that the dive professionals that are working with you are renewed with a recognised training organisation. They should be able to show you a dive card / digital that displays their name, photo, certification number (which you can verify through PADI or SSI dive apps) and that they are renewed as a dive professional for that year.
2. Check that the dive centre you choose is registered with a training organisation such as PADI or SSI. This can be done by going to the dive centre locator on the PADI website or the Dive SSI app. Dive centres that are registered with training organisations are required to keep up standards regarding equipment, professionals on staff and courses offered and are regularly monitored by the training organisation.
3. Check the dive centre level. When you choose a dive centre, if you are looking for specific training there are only certain dive centres that can offer it. This can be found using the dive centre locators on the training organisations. A guide to the different levels of PADI dive centre can be seen here. Seeing this goes a long way to seeing the commitment the dive centre has to providing quality diver training and experiences.
4. Check the equipment that the dive centre will be giving you to use. A good dive centre has the latest, well-maintained and serviced equipment. This includes tanks within visual and hydrostatic test dates, serviced regulators with octopus, depth gauge and SPGs and BCDs that fit and inflate correctly. Do not go with a dive centre you suspect of using sub-standard gear as it will vastly impede your experience and constitute a serious safety risk.
5. When signing up for a dive trip or a course, make sure that you check what is included. All dive courses will require you to have a NEW set of diver materials /eLearning to keep. Do not sign up for programs where the dive centre/ dive instructor offers to loan you materials for a cheaper price. This is not allowed under any major training agency standards and could result in your certification not being able to be processed. As a point in fact all PADI eLearning programs include the cost of the certification as part of the eLearning, so if eLearning is included there shouldn’t be any extra certification costs. For dive trips ask if equipment included and if so what items of equipment and are there any extra costs.
6. Ask what dive sites you will be going to and whether they will be boat or shore dives. While it is sometimes necessary to go to dive sites which are more easily accessible based on safety, if you are booking in for multiple dive trips, check that they don’t go to the same dive site every day and that you will get a varied and exciting dive schedule. Also check that they follow agency guidelines for depth limitations. A dive centre who will take someone who is not qualified, deeper than they should go without being on a course is breaking agency standards. Be careful.
Remember dive centres cost their diving programs and courses according to their costs and expenses to make the fairest price they can. If someone is offering diving programs for vastly lower prices than others you should question whether all of the above questions are being answered satisfactorily. If you follow the above guidelines you can choose a dive centre in Kenya very easily and have a great diving experience in one of diving’s best kept secrets. It is a cliche to say but in a majority of cases you get what you pay for. Do you really want to go cheap and sub-standard on what is essentially life-support equipment? Keep diving safe and enjoyable. We look forward to welcoming you to diving in Kenya.
An Apple Watch Ultra Dive Computer Review from someone who uses dive computers on a daily basis.
When Apple announced the Apple Watch Ultra was going to include a dive computer feature, my first thought as a tech geek was: I must have one. I purchased the initial Apple Watch and sold it very quickly, not needing, out of the features and preferring to wear a dive watch. But here finally was an Apple Watch that I could actually use. Very exciting. So I duly ordered one and with a total gamble sold my air-integrated Suunto D5 and tank pod, to be able to finance some of this.
This brings me to my first point. The Apple Watch Ultra is not cheap. Starting at $799, this begins to compete on price with higher-end diving computers being more expensive than the Suunto D5 and D6, but still cheaper than the dive watches it directly competes with, the Garmin Descent MK2 and the Shearwater Teric. Both of these dive computers have a lot more dive computer features than the Apple Watch Ultra. But to be honest this is not being sold as a stand-alone dive computer. It is being sold as a smartwatch with dive computer capabilities so in reality, you are getting a lot more for your buck, despite having to pay a subscription.
Apple Watch Ultra Dive Computer Features
The watch itself is a thing of beauty. It might take you a while to get used to the rectangular shape of the face but it really does allow for more to be fitted onto the screen. The titanium build and crystal face adds robustness to the watch that makes me fully confident it can stand up to the active lifestyle of the busiest diver. It is quite big but the titanium means that you hardly notice it on your wrist, weight-wise although on smaller wrists it will appear quite large.
I purchased the “ocean” strap for the watch and so far it stands up to its workload well, being a more traditional strap style in comparison to the others available for the dive computer. Being an “adaptive” diver I swim with my arms underwater and so far the strap stays in place remarkably well. It’s available in 3 colours midnight blue, white and yellow, depending on your preference, and for sure other straps will be released by third parties and possibly Apple in the future. It also can take any other Apple Watch band so it’s highly customisable.
The usability of the Apple Watch Ultra is excellent. With two side buttons and a track wheel, as well as the touch screen on dry land, it lives up to the Apple mantra. “It just works”. Underwater navigating the dive computer with the track wheel is very simple and compared to dive computers I have owned in the past this is in a league of its own for ease of use. I have yet to test the emergency siren on the side but that does sound like it could be very useful to a diver in peril for attracting attention.
The one downside perceived is the battery life. When using the Apple Watch Ultra as a standard smartwatch I can get a couple of days to use out of it in between charges but when it is used as a dive computer then I have to charge it daily. But that being said it managed 4 dives in a day and still had 40% battery left, so if you get into the habit of charging it when you go to bed then what’s the problem?
Apple Watch Ultra Dive Computer Review
After a week or so of diving with the Oceanic+ App on my Apple Watch Ultra, I do have a few remarks. The first thing is that for a recreational diver who is not often pushing the limit of 40m or doing any technical stuff, then this computer is more than enough for you. I love it.
Compared against a number of computers including a Suunto D5, Zoom, Aqualung i200 and a Shearwater Perdix, it maintained excellent accuracy for depth and time (although as an Apple product would we really doubt it?). So no problems with whether it can function as a depth gauge or timing device. A little annoying that you can’t operate a stopwatch underwater at the same time moment but the bottom timer show seconds too so not a problem for when dive students are doing timed tasks.
The readability of the Apple Watch dive computer screen. This is the easiest dive computer screen I have ever had to read, despite the small watch size. The brightness of the screen and the clear colours, writing and even the bright alarms make this a joy to read and view even in direct sunlight, on the standard brightness setting.
As mentioned earlier, even wearing gloves the trackwheel of the Apple Watch Ultra makes it easy to navigate the dive computer between features when you are on a dive. A lot of thought has clearly gone into this and it just works, including compass operation.
On the NDL side of things, the Oceanic+ App uses the Bühlmann ZHL-16C decompression model and it compares favourably to other dive computer limits. You can change the conservatism slightly but all in all, it’s not bad. Setting Nitrox also is a cinch with the easy operation and settings.
The real downer on the Oceanic+ app on the Apple Watch Ultra is the depth limit of 40m. The Apple Watch Ultra is rated to 100m but if you go past 40m on the Oceanic+ app then it shuts you down basically allowing you to make a safe ascent to the surface but not continue the dive. While I understand that 40m is the limit of recreational diving, the device allows for deeper so the app should be able to allow for a few metres of error or just to work with any depth. Very annoying and the potential to put off a lot of divers. That being said for diving well within the limits, this won’t affect you too much.
The alarms on the device are fully customisable with audio and haptic ones a possibility. I love that as haptic alarms on my wrist keep it more subtle than loud annoying beeps that have every diver in the vicinity looking around. You can set alarms for dive time, depth and even temperature (although my body tends to tell me if I’m too cold so this might be overkill). One thing about alarms, alerts and advice is that they are very easy to see and pronounced. Go up too fast and the screen flashes up a red tab. Need to do a safety stop and a bright yellow tab appears. Extra customisation options like safety stops at deeper depths would be cool, but again for most divers, options are covered.
The dive planner app and on-watch logbook are easy to access and use with the Oceanic+ App. It is not a matter of navigating tediously with three or four buttons, trying desperately to locate the dive planner app or logbook to share with other divers. A couple of taps and using the wheel and you are there. Very easy or even easier, to use the Oceanic+ app on the iPhone to access these features.
When it comes to the Oceanic+ iPhone app, it is quite good but there is potential for so much more. The logbook automatically syncs the dives from your Apple Watch Ultra Oceanic+ app so you don’t have to think. You just need to fill in the dive site information and other dive data such as sightings, notes and buddies.
But the GPS feature which captures the dive site location at the beginning of your descent only is activated if you have cellular capability enabled on the Watch or are close enough to your iPhone. Sadly if like me you live and dive in a country where this is not a possibility then often your dive coordinates are not captured. You can’t save your different dive sites either in the same manner you can on other dive logbook apps like Mac Dive. The fact that you can only use the Oceanic+ logbook which is also tied to a subscription might also be a put-off for some divers.
Other downers are that for logging the equipment used, it only allows you to enter equipment from the Oceanic or Oceanic-affiliated brands. If like me your equipment is largely from other brands, this won’t work well.
The subscription model is going to be a big divider amongst divers. Problem is that Oceanic (or any company who develops a dive computer app) will need to make money to replace the sales of the dive computers the app will displace. So while the Apple Watch Ultra is expensive, it is simply the hardware that the dive computer app is installed on. I would prefer a paid app over something that is freeware as in a lot of cases I am afraid you do get what you pay for. Oceanic has made the subscription tally to the amount of diving that you do. But I know there are going to be a lot of people who scream and shout that they have already paid enough. Well in that case they would certainly be happier with a pay once dive computer with fewer features.
Is a Smartwatch Useful for Divers?
Now here is where having an Apple Watch Ultra as a dive computer can be really useful. There are so many apps available in the Apple ecosystem which can be incorporated into your complications on your Apple Watch Ultra for quick access. I use Windy for the wind and water conditions, Tides, for a quick tide gauge and dive planning, the compass and even the UV index so I know how harsh the sun will be. There really are apps and complications for all types of divers and water sports enthusiasts. This after all is a smartwatch which can be used as a dive computer so there is so much more to it.
Other great features include the dive data being integrated with the health app (although this could be further developed and I am sure it will be). This can allow your dive data to be used for both monitoring your own health and for sure dive research in the future. The activity tracker actually pushes me to work harder and exercise more which can only be a good thing. Yes, I do get the notifications to my wrist from my phone which can be annoying even if useful. But they don’t work underwater, which is a relief. The phone feature from the watch would be a super useful feature in an emergency but then again relies on cellular connectivity, so usefulness varies by country.
Conclusion- Should Divers Buy an Apple Watch Ultra for a Dive Computer?
So is the Apple Watch Ultra a reasonable dive computer. Absolutely. Should all divers buy one. No. It is a wonderful alternative for those who want a smartwatch and dive computer combined and don’t regularly push the recreational limits. For those who want tech diving capabilities it is an absolute no no. But for me who teaches recreationally and dives most days, it is a worthy dive computer and the other features offered by the watch make it absolutely brilliant for me. Sure it was pricey but you are paying for the other features of Apple’s top smart watch not the dive computer.
A subscription for Oceanic+ is annoying but if you want to be getting the constantly updated app with new features as they emerge this will need to be paid for as Oceanic need to recuperate on their app (as theoretically they won’t be selling as many computers).
From a dive professional point of view this will expose so many new people to the possibility of diving it is unthinkable not to like it. Millions buy Apple Watches so there is serious sales potential in in. It might become more of a replacement for the entry level computers for rental or use once a year on holiday.
Fact is I trust the Apple Watch Ultra as a dive computer despite a few flaws which can be improved upon. If they open it up to other developers from Shearwater, Suunto and other dive computer manufacturers to apply their own apps and algorithms then it gets even more exciting. Like everything Apple it is probably going to be a game changer so it will be exciting to go along with it. It is expensive and is not going to replace the dedicated high end devices. If you can afford it then well worth it. It doesn’t have things like air integration and gas switching, but I am still loving how useful it is over all activities not just diving. This is here to stay and I’m excited to see how apps for it develop!
Like
Great Screen to Read and decent dive profiles
Looks great
Extra smartwatch apps really useful for divers
Integrate with health app could be great for diver data
Don’t Like
Go past 40m and it shuts down the app. This is useless
GPS Doesn’t Work without Cellular Integration (Not provided in many countries) or Being Really Close to Your Phone
How do you access your PADI eLearning on a Kindle Fire? PADI eLearning is the most current way for divers to participate in the knowledge development sections of PADI dive courses. While you can take part in the elearning through your PADI profile in a browser on your PC, many people like doing their elearning on a mobile device. A mobile phone whilst sufficient is not always the easiest device to read off and see the videos/diagrams to their optimal viewing. A tablet is the best mobile device for viewing PADI eLearning.
But again tablets like Apple iPads can get on the expensive side. The Amazon Kindle Fire is a decent tablet that you can run your PADI eLearning on and the rest of the time use to watch movies, as an eReader, and even take your messaging apps there.
But Amazon Kindle Fires come locked into the Amazon App Store even though they run on Fire OS, a version of Android. There though is a way you can install the Play Store and gain access to millions of Android apps and games, including Google apps like Gmail, Chrome, Google Maps, and more. These apps include the PADI Training App, the PADI diver app and the PADI Adventures App
Installing the Play Store onto your Kindle Fire Tablet doesn’t require high-geekery “hacking” with running scripts and jailbreaking. You just need to download and install a few APK files on the tablet itself. You will then be up and running with your play store and can download millions of Android apps and get started on your PADI eLearning. Let’s get started.
At the start, you will need to make sure your Fire Tablet is from 2014 or later. This process may not work with older Kindle Fire tablets as part of the process you need to enable “Apps From Unknown Sources.”
Open the “Settings” app option on your Fire Home Screen.
Tap on “Security & Privacy”.
Tap on “Apps from Unknown Sources”.
Locate “Silk Browser” and toggle the “Allow from this source” switch.
Start downloading the Play Store files. To find out what version of the Fire tablet you have go to Settings > Device Options > About Fire Tablet. You’ll see your “Device Model” name here. To see your Fire OS version, go to Settings > Device Options > System Updates.
Download the files from the Links below depending on which Fire tablet you have.
Open the “Files” app option on the Kindle Home Screen.
Tap on “Downloads” in the sidebar. You will see the files you just downloaded.
Install the files in the following order (very important). Do not open the Play Store. Tap the file > select “Continue” > tap the “Install” button. After it installs, tap “Done.”
com.google.android.gsf.login
com.google.android.gsf
com.google.android.gms
com.android.vending
Restart the Kindle Fire Tablet by holding down the power button, then tapping “Restart”.
Open the Play Store and Install the PADI Apps
Open the Play Store by tapping the “Play Store” icon that has appeared on your home screen.
Sign into your Google account.
Tap on the “Search” icon. Type in “PADI”.
Install each of the PADI Apps including PADI Training, PADI, and PADI Adventures.
Go back to the Home Screen.
Open each app and sign into your PADI profiles. You will now be able to access all of the services on the PADI apps.
NOTE: For those of you going down the PADI Instructor Development path, it is also a good idea to put all of your PADI Instructor Manuals and PADI Guide to Teaching onto your Kindle to be able to read them more easily.
As divers, we understand that owning your own equipment is very important and the first investment is normally in a good quality mask and snorkel. As such we have tried to up the range of masks, snorkels, and other dive equipment available in Kenya on our new online store.
Divers can now get their own top-quality masks from brands such as Scubapro, Fourth Element, Beaver, Aqualung, and even our own Ocean Tribe range of masks and snorkels.
The importance of having your own scuba mask cannot be overstated. After all the main reason we go underwater is to look at things. So therefore a mask that is comfortable to wear, and gives you a decent field of vision as well as looking good of course, is the first item of equipment a diver should be looking to purchase.
OCEAN TRIBE GEAR TIP
When you find a mask that fits you, and you like it. Buy two in case of loss or breakage. You don’t want to have to cancel dives or not enjoy it due to wearing an inferior mask.
While we understand that sometimes you might not want a snorkel on, snorkels are required on all PADI diver training courses and as a prepared diver, you should always carry one. We have a selection of snorkels available to accompany a new mask purchase these range from snorkels with purge valves on them for easy clearing, to bendable light snorkels for freediving, and even foldable snorkels that can be stored away for later use attached to your BCD or in the pocket.
For comfort, we also now stock very eye-catching mask strap covers. Showing silhouettes of marine life you are likely to encounter during your scuba diving in Diani, these strap covers are made from neoprene and fit almost any mask strap. A decent mask strap cover ensures your hair doesn’t get caught by the silicone mask straps and eases mask removal and replacing. It also makes your mask look even cooler. Check them out now!
Other items available in our online store and of course our physical dive shops include more dive equipment, t-shirts, water bottles, rash guards, swimwear and even dive log books. Contact us today to find out more about dive gear in Kenya.
Ocean Tribe is delighted to announce that we are partnering up with Aqua Blue Adventure boats to offer dolphin-watching safaris in Diani.
There are three different species of dolphin resident off the white sands of Diani including Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins, Humpback Dolphins, and Spinner Dolphins. The chance to see dolphins in the wild is not one to be missed.
The dolphin-watching safaris in Diani are available to everyone, not just divers. It is an ideal family trip to add to your stay in Kenya as you witness another of Kenya’s amazing wildlife species.
For most people, the closest they will ever get to experiencing dolphin mannerisms or characteristics is on the TV watching National Geographic or in a zoo/theme park dolphinarium where they watch dolphins trained in captivity to perform circus tricks. So basically even if they have seen dolphins for real they have no idea of the real characteristics or live appliance of a dolphin.
By going on a dolphin-watching safari in Diani, you will get to experience the magnificent creatures in the wild ocean. This is their natural habitat. While you won’t be seeing the dolphins jumping through hoops of fire to earn a piece of fish, you will see a lot.
You will witness dolphins travelling in massive pods of often hundreds. See dolphins being playful hopefully. You will also have the chance to witness other marine life that resides in the area which can include but is not limited to turtles, whale sharks, manta rays, and other coral reef life, and big game fish.
All of the boats have comfortable padded seats and expert dolphin-watching safari guides to locate for you and give you information about the dolphins. Fruit and snacks are provided on board and the dolphin trips tend to take 2-3 hours.
If you are an accomplished swimmer and the dolphins are comfortable enough, then you might even get the chance to swim and snorkel with them. This call is made on judgments from the crew so not always guaranteed.
Dolphin-watching safaris in Diani run daily, weather-permitting from our bases in Alliance Safari Beach hotel and Baobab Beach Resort & Spa.
Interested? Contact us using the WhatsApp button below. Find out more and book online here. Or use the contact form to contact us via email. We are looking forward to hearing from you and taking you out to see these magnificent animals.
As the quintessential super-spy, of course, there is scuba diving in James Bond movies. Whether it is Bond using scuba to save the day, the bad guys setting up a dastardly underwater plot, or simply a romantic scene with a stunning Bond girl, there have been loads of Bond movies with scuba moments in them. We all had a reason to take up scuba diving and I am betting I am not the only one who saw Bond underwater and thought; “I’d like to be like that.”
It is interesting when you rewatch the Bond movies to see the evolution of scuba diving equipment over the years from the Sean Connery flicks of the 1960s to the present day. It is also interesting when we can see that while some elements have been added to equipment over the years, the basic functionality has remained the same.
So let’s take a look at the scuba diving in James Bond movies that got us to want to scuba dive.
Thunderball is the classic James Bond diving movie. Much of the movie is set in the stunning waters of the Bahamas, where Bond is searching for a missing Vulcan bomber and nuclear bombs hidden. There are underwater fight scenes, night dives, diver propulsion vehicles, and gadgets galore. And of course, the highly improbable pocket-sized scuba tank and regulator (oh well we can always dream). The bad guys and the good guys even try to make it easier for us to differentiate between them by wearing team wetsuits. Black for the baddies and orange for the good guys. How thoughtful! Oh and Sean Connery almost got bitten by a shark when filming the shark pool scene. But from the moment I watched it, this was the movie that made me want to become a scuba diver.
Interesting fact: For the underwater scenes in Thunderball the producers sped up the frame rate to make diving seem more urgent and fast-paced. Standard underwater swimming just looked too relaxed.
Another interesting fact: The British military thought that James Bond’s mini breathing device was real and made inquiries.
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Although it’s only a short scuba diving scene in the Japan volcano-based You Only Live Twice, can there be anything more Bond, than faking your own death, being buried at sea, and having your body recovered by divers to take you to a hiding submarine to move off. Absolutely not! And as a final touch Bond dons a wetsuit to get fired out of a submarine torpedo tube to enter Japan incognito. Legendary!
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
More underwater battles followed as the mantra of the diving James Bond passed to Roger Moore from Sean Connery. This time in The Spy Who Loved Me it’s the baddies in scuba who are attacking Bond and Triple X as they investigate Atlantis in their outrageously cool amphibious Lotus Esprit. Unfortunately for the bad guys, their spear guns and DPVs are in no way a match for Q’s gadgets and Bond easily triumphs to calmly drive out of the sea and up a beach.
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
After the exploits in space in Moonraker, James Bond is back underwater in For Your Eyes Only. This plot centres around finding a decoding machine which has gone down in a shipwreck. So lots of underwater exploration, underwater Greek temple restoration, deep saturation wreck dives and of course an underwater battle. There is even a twist when Bond and Melina survive a keel-hauling scene by relying on a craftily placed scuba unit, which had been abandoned on the bottom earlier in the film. Who knew!
Never Say Never Again (1983)
Now before you say anything we do know that Never Say Never Again is not an official Eon production Bond movie. But it has Sean Connery in it so. Umm, well I am going to leave it in there. As this is basically a remake of Thunderball, it is inevitable that scuba diving is a major plot part. The equipment is more evolved and colorful by the 1980s, with a load of underwater scenes and twists. Oh, and did we mention the best dive preparation of all time as Bond is seduced by the femme fatale on the way to the dive site!
A View to a Kill (1985)
Roger Moore’s final James Bond outing A View to a Kill, finds him using scuba to explore an underwater pumping system in the San Francisco Bay. As the pumps are turned on, Bond has to use the scuba unit to evade death. He pushes it into the pump propellor and avoids being chopped up. A waste of a good scuba unit, but it does enable Bond to escape and win the day by dropping Christopher Walken off the Golden Gate Bridge.
Licence to Kill (1989)
Licence to Kill features Timothy Dalton in his second and final outing as Bond. Scuba diving features heavily in this film from the early stages where divers break Robert Davi’s drug dealer character Sanchez out of his armed prison convoy. Classic Bond dive scenarios return including boats with underwater hatches, mini-submarines, and of course underwater battles. Ok, the waterskiing behind the plane after using a spear gun to escape a scuba battle might be a little far-fetched and asking for DCS, but after all, this is Bond. Bond even evades detection by swimming under a manta. The bad guys even take scuba diving items to a new level by using a recompression chamber to blow up one of their own. Not to be missed.
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Tomorrow Never Dies sees Pierce Brosnan’s Bond donning the scuba gear. Following a HALO jump to evade radar (whilst wearing full techie gear) Bond dives down to the wreck of a British warship to investigate. He and Michelle Yeoh’s Chinese super-spy narrowly avoid catastrophe as the unstable wreck plummets into a deep chasm. Inevitably of course 007 escapes to live another day.
Do all these movies make you want to go scuba diving again? Check out our range of PADI Dive courses and scuba diving trips in Diani Beach, Kenya. Live like Bond. Go diving.
House for rent in Diani. Ocean Tribe is delighted to announce we now have another accommodation option for divers coming to to Diani with our own guest house for rent in Diani near to the Ocean Tribe dive base.
The self catering guest house boasts two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms and a kitchen and living room area. Outside in the garden there is a swimming pool, barbecue and a protected walled enclosure.
The property is located 100m from the beach on the main Diani Beach Road. Within walking distance are the World-famous Diani beach, seafood restaurants and bars, as well as other water sports activities. It is a great location for divers who wish a quiet place to stay with nice facilities close to the main Diani Beach.
Long term rates are also available for divers who would like to have a house for rent in Diani for a little longer. Optional extras which can be included with the guest house include a chef who can look after your culinary needs during your stay, catering for every dietary requirement.
The guest house can comfortably take 4 people (2 in each room) and we can also assist with taxis, hire cars and of course safaris for people wanting to get out and explore the best that Kenya has to offer.
Swimming poolSwimming pool waterfallGuest house verandahGuest house bedroomPool sun loungersBathroom BathroomBathroomGuest house bedroomGuest house bedroomGuest house living roomguest house living roomGuest house dining area
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