Local Travel
We run dive trips to multiple locations within Southern Africa, including Sodwana Bay, Protea Banks, Aliwal Shoal, Sterkfontein dam in the Drakensburg and to Mozambique.
Let us introduce ourselves
A few words about us
Divetek was opened in 1984 by owner and head instructor David Cohen. David has been in the industry for over 38 years, and is a NAUI, SSI, SAUU, PADI, TDI, and Divetek qualified instructor.
We are the largest and most well stocked diving shop in Africa, and pride ourselves in the extremely high level and variety of dive training that we provide.
Divetek has multiple highly qualified instructors who are NAUI and SSI trained, and are able to teach students all the way from beginner to instructor level. Each and everyone of our instructors have gone through vigorous training themselves, and are therefor able to provide the highest level of lectures and pool session with in-depth knowledge, care, professionalism and of course fun for each and every one of our students.
We offer both SSI and NAUI open water courses, SSI Advanced, and SSI and Divetek master diver to instructor level qualifications. We also provide more technical courses such as cylinder technicians, regulator and BC technicians, Compressor operator, and technical diving courses.
Divetek prides itself in putting our students needs first, and making sure that each and every student we qualify are confident divers who are able to dive the more rough conditions that South African waters offer.
The ugly truth
Why we are different to other diving schools
The Ugly Truth is that many of the American-type courses that are fine for the calm warm waters of the Caribbean, simply don’t cut it here in South Africa.
80% of people who Learn to Dive in South Africa do not continue diving. It was Exciting but not Fun…they do not feel confident in their own abilities as a Scuba Diver.
Firstly, more often than not, most courses involves DVD Training and online courses ONLY . This does not give you or the instructor any understanding into your capabilities and knowledge before getting into the water. Live interaction with a professional, experienced and well-trained instructor is imperative to you, both for enjoying the experience as well as retaining the Important information.
Secondly, it has unfortunately become too easy to become an instructor. The old days of having knowledgable and experienced instructors is unfortunately incredibly rare as many of the skills required to be an instructor are no longer taught, such as lecturing.
Thirdly, everyone is busy. Courses have been made shorter and quicker to accommodate the busy lifestyles of our clients. Too little time is spent in the pool getting comfortable with each piece of equipment and the skills that are required, and it is putting people off.
The tragedy is that so many people are being put off, what is perhaps one of the most fulfilling and thrilling sports available. And so, Divetek has put in the extra effort to make our courses more specifically designed for our conditions and our culture.
Our Instructors
David Cohen
Instructor Trainer
David is our head instructor and is responsible for our internship / pro course programme. He is very passionate about diving and has been in the industry for many years. David is responsible for taking our courses up to the highest standard, ensuring all our students get the best possible training.
Abigail Smith
JHB Head Instructor
Abby is one of our most highly qualified and experience instructors. Along with David, she writes all our curriculum and helps in the training of all our instructors. Abby joined Divetek through the internship programme and has made her way up to the top. If you ever need any help with your diving skills or theory, Abby is always willing to give up her time to help you.
Lawrence du Toit
PTA Head Instructor
Lawrence heads up our Pretoria branch and all of his training. He joined the team in 2017 through the internship programme and we have been lucky to have him ever since. Lawrence will go out of his way day or night for any of his clients and will always make sure your courses and trips are ones to never forget. You can always find Lawrence with a smile on his face and a go-pro in his hand
Chris Nicolay
Instructor
Chris is the baby of the group and one of our most recent instructors, having gone through our internship programme and qualified end of 2019. Chris is always very eager to learn and help out in any way he can. Chris has been put through his pace to make sure his lecturing, diving and instructorship is up to the high standard we require, and we are glad to have him on our team.
James Morton
Instructor
James is one of our younger but very experienced divers. He has qualified as an SSI and PADI instructor, worked at Sodwana Bay as a dive master as well as work in the commercial diving industry. James loves working with clients and will put in the extra effort needed to help with any issue you may have. James also works as our cylinder technician so is very helpful to have around on any dive.
Oscar Delport
Instructor
Oscar is a NAUI and SSI qualified instructor who worked his way up through the internship programme in 2017. Oscar currently works as our regulator technician and assists David in the technician training courses. He is responsible for keeping all our school gear up to the high standard that our students need, and he is always eager to assist on courses and trips.
PTA Gerhard Erasmus
Instructor
Gerhard joined us in 2018 where he worked his way up to SSI instructor through our internship programme. He currently works at our Pretoria branch with Lawrence helping on our courses. Gerhard has a great love and respect for the world that lies beneath and worked as a dive master at Sodwana bay before joining our team. He is very passionate about diving and is willing to try anything we throw at him.
A great agency
What we can offer you
Worldwide travel
We plan international diving trips to any location in the world. You can either join us on any one of our top destination trips that we run each year, or we can plan a private trip for you and your group.
Reasonable cancellation policy
We understand that life can get in the way of our adventures. That is why we have planned a cancellation policy for each of our trips and courses to assist with such. We are always willing to move clients to a trip/ course which date suits their schedule better.
Non Stop Flights
We can arrange flights for any of our overseas flights based on your itinerary, and we can arrange local land transfers for any of our local and overseas trips
Secure Payment
Payment can be made in store using cash or a credit card, or an eft can be made to our training bank account.
Credit Cards accepted
In store payment at either of our two branches using most credit cards is welcome. Unfortunately we don’t accept Diners Club or American Express cards.