News
Poseidon’s Playground in St Helena
St Helena, sitting out in the Southern Atlantic between Africa and South America, is one of the most remote diving destinations in the world. Its location in this vast ocean means that the coastline has been carved out by the forces of nature. Above water, forests give way to plunging cliffs and underwater giant steps, caves and caverns have been carved out of the stone over millennia.
For divers, this means that there are great places to explore, with overhead swim-throughs and dramatic seascape providing the backdrop to most of the dives here.
The thing that strikes you when you slip into the water in St Helena is the sheer abundance of marine life. The waters are protected from over-fishing and it shows. It has been a long time since we have dived a destination so full of life. Octopus, eels and crustaceans take shelter in every crevice. Schools of fish seek shelter under the overhangs and in the caverns. Between January and March, large numbers of Whale Sharks aggregate in these waters. Dolphins surf the waves in their hundreds, while mobula rays cruise below and humpback whales come here to calf. All this, and you will be in the water with only a handful of others on any dive you do!
The sheltered caverns that have been carved out of the rocks provide shelter where more delicate species can thrive and divers are warned to be careful not to disturb this precious ecosystem.
Flights into St Helena are via South Africa on Airlink and in peak season (Jan-Mar) you can now fly from either Johannesburg or Cape Town, making this a perfect opportunity to plan a longer dual destination trip. St Helena offers divers the chance to get off the beaten track and try somewhere very few divers have ever explored. Whale Sharks, wrecks, a diver’s playground created by Poseidon himself – there is lots to love on this island.
To read more about our trip you can pick up the latest copy of Dive Travel Adventures or read it online by clicking here.
For more information visit:
St Helena Tourism: www.sthelenatourism.com
Dive Saint Helena: www.divesainthelena.com
All images and text by Nick and Caroline of Frogfish Photography.
Equipment used:
- Olympus OMD EM-1 MKII
- Nikon D800
- Nauticam Housings
- INON Strobes
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
-
News3 months agoHone your underwater photography skills with Alphamarine Photography at Red Sea Diving Safari in March
-
News3 months agoCapturing Critters in Lembeh Underwater Photography Workshop 2024: Event Roundup
-
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs3 months agoCreature Feature: Swell Sharks
-
Blogs2 months agoMurex Resorts: Passport to Paradise!
-
Blogs2 months agoDiver Discovering Whale Skeletons Beneath Ice Judged World’s Best Underwater Photograph
-
Marine Life & Conservation2 months agoSave the Manatee Club launches brand new webcams at Silver Springs State Park, Florida
-
Gear Reviews3 months agoGear Review: Oceanic+ Dive Housing for iPhone
-
Gear Reviews2 weeks agoGEAR REVIEW – Revolutionising Diving Comfort: The Sharkskin T2 Chillproof Suit