Scuba diving in the new I&J Ocean Exhibit was a bit of a guilty pleasure for travel writer Dieter Losskarn.
The black musselcracker eyeballs me in what I can only interpret as disgust. I think he knows. I must say, despite loving steak, I feel much less guilty when walking past some cows grazing in the veld. While diving in the Two Oceans Aquarium’s new sea-water exhibit, I am conscious of having enjoyed a yellowtail ceviche starter and some tuna sashimi not too long ago. And I have seen musselcrackers and some of his kinfolk on braais before.
Luckily the musselcracker seems docile and not intent on cracking any of my vulnerable parts while I am underwater. I think the Aquarium visitors would have enjoyed a spectacle like this as I am currently part of the exhibit.
While I like the giant guitar fish, the striped bonito, the blue stingray and the green sea turtle very much, I absolutely adore Yoshi, the loggerhead turtle. She was confiscated from a fishing trawler in Table Bay Harbour in 1997, after having been caught in their net. At the time she was about the size of a seafood platter, pardon, dinner plate. Now, she weighs a proud 160kgs and is the main attraction in the exhibit.
I haven’t dived in years, but I immediately remember how magical it feels. After doing a refresher in the dive pool, Iain Robertson, the dive master, accompanied me into the new 6m-deep tank. Bearded Iain reminds me of a rugged seafarer, a bit of Viking with some Captain Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean flair thrown into the mix.
You couldn’t ask for a better diving buddy. His calmness makes you relax immediately. As the resident dive master for the last 10 years in the Aquarium, he also offers a one-day Discover Scuba Course here.
In June 2016 the predator exhibit closed down for renovations and the resident ragged-tooth sharks were released into the ocean. The four raggies are now living around Mossel Bay, East London and Durban. The exhibit will be re-opened later in 2017 as a dedicated shark exhibit with a brand new name.
At the time the one closed, another - the I&J Ocean Exhibit, which currently contains me, some fish and turtles - opened. The new exhibit contains 1.6 million litres of sea water, pumped from the harbour and heated to about 20 to 23 degrees Celcius. The tank is 6 metres deep. And the mighty main viewing window is 9 metres wide and 4 metres high, weighing 22 tons. It’s not made of glass, but 30cm-thick acrylic, which has the advantage of enabling distortion-free viewing into (and out of) the tank.
Unfortunately my oxygen is getting low and we have to conclude this magical underwater experience. Musselcracker, I promise, it’ll only be chips tonight.
You can dive at the Aquarium too
Scuba diving at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town is worthy of being included on the bucket list of any experienced diver, adrenalin junkie or just someone who would like to experience the incredible feeling of being surrounded by the remarkable animals that call the underwater world their home.
For more information, click here: htttp://www.aquarium.co.za/diving
