Africa

[teallach]

Hi all

I am researching a new safari guidebook entitled "African Safaris for People with Limited Mobility".

I will be including a chapter about diving, as this is commonly done in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa after a safari.

The following points are particularly important:

- why recreational diving is a suitable sport for disabled people
- how diving for disabled people differs from 'mainstream' diving (maybe some types of divesites are more suitable than others?)
- equipment (a summary of the types of gear/adaptations that disabled divers tend to use/need; everything from bcds to boats, if there are big differences?)
- anywhere in Africa where diving would be possible or recommended for disabled people
- any other potential sources of info worldwide (the book will be published in the US, Australia etc as well as the UK)

If you can comment on any of these I’d be hugely grateful! Or if you have any other thoughts regarding this, please do say.

Thanks!
Gordon.
www.able-travel.com (http://www.able-travel.com)

[David Dixon]

Hi Gordon

I have had your post drawn to my attention and will ask the BSAC Travel team to look at this and see what we can come up with. The team also includes the BSAC Welfare Officer and there may be other members of staff at BSAC HQ with specialist knowledge in this area who can comment. Certainly we are most interested in disability access to diving and have done quite a lot of work in this area before.

This is just as much a travel question as a disability diving one, so you may care to re-post on the Dive Travel Overseas section of the forum and ask for individual experiences. Whilst it is possible to generalise, I suspect that access will invariably be down to local facilities, interest, conditions and national laws. In much of southern Africa for instance, there are big breakers rolling in from the Indian Ocean that make boat access rather more challenging and inevitably, depending the nature of any on disability, somewhat difficult.

We will get back to you on this, but please be patient, these are detailed quesions you ask.

Kind regards

David Dixon
Head of BSAC Travel

[teallach]

Thanks! If possible, I'd need any info by mid June.

Rgds
Gordon.