Legendary Shark Diving Pioneer

Text by Nicolene Olckers

Many international divers travel to South Africa to dive, view and experience sharks underwater. One of the preferred destinations is the village of Umkomaas in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The Aliwal Shoal reef is home to various shark species. It is a world-renowned site frequented by shark researchers, divers, and enthusiasts. One of the specialists and pioneers of shark diving, Walter Bernardis of African Watersports, is based in Widenham, close to Umkomaas.  

”African Watersports was founded in the early 1980s by the well-known Addison family, Brent, Wayne and Mark, says Walter. I joined the Addison operations as a subcontractor in the late 1980s.” African Watersports was always about innovative diving and pioneered the Aliwal Shoal area. Most of the innovation was done by Mark as they were the first in the world to offer the adrenaline-packed experience of Tiger Shark Diving commercially, and this included the Sardine Run. Walter continued this legacy when he purchased African Watersports from the Addison family in the 1990s. “We are always at the forefront of offering adrenaline-packed diving. From Shark diving to reef and wreck diving off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, to the Wild Coast for the Sardine run and to Botswana to dive with Nile crocodiles in the Okavango Delta.”

Walter qualified as a teacher and Mechanical Engineer. He pursued a teaching career for 30 years, attaining the position of Deputy Principal at a local Technical High school. “This afforded me the ability to pursue my love of the ocean. Having most weekends and school holidays free to the point where I decided to take early retirement and concentrate on running AWS, says Walter. He always loved Sharks, and diving with them safely was his ambition. “Tigers have always been my firm favourite. Debunking their myth as mindless killers became my obsession. The only way to do that was to bring humans and sharks together.”

Walter’s philosophy has always been to bring people in contact with sharks to show them the beauty of these animals and their vital importance within the ocean’s ecosystem. “Because we only protect what we love; we only love what we understand, and we only know what we are taught. Unfortunately, when it comes to sharks, we are only taught fear. He said my goal has been to create this mind shift in understanding sharks. AWS is involved in the Shark Wise Project with Dr Sarah Andreotti and the University of Stellenbosch. This takes up much of his time in lectures and facilitating safe diving with the research interns.

“The other is my gut feeling. In his quest to understand sharks and their behaviour, he discovered his way of inducing Tonic immobility in a shark. This allowed him to help entangled sharks and made it possible to remove hooks from them. The knowledge of this unique skill has kept him safe from being injured and bitten by sharks. Walter said the other diving participants are briefed extensively and provided with as much information as possible to dive safely with Apex Predators.
If there are photographers in the group, they are advised and informed of a few basic photographic concepts, like having the sun behind them and being aware that their photographic equipment will, in fact, attract the sharks, and they should be prepared for that. “ It has always been our goal to get them “that shot” they are after. We don’t always get credit for it. Still, we work hard to create the right setting, platform, and opportunity for photographers to take their best images and videos.” Walter has been a DAN Southern Africa member for more than twenty years. “DAN is the leader in dive accident cover, and they have always been very affordable.

Interested divers and non-divers are welcome at African Watersports. They also have two guest houses in Widenham that provide accommodation. Seascapes offer B&B or self-catering services, and The Dunes Guesthouse offers self-catering accommodation to their clients. Both can be found through Airbnb or the AfriStay listings/websites.

Get in touch with Walter Bernardis and the African Watersports Crew.

Website: www.africanwatersports.co.za
Email: admin@awsports.co.za or jason@awsports.co.za
Mobile: +27 82 565 1210 (Calls & WhatsApp)
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