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Freediving Photo Gallery

We love socialising with freedivers and we love giving our visitors something interesting to see and read. Please take a look at our aquatic Instagram feed below for watery inspiration or read the latest articles on our freediving and snorkeling blog.

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capetownfreediving

Pause. Breathe. When you press the pause button o

Pause. Breathe.

When you press the pause button on a machine, it stops. But when you press the pause button on human beings they start.
You start to reflect.
You start to rethink your assumptions.
You start to reimagine what is possible.
Most importantly, you start to reconnect with your most deeply held beliefs.
~ Dov Seidman

The power of pause:
Pressing pause gifts you the space to choose and create with attention and intention.
Pressing pause means you remember all that is meaningful, creating feelings of joy and gratitude.
Pressing pause creates immense space for growth, for change, for purpose and meaning.

Pressing pause may be your greatest superpower yet!

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Adventure Freediving - reconnect with nature, within and around you, one breath at a time.
——

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving

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#lifeisbeautiful #natureconnection #adventurefreediving #capetownfreediving #pauseandreflect #capetownlife #oceanadventure #intunewithnature #oceantherapy #divedeep

Self-acceptance always precedes genuine self-surre

Self-acceptance always precedes genuine self-surrender and self-transformation.
~David G. Benner (The Gift of Being Yourself)

Freediving is pretty much that - the gift of self consciousness.

Awareness begins with breath and breath is the A and O of freediving. In that space between inhale and exhale lives the voice that emanates from within.
Be open, listen inward.

The more you breathe non-judgement the easier it becomes to observe and accept yourself.

The more you breathe non-attachment the easier it becomes to let go of expectations, beliefs and fears. Non attachment gently moves you out of your head space into the heart of being. Let go of expectations, surrender to the moment.

The more you breathe non-resistance the easier it becomes to trust the process. The focus shifts from what-if to what-is opening yourself to growth and transformation.

Breath is life’s blessing equally bestowed on each of us.
Breathe continuously, live fully!

___
Adventure Freediving - reconnect with nature within and around you, one breath at a time.
——

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving
🧜🏽‍♀️ @lisambeasley @davidsaulbergman

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#freedivers #capetownfreediving #adventurefreediving #breathework #breathhold #coldwaterdiving #capetownliving #oceanadventure #natureconnection #freediving

Here is the last remaining piece of Nature, right

Here is the last remaining piece of Nature, right on our doorstep, where adventures are to be experienced and secrets discovered.
And who knows, perhaps one day the language of trees will eventually be deciphered, giving us the raw material for further amazing stories.

Until then, when you take your next walk in the forest, give free rein to your imagination-in many cases, what you imagine is not so far removed from reality, after all!
~ Peter Wohlleben (The Hidden Life of Trees)

Gazing at the kelp forest scape while peaking through a swim-through is a little bit like being a mermaid, gazing out of a bedroom window, blissfully day dreaming…

Imagination is a wonderful thing and so is this crazy beautiful kelp forest right on our shore step!

___
Breathe in. Dive in. Let the adventure begin!
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving

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#kelpforest #kelp #kelptown #capetownliving #oceanadventure #treesarelife #adventurefreediving #capetownfreediving #uwphoto #cityofcapetown

The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is

The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.

So make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt.
So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.

If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.
~ Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

Be bold!
Out with the old, in with the new!
Go outside, take a deep breath, smell the air, see the world with different eyes.
Have an open mind, an open heart.

Breathe. Trust. Let go!
Let adventure be your guide.

___
Adventure Freediving - reconnect to nature within and around you, one breath at a time.
___

🧜🏼‍♀️ @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving
📸 @lisambeasley

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#capetownfreediving #pureapnea #adventurefreediving #wildocean #freediving #thegreatafricanseaforest #thisiscapetown #capetownliving #oceanadventure

We do not want merely to see beauty...we want some

We do not want merely to see beauty...we want something else which can hardly be put into words.
We want to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. ~C.S. Lewis

Nature, and nature alone is what makes us human. For many of us, the critical importance of what that means to our very existence has been lost. If you are privileged enough to have access to nature, use it!!
So many of our physical, mental and emotional pains and symptoms could be resolved by seeking out nature.

This momentary pause is a spoonful of medicine!

___ Adventure Freediving - reconnect to nature within and around you, one breath at a time. ___   
📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving   . #capetownfreediving #pureapna #adventurefreediving #natureconnection #natureimmersion #exploremore #freediving #freediverlife #capetown #oceanscape

The rhythm of nature is ever flowing, timeless tim

The rhythm of nature is ever flowing, timeless time…

“Although the rhythm of the waves beats a kind of time, it is not clock or calendar time. It has no urgency. It happens to be timeless time. I know that I am listening to a rhythm which has been just the same for millions of years, and it takes me out of a world of relentlessly ticking clocks. Clocks for some reason or other always seem to be marching, and, as with armies, marching is never to anything but doom. But in the motion of waves there is no marching rhythm. It harmonizes with our very breathing. It does not count our days. Its pulse is not in the stingy spirit of measuring, of marking out how much still remains. It is the breathing of eternity, inhaling and exhaling, manifesting and dissolving, forever.”
~ Alan Watts

When last did you experience the absence of urgency?
Breathe in. Dive in. Let the adventure begin…

___ Adventure Freediving - reconnect to nature within and around you, one breath at a time. ___  
📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving
🧜🏽‍♂️ @haydn_undersea    . #capetownfreediving #pureapna #adventurefreediving #natureconnection #natureimmersion #exploremore #freediving #freediverlife #capetown #oceanscape

This forest. It is a living, beating, breathing or

This forest. It is a living, beating, breathing organism.
The forest it moves through you, as you move through it.

Time is frozen in this place, as if patiently holding its breath.
The beginnings of life from the beginnings of time feel etched into the present moment.
This is it, all of it. The force of Nature loud and clear!
The thread of life - all of life.

The experience is both sobering and intoxicating at the same time.
To be moved in some way, is inevitable.

___
Breathe in. Dive in. Let the adventure begin…
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving

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#thegreatafricanseaforest #kelpforest #seaforest #capetownliving #uwphoto #lifeforce #natureconnection #coldwaterswimming #underwaterworld #oceanadventure

Okay okay! This is the last one with them fishes.

Okay okay! This is the last one with them fishes.

This experience was unusual as we don’t often see baitballs (especially one of this size) in the kelp forest.
Schooling fish - yes.
Big massive baitballs - no.
Until we do and then it’s all wow and awe and magical!

Unusual, wow and awesome things can happen ANY moment so if there is a lesson to be learnt, it’s this…
Live every moment with full embrace.
Gift yourself the awareness of the here and now.
And more importantly, step away every now and then, and breathe. Just breathe.
You don’t always have to swim against the stream, there is strength in the collective.

___
Adventure Freediving, reconnect with nature, one breath at a time.
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving
🧜🏽‍♀️ @lisambeasley

…
#capetownfreediving #adventurefreediving #justbreathe #freediveadventures #oceanadventure #pureapnea #capetownsouthafrica #baitball #shoal #freedive #freediving

Forever one of the most special moments… If the

Forever one of the most special moments…

If the roar of a wave crashes beyond your campsite, you might call that adventure.
When coyotes howl outside your tent-that may be adventure.
While you’re sweating like a horse in a climb over a 12,000 foot pass, that’s adventure.
When a howling headwind presses your lips against your teeth, you’re facing a mighty adventure.
If you’re pushing through a howling rainstorm, you’re soaked in adventure.
But that’s not what makes an adventure.
It’s your willingness to struggle through it, to present yourself at the doorstep of Nature. That creates the experience!

No more greater joy can come from life than to live inside the ‘moment’ of an adventure. It may be a momentary ‘high’, a stranger that changes your life, an animal that delights you or frightens you, a struggle where you triumphed, or even failed, yet you braved the challenge. Those moments present you uncommon experiences that give your life eternal expectation. That’s adventure!
~ Frosty Wooldridge (How to live a life of adventure)

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Adventure Freediving - reconnect with nature, one breath at a time.
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines

#capetownfreediving #pureapnea #adventurefreediving #reconnectwithnature #natureconnection #livethemoment #adventuretravel #oceanadventure #capetown #thisiscapetown

All for One and One for All Beyond being an absolu

All for One and One for All
Beyond being an absolutely mesmerising encounter, there is something deeply wholesome about swimming as part of a whole. Collective behaviour, or group behaviour, is a phenomenon observed amongst many animals in nature—think of flocking birds, nest-building ants, herds of antelopes, or a pod of dolphins. Each member of the group instinctively understands their role, contributing to the survival and success of the entire community.
We often focus on the protective element that this behaviour offers to the group—safety in numbers, after all—but there are other benefits too. By moving together, animals can conserve energy, increase their chances of finding food, and improve their odds of finding a mate. This cooperative strategy isn’t just about defence; it’s about thriving as a collective.

Interestingly, when it comes to humans, group behaviour often takes on a negative connotation. We talk about “groupthink,” where critical thinking is overshadowed by the desire for consensus, leading to poor decisions. We worry about the dangers of mob mentality, where individuals lose their sense of personal responsibility. Social fads and trends can spread quickly, sometimes pushing people to conform rather than express their true selves.

But what if we reimagined collective behaviour for humans? What if, instead of seeing it as something that erodes individuality, we embraced it as a means of connection and support? Modern society often emphasises the importance of standing out, being unique, and swimming against the stream. But this constant pursuit of individuality can also lead to isolation, stress, and anxiety.
Perhaps there’s a balance to be found—a way to harness the power of collective behaviour, by being more connected to one another, while still honouring our individuality.
 ____
Reconnect to nature, within and around you - one breath at a time.
____

📸 @lisambeasley
🧜🏽‍♀️ @renourish.danieladaines

#capetownfreediving #natureconnection #collectiveconsciousness #groupthink #oceanadventures #rewild #freedivephotography #freedive #thegreatafricanseaforest #kelpforest

Fish appreciation post It is no secret that the o

Fish appreciation post

It is no secret that the ocean hugging the southern tip of Africa is special beyond words.
In fact, South Africa is home to more than 11 130 species of marine animals.

Let’s focus on fish for a minute…
Did you know that SA is home to an impressive 15% of global fish species?! That’s over 2200 different fish!
How many of those can you name?
 It gets even more mind bending: those 2200 fish species, represent 270 fish families which is equivalent to 83% of all marine fish families known! 83% representation right here on our shore-step! To trump that figure, 13% are endemic, ranking amongst the highest anywhere.

We don’t spend half as much time admiring these incredibly dynamic and spirited animals and yet, it’s their presence that brings the hustle, adds to the bustle and spreads the good mood.

And so here’s an appreciation post - thank you
to the plenty fish in the sea.

___
Adventure Freediving - reconnect to nature within and around you, one breath at a time.
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving
🐟 the biggest bait ball I’ve ever seen in CT’s kelp forest

#fishinthesea #baitball #marinespecies #marineanimals #oceanadventures #exploretheshore #shoal #capetowntravel #capetownadventures #adventurefreediving

Magic isn’t somewhere else. It isn’t a series

Magic isn’t somewhere else.
It isn’t a series of distant rituals, ancient texts and expensive courses.
Magic is turning to the world, and seeing it, and knowing we are indistinguishable from it, in all our embodied, strange, soft and edgeless form.
We are in the world and it is in us.
~Alice Tarbuck (A spell in the Wild)

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Adventure Freediving - reconnect to nature within and around you, one breath at a time.
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines
One of those surreal freezing Atlantic days. A day like any other above the surface but poke your head under and you’re transported to a different time, a different place a different perspective.

Magic is all around us, turn up and tune in.

#capetownfreediving #magicmoments #magiclife #magicnature #freediving #freedivingphotography #cityofcapetown #naturecity #comealive #uwpic #uwphotography

Fish will never be afraid of living in the ocean,

Fish will never be afraid of living in the ocean, no matter how deep it is.
~Matshona Dhliwayo

Everything you are
everything you need
everything you bring to the world
is WITHIN you.

___
Adventure Freediving - reconnect to nature within and around you, one breath at a time.
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving

#baitball #fishinthesea #capetownfreediving #pureapnea #oceanadventure #sealife #oceanview #oceanlife #animalplanet #wildocean

When you are in the presence of the beauty of natu

When you are in the presence of the beauty of nature, nothing but happiness can overtake you.
~Shree Shambav

There is no question that nature affects every aspect of our being, our well-being.
Reflect and consider which events inspire the greatest awe, gratitude and inspiration in your life. It’s very likely that these experiences are in one way or another connected to nature.
 Here are several reasons why nature is so important for humans:

💧boosts our immunity, reduces stress, and encourages physical activity.
💧reduces anxiety, depression, and mental fatigue while promoting relaxation and mindfulness.
💧inspires creativity, problem-solving, and boosts productivity.
💧fosters empathy, responsibility, and a sense of wonder.
💧holds cultural and spiritual importance, symbolising renewal and identity.
💧provides vital services like climate regulation, clean water, and food.
💧brings communities together and strengthen social bonds.
💧encourages exploration and environmental education.

Recognising the importance of nature for humans is essential. Preserving and nurturing our connection to nature is not only critical for our physical and mental health but also for our planet - nature herself! Fostering a deep appreciation for nature is a crucial step towards ensuring a balanced coexistence with the natural world.  You are nature. You need nature to bring out your best nature!
 ___
Adventure Freediving, reconnect to nature within and around you - one breath at a time.
—-

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving
🧜🏽‍♀️ @lisambeasley

#capetownfreediving #kelpforest #adventurefreediving #seaview #naturephotos #discoverocean #thegreatafricanseaforest #underwaterphoto #oceanphotography #rewild #nature #thisiscapetown

It was the golden time of year. Every day the leav

It was the golden time of year.
Every day the leaves grew brighter, the air sharper,
the grass more brilliant.
The sunsets seemed to expand and melt and stretch for hours, and the brick façades glowed pink, and everything got bluer.

How many perfect autumns did a person get?
~ Elif Batuman

Are you someone that struggles with the changing of the seasons? When every colour of bright becomes every shade of grey. That feeling of doom, of dread of cold right to the bone.
That used to be me and probably still would be if it weren’t for the eternal sunshine reflected by every fond, fauna, flora and funga under the sea.
Grey is not a colour that lives down here.
Vibrant colour on the other hand is all abundant - shining bright like an eternal flame.

So here’s a dare, an invitation - let autumn be your golden time of year!

___
Adventure Freediving, reconnect to nature within and around you - one breath at a time.
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving

#autumnmood #autumnweather #seasonschange #underwaterworld #underwaterwonders #uwphoto #thegreatafricanseaforest #cityofcapetown #thisiscapetown #capetownfreediving

One of the few blessings of living in an age of an

One of the few blessings of living in an age of anxiety is that we are forced to become aware of ourselves.
~Rollo May (Man’s Search for Himself)

Have you ever noticed how as soon as you focus on your breath you start to feel more calm, relaxed and centred?

That’s because breath is the ultimate regulator.
Breath is your first-line response to anything and everything that happens in your environment: internal and external, good and bad.
And so here’s the thing, you are either breathing yourself anxious or you are breathing yourself calm. The only difference is whether or not you’re aware of it, because awareness means you have a choice.

Remember that saying “whatever happens, just breathe?
It’s that, literally!
When you bring your attention to breath you automatically begin to self regulate and that always returns you to a place of calm and clarity.

If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath ~ Amit Ray

That’s one of the many incredible benefits and blessings of learning to freedive, breathing consciously, becoming self aware.

___
Adventure Freediving, reconnect to nature within and around you, one breath at a time.
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving
🧜🏽‍♀️ @lisambeasley

-
#capetownfreediving #freefrom #freediving #freedivephotography #adventuresouthafrica #consciousbreathing #underwaterpic #capetown #cityofcapetown #breathedeep

Forests above and below the water surface are resp

Forests above and below the water surface are responsible for life, sustaining biodiversity, providing habitat, managing climate and producing the very air we breathe.

But did you know that forests have taken a leading role in almost every story ever told - from folklore, fairytale, legend and myths? The forest it turns out, is so important to life that it is weaved throughout the fabric of our very existence (think family tree, tree of life, putting down roots).

But what do forests and freediving have in common?
The forest symbolises our subconscious, the place in which inner darkness is confronted and worked through; where uncertainty is resolved about who one is; and where one begins to understand who one wants to be (Bruno Bettelheim). Freediving brings our fears, self-doubts and limiting beliefs to the surface and challenges us to go beyond. Just like the characters in any given story must pass through the deep of a forest to succeed, facing the challenges along the way, so too must we. YOU are the character and freediving is the forest in your story.
The forest is a place of magic. It presents us with a place of safety, warmth, opportunity, challenge and transformation.
We are being brought deep into the woods, only to come out knowing ourselves better on the other side.

Blessed right?

___
Adventure Freediving - reconnect to nature within and around you, one breath at a time.
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving
🧜 @lisambeasley

…
#capetownfreediving #kelpforest #thegreatafricanseaforest #seaforest #thisiscapetown #cityofcapetown #underwaterworld #missionblue #oceanscape #explorecapetown

Lasting peace is inner peace, and the more we mast

Lasting peace is inner peace, and the more we master it, the more we assist in creating a more peaceful collective.
Real strength and real knowledge come from within.
Learn to commune with yourself often.
Everything is within us.
We need only to remember.
~ Ulonda Faye (Sutras of the heart)

Freediving teaches us a great deal about patience, peace, flexibility, acceptance and letting go.
How exactly that looks and feels like depends on our own internal chatter, our self talk.
Listening in and becoming conscious of this internal dialogue (how we commune) creates a new level of self awareness.
Being in this space between inhale and exhale, requires us to face all those things we believe to be true, our fears, doubts, beliefs and expectations.
For most of us, if we are doing it right, it means facing the uncomfortable physically and mentally.
Becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable is the crux of freediving.
Can we accept that which is, leaning in, letting go and flexing our limits - patiently.
It’s here we find our strength our peace.
Everything is within us, we only need to remember.

___
Adventure Freediving, reconnect to nature within and around you - one breath at a time.
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving
🧜🏽‍♀️ @lisambeasley

#freediving #freedivephotography #freedivelife #capetownfreediving #adventurefreediving #freedive #thisiscapetown #capetownliving #gobeyond #uwphoto

Want to find your true nature? Seek out nature, be

Want to find your true nature? Seek out nature, be with nature.

It is not possible to save the world by trying to save it.
You need to find what is genuinely yours to offer the world before you can make it a better place. Discovering your unique gift to bring to your community is your greatest opportunity and challenge. The offering of that gift — your true self — is the most you can do to love and serve the world. And it is all the world needs.
~Thomas Berry (The Dream of the Earth)

How do we begin?
Be with nature.
Breathe in nature.
Listen and observe nature.
Sit with nature - with and within.

The challenge really is to look inward as a species and to be accountable to do better for the benefit of all.
To remember really that we all are nature and nature is us, what we do to one we do to all.

Want to find your true nature? Seek out nature,
be in nature to be with nature.

___
Adventure Freediving - reconnect with nature, one breath at a time.
___

📸 @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving

#nature #underwaterworld #natureconnection #kelpforest #humannature #coldwaterimmersion #coldwatertherapy #saveourseas #capetownfreediving #oceanminded

Everything will be fine the ocean seemed to whispe

Everything will be fine the ocean seemed to whisper.
Life will always be messy.
But oh, it’s so incredibly beautiful, too.
~ One Way Ticket

It’s true that the ocean, in fact any body of water, affects our nervous system. By doing so it can change the way you think, feel, interpret and respond to the world, to living.

Water shapes us into a calmer, kinder and compassionate version of self. As if that isn’t enough reason to seek her solace - there is the entire ocean ecosystem itself, with all its vibrant colour, life and kelp.

Life will always be messy so make time for all tbe beautiful too.

___
Adventure Freediving - reconnect with nature within and around you, one breath at a time.
___

📸 @lisambeasley
🧜🏽‍♀️ @renourish.danieladaines / @capetownfreediving

#freediving #freedivegirls #adventurefreediving #freedivingphotography #freedivelife #girlsthatfreedive #thisiscapetown #lovecapetown #capetownfreediving #oceanadventure #bluemind #kelpforest

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