Tanzania Divemaster Internship

Tanzania's coast is home to some of the most spectacular diving in the world. The crystal clear waters host a wealth of marine habitats and wildlife, making this a perfect location to scuba dive and explore this pristine and magical underwater world.

The PADI Divemaster course is the first rating on the PADI professional ladder and the first qualification that makes you employable as a dive professional in the industry. PADI Divemasters supervise recreational diving activities and act as assistants to PADI Instructors conducting diver training. This internship offers you the perfect opportunity to enhance your current dive experience and enter the world of professional diving.

You will work with dive instructors in real life scenarios with our Mafia Island research staff and volunteers who are working in line with the Mafia Island Marine Park conservation efforts. This project is a combination of learning dive theory in the classroom and confined water, and open water diver training to transform you into a role-model dive professional. You will also contribute to the vital marine research and conservation projects to provide local communities and government bodies with the information they need to sustainably manage this priceless marine ecosystem preserving it for future generations.

Mafia Island is an awesome place to learn to become a Divemaster with great diving and a busy tourist industry.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

• Helping to preserve Tanzanian marine and coastal biodiversity
• Collect data from some of the world's best dive sites
• Obtain your Divemaster qualification whilst assisting the project Dive Officer
• Make lifelong friends and return with incredible stories, photos and memories
• Extend your experience of tropical marine and coastal zone conservation field work

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

• CV required
• Minimum 3 month placement
• Relevant academic qualifications
• Some experience of coastal zone or marine field work

DIVEMASTER REQUIREMENTS

18 years of age

40 dives logged and PADI Rescue Diver qualification. It is possible for novice divers to be an Intern, who can amount dives during their time on the project. This will include completion of Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Emergency First Responder and the Rescue Diver course (extra costs apply).

Physician sign off – medical health check

What Next? Apply Now!

WHAT DOES THE PROJECT DO?

Mafia Island is about as close as you can get to the quintessential Indian Ocean tropical paradise. The tiny island of about 40,000 is a friendly, laid back place that has long been praised as a diver paradise.

Mafia's luxuriant mangroves, luminous seagrass beds and dazzling coral reefs play host to a multitude of tropical reef fish, thorny and spotted seahorses and four species of graceful and gentle sea turtles. Offshore there are dolphins and rays and the deeper waters are a regular stop off point for migrating humpback whales and giant whale sharks. You can experience all this when you join the Frontier camp on Mafia Island and learn to dive in the crystal clear, immaculate waters of Tanzania's exclusive Marine Park.

WHAT WILL I BE DOING?

Combining the PADI Divemaster Internship with the Frontier Tanzania Marine Conservation Project offers the opportunity to gain in situ knowledge of marine systems and processes and conservation issues and experience of scientific surveying. Trainees receive lectures on the different elements of coral reef communities under the supervision of trained scientists. These lectures incorporate a range of tropical marine biology topics including the benthic make up of reefs, fish and invertebrate identification and a variety of marine methodologies. Once qualified to PADI Advanced Open Water diver, trainees will take part in Frontier’s long term monitoring surveys researching coral reef community health on Mafia Island whilst assisting with training and the skills progression of new volunteers. The skills and experience gained during this course are valuable for trainees wishing to pursue a career in marine science and conservation or professional diving or a combination of the two.

You'll find your team to be a fun, dynamic mix of ages and experiences with members who all share a passion about travelling in developing countries and conserving nature. Your staff will be a friendly and welcoming group who are highly experienced in their research field and many of whom will have been Frontier volunteers at an earlier stage in their career.

For further information about Frontier marine conservation work see the publications section of this website.

As a PADI Divemaster you will be qualified to do the following;

• Act as certified instructional assistant to PADI Instructors
• Supervise participants in PADI experience programmes for uncertified divers
• Generally supervise both training and non training related diving activities by planning, organising and directing dives
• Enroll in PADI Instructor level training

What Next? Apply Now!

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I ARRIVE?

We can arrange an airport pick up for you at Dar es Salaam Airport and a local private driver will escort you to a local hostel where you can spend your first night relaxing and recovering from your journey, these costs are extra and you can pay our representative CA$80/$60 directly. The following day you will return to the airport in time for your internal flight on the eight seater light aircraft to Mafia Island. Please ensure you book your flight well in advance. Once on Mafia Island you will be met by Frontier staff or at the airport on Mafia and transferred by vehicle to the marine conservation project camp site at Utende. We can provide you with detailed instructions on how to reach the Mafia Island camp if travelling independently.

It is possible to reach Mafia Island by ferry but sailing times can be very unpredictable. If you choose not to fly you will need to travel via the port town of Nyamasati, 90 km south of Dar, from where you will travel by ferry, approximately a 6 hour trip, to the town of Kilindoni on the western side of Mafia Island. Once on the island you will be met bya member of the Frontier marine field staff at the small harbour town of Kilindoni.

WHERE WILL I BE STAYING?

Check out our Camp Tour video! 

Camp life is very simple, unsophisticated and fun. You will be staying in communal bandas, huts made from makuti (woven palm leaves), poles and mud, and sleeping on beds constructed from wooden poles, your "shower" will be a jug or a bucket of water and you cook over a charcoal stove, so prepare for the basic, unencumbered lifestyle! On occasions you may stay in a "satellite camp", usually a mosquito net pitched on a beach.

As well as the diving and marine conservation work you may help with the community outreach and environmental awareness work in the local villages, scientific data entry and daily camp maintenance, taking turns to cook, tidy and clean the camp, rinse dive kit, prime hurricane lamps, collect water andhelp with a wide variety of other essential camp duties.

WHAT WILL I BE EATING?

Camp food is simple and nutritious and consists largely of rice, vegetables and beans all of which are purchased locally in order to help support the local economy. Luxuries such as chocolate, biscuits, peanut butter and drinking chocolate can be purchased in Kilindoni but tend to be very expensive, so make sure you stock up before heading to the field!  Part of your role on camp will be to help with the cooking, so get your cookbooks out now and start practising! Also, with luck you'll be invited to local parties and festivals – a great way to integrate with the local communities in the nearby villages and absorb the local culture. 

What Next? Apply Now!

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

The Frontier-Tanzania camp is fun and in your spare time you'll have opportunities to swim and snorkel, play football against the unbeatable local side or try out beach volleyball. Alternatively you may enjoy a traditional Saturday night themed camp party, play poker, chess or backgammon or join in a camp quiz night. After a long hard day of diving you may prefer to relax with a drink and sway in the camp hammock, or sit and chat to your new friends, under a sky lit up by millions of stars.

Modern conveniences

Mafia Island

• Boat rental
• Fishing
• Hostels / hotels
• Internet available at local bars
• Post office
• Souvenir shops
• Traditional markets
• Western style restaurants

Kilindoni - 20-30 minute Tuk Tuk ride away at own cost

• Grocery Stores
• Medical clinic
• Phone shops
• Traditional markets

Dar es Salaam - 45 minute flight at own cost

• 24 hour supermarkets
• Banks / ATMs: National Microfinance Bank, Standard Chartered, Barclays, National Bank of Commerce, Stanbic
• Bars / clubs
• Bureau de Change
• Cinema
• Dentist
• Department store
• Hairdresser
• Hospital
• Hostels / hotels
• International Embassies and Consulates
• Internet cafes
• Local style restaurants
• Mobile phone shops
• Pay phones
• Pharmacy
• Traditional markets
• Western style restaurants
• Western Union